# DeWalt 14.4 Volt XRP Drill Smells Bad



## Les (Dec 12, 2013)

Hey all,

So I have a DeWalt drill that I bought new around 2005. I used it occasionally for small jobs or working on sets in spaces that had old or underpowered drivers. The batteries eventually started dying due to my own bad habits of letting them sit in storage, so I put it away for a while.

Well, I got it back out and decided to put some replacement batteries in it since I came across a really good deal on a pair. The drill works fine but has a horrible ozone smell (worse than usual). Do you think it needs brushes or maybe the brushes are fine but stuck? There did seem to be quite a bit of visible sparking through the vents. 

Update: lots of orange sparks through the vents while the drill is running. Some even seem to exit the vents. 

By the way, this is one of the old NiCad models.


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## DuckJordan (Dec 12, 2013)

Yep sounds like the brushes need servicing. Whether that's a Maintenance thing or replacement

Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk


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## gafftapegreenia (Dec 12, 2013)

Oh yeah, thats the brushes going bad. I'd say its time to upgrade to a drill/impact drive kit, but you just bought new batteries. Doing service yourself isn't that hard, I did it to my 12v of equal vintage when the motor died and the DeWalt shop said it wasn't worth their time (too costly).


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## lwinters630 (Dec 15, 2013)

When you replace brushes, lightly sand armeture with 600 or 1000 grit paper.


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## Bart53 (Jan 30, 2014)

lwinters630 said:


> When you replace brushes, lightly sand armeture with 600 or 1000 grit paper.



And after sanding the armature, be sure to clean it to remove the grit from between the metal portions of it. This is where the mica is used to insulate the armature between the metal portions. You don't want a short circuit there.


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## Breckt (Jan 30, 2014)

If servicing isn't an option, there's nothing like getting a set of an impact driver and drill as new toys!


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