Recip Saw Sparking

Hi, I have a Craftsman 12 A recip saw that is sparking out the back air vents. I checked the brushes and there is still about 3/4″ of carbon left so that doesn’t appear to be the culprit. Can somebody suggest what could be the problem.

Thanks in advance.

Normal for brushed tools, my ridgid drill sparks you can see inside the drill but occasional after a hard break the spark will go rogue.

Jimbo

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Check… Is it sparking the whole time while being used or just when you let off the trigger?

Jimbo

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This is not normal sparking. I have used a Sawzall hundreds of times. in fact I own 5 or 6, but this ones my favorite. To answer your question, it sparks (a lot) the whole time it’s “on”. 

I have to imagine it has something to do with the brushes, I wonder if something in there is contaminated. I think you’re going to have to take the whole thing apart and look for scorch marks that may lead you to a fix. Assuming of course that you called and verified there is nothing they can do for you and that estimate for professional repair is higher than the you’d be willing to put into that tool.

Yea if your having a fireworks show that’s definitely not right, like Bmack said if it’s not in warrenty I’d take it apart and see if you can clean it up and maybe readjust the brushes

Jimbo

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There could easily be build up on the commutator, it’s very common on high hour power tools. Where the brushes ride on the rotating part, pull the tool apart and clean it off good.

Thanks to all for your replies. I suspected the same thing but unfortunately I cannot figure out how to get the tool apart further than disassembling the handle, which does not get me to the commutator. I can however see the brushes making contact with the commutator and the sparks flying while it turns. The copper on the commutator is all black but not pitted. Also, there was 2 small pieces of metal rattling around inside that I was able to pull out with needle nose pliers. I thought it had something to do with the sparking but it appears it did not.

As you can see in the photo, no screw heads exposed.

If you go on ereplacementparts.com it should have an exploded view that may help you disassemble

Jimbo

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Gregavi wrote:

22 hours ago, Gregavi said:

Hi, I have a Craftsman 12 A recip saw that is sparking out the back air vents. I checked the brushes and there is still about 3/4″ of carbon left so that doesn’t appear to be the culprit. Can somebody suggest what could be the problem.

 

Thanks in advance.

Here’s a link to the aforementioned ereplacement parts site. You didn’t specify the model in the first post so good luck with the list!

http://www.ereplacementparts.com/craftsman-reciprocating-saw-parts-c-158286_171668.html

I’d imagine that splitting the handle is necessary. I’ve never opened a recip saw but it should be rather straight forward, it’s mostly overcoming the uncomfort since it’s not your field. Just go slow and you’ll figure it out. Just be careful if you know you have two pieces of plastic joining but no screws, it probably means there are clips…so figure out which side is the external part of the joint and use a pry tool or small screwdriver to pop the clips. 

If the brushes are OK and touching, and there isnt dirt or crap inbetween them…. You probably fried the armature/ stator 

The commutator is black you say? that’s your problem right there, hope you can get it apart and cleaned up

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