I recently had the multi-voltage battery charger for my Porter Cable 1/2″ drill go dead. The least expensive replacement I could find was around $80…I think on Amazon. So I took the old one apart to see if I could diagnose the problem.
Lo and behold, there was a fuse on the circuit board. 2 watt, 250 volt, slow-blow. It was blown, and because it was hard-wired into the circuit board, PC obviously didn’t want the user replacing it.
Well, I didn’t want to spend another $80 either, so I went to my local Radio Shack and purchased a fuse holder and a packet of fuses.
I unsoldered the circuit board fuse and soldered in a couple of 3″ leads in its place. Next, I drilled a 15/32″ hole in the charger case beside the indicator LED’s, and mounted the fuse holder so the cap was on the outside and the contacts were inside the charger. I soldered the leads to the holder, screwed the whole thing back together, inserted a new fuse and plugged it in.
The charger works fine, and if it blows another fuse (which it will, as I understand from internet chatter) I just pop the cap and replace the fuse. Net investment right around $4 for the holder and fuses.
Oh, I also had to take a razor knife to the carrying case and make a place for the new fuse holder to live when the case is closed. No big deal since it’s double-walled, and it still looks the same on the outside meaning nothing falls out or in.
Disclaimer; I don’t recommend anyone attempting this dangerous conversion – it’s not PC (pardon the pun)and there are far too many attorneys in the world lusting after my meager earnings.
Drycleaner
Replies
Makers bill of rights motto: "If You Can't Open It, You Don't Own It"
I hate it when they intentionally make something disposable for a $0.05 part.
I think it's cool that you found the problem and fixed it. We need more people like that.
Z
Not to reply to myself, but does anyone have a wiring diagram for a reversible drill switch? There are four wires coming off the motor to the switch and the original switch had disintegrated inside the drill.Z
I had my old Sears/Ryobi charger fail in a similar manner. Replaced the fuse a couple of times but then the transformer went out. I suspect the transformer had an intermittent short and that was blowing the fuse.