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Oops, I let some smoke out!

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Stuey

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 8, 2008
Messages
11,034
Location
28m above sea level
Oops, I let some of the magic smoke out of my 10.8V cordless driver. I couldn't put it back in, but the drill still runs okay, I guess there's still some smoke left. :bounce:

I was working on my Craftsman RAID review and decided to gauge the muscle of non-impact tools for comparison.

Used a 12V Dewalt li-ion screwdriver to drive a 1/4" x 1" lag bolt into a 2x4. The clutch was set to max torque, and apparently there was enough resistance for the motor to smoke up a little bit, but not enough for the battery's overcurrent protection to kick in.

It was still impressive to see how far I could take the screwdriver. All of the impact drivers I tested were able to drive the lag with ease.
 
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comedyman809

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Joined
Dec 29, 2009
Messages
1,179
Location
Smithtown, NY-thats in suffolk county long island.
i used my 12v bosch lithium mini drill/driver to try and pull up the pool cover bolts to winter his pool last year, and it wouldnt even budge the bolt.

my fathers makita impactor pulled them up with no problems.....

and his was an older nicd makita.


a little embarrassed i was as i was trying to show off the new bosch tool that i had!!!


it is a great tool, but not for when an impactor is needed. i do have a few cordless impactors, large and small
 
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djjsr

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Joined
Sep 4, 2006
Messages
4,796
Location
In the cornfields
Stuey - See if you can find a shop that works on British cars. I had a couple of MGs that were constantly leaking smoke and found refills are available. This stuff works with almost any electrical thing that runs on DC. The exception is the cordless tools at Harbor Freight. Seems the Chinese smoke is not compatible and even when refilled, the HF tool will stop working.

371780712.jpg
 
M

MrMark

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Joined
Jan 25, 2010
Messages
4,626
Location
Southern Cal.
djjsr said:
Stuey - See if you can find a shop that works on British cars. I had a couple of MGs that were constantly leaking smoke and found refills are available. This stuff works with almost any electrical thing that runs on DC. The exception is the cordless tools at Harbor Freight. Seems the Chinese smoke is not compatible and even when refilled, the HF tool will stop working.

371780712.jpg
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That is the best post I have read on GJ. I can't stop laughing at that.
 
M

mrholeshot

MEMBER EMERITUS
Joined
Jun 22, 2010
Messages
8,043
djjsr said:
Stuey - See if you can find a shop that works on British cars. I had a couple of MGs that were constantly leaking smoke and found refills are available. This stuff works with almost any electrical thing that runs on DC. The exception is the cordless tools at Harbor Freight. Seems the Chinese smoke is not compatible and even when refilled, the HF tool will stop working.

371780712.jpg
Click to expand...

My first technicians job outside of my Dads shop was a MG/Triumph/Jag/Fiat dealer. We could have used a parts room full of that stuff. Talk about a shop with a never ending work load, wheww!
 
L

LEVE

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Joined
Jun 23, 2008
Messages
1,727
Location
On the Willapa
The Lucas Theory of Electronics, or all things run on smoke:

All electrical components and wiring harnesses depend on proper circuit
functioning, which is the transmission of charged ions by retention of the
visible spectral manifestation known as "smoke". Smoke is the thing that makes electrical circuits work. Don't be fooled by scientists and engineers talking about excited electrons and the like. Smoke is the key to all things electrical. We know this to be true because every time one lets the smoke out of an electrical circuit, it stops working. This can be verified repeatedly through empirical testing. For example, if one places a large copper bar across the terminals of a battery, prodigious quantities of smoke are liberated and
the battery shortly ceases to function. In addition, if one observes smoke escaping from an electrical component such as a Lucas voltage regulator, it will also be observed that the component no longer functions.

The logic is elementary and inescapable! The function of the wiring harness is to conduct the smoke from one device to another. When the wiring harness
springs a leak and lets all the smoke out of the system, nothing works right
afterward.

Starter motors were considered unsuitable for British motorcycles for some time largely because they regularly released large quantities of smoke from the electrical system.

It has been reported that Lucas electrical components are possibly more prone to electrical leakage (duh) than their Bosch, Japanese or American counterparts. Experts point out that this is because Lucas is British, and all things British leak. British engines leak oil, British shock absorbers, hydraulic forks, and disk brake systems leak fluid, British tires leak air and
British Intelligence leaks national defense secrets.

Therefore, it follows that British electrical systems must leak smoke. Once again, the logic is clear and inescapable. Sometimes you may miss the component releasing the smoke that makes your electrical system function correctly, but if you sniff around you can often find the faulty component by the undeniable and telltale smoke smell. Sometimes this is a better indicator than standard electrical tests performed with a volt-ohm meter.

In conclusion, the basic concept of transmission of electrical energy in the form of smoke provides a clear and logical explanation of the mysteries of electrical components and why they fail.

"A gentleman does not motor about after dark." - Joeseph Lucas, 1842 - 1903
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