I recently got my hands on a well-used Dewalt DC988 drill after my workplace upgraded their tools. It's showing some signs of wear, particularly smoking when I use it. I'm just a DIY enthusiast, and this drill won't be getting heavy use, so I'd love to know if it's worth repairing. I can't find specific information on its manufacturing date, but I'm guessing the smoke might be due to worn brushes. Does anyone have an idea of how old this model might be? Also, I have a lightly used DW983 without batteries—could I swap out the brushes between the two drills?
2 Answers
It might be worth taking it apart and giving it a good clean before you decide to repair it. I did that with my old DC970, and it started working way better afterwards! Sometimes, it’s just dust and gunk causing the smoke.
Thanks for the tips, CZAR and NSX! I opened mine up, cleaned it, and luckily, the brushes were in good shape. Now it’s working without smoke. I'm considering rebuilding the 14.4V battery packs for my DW983. By the way, if anyone else is dealing with a smoking issue, just pop off the back cover and blast the brushes with compressed air while it’s running for a quick fix.