switch problems with Milwaukee hole shooter

[Duct Tape Man]

I have a 15-year-old Milwaukee Hole Shooter that I love using, but the cord is frayed right near the bottom of the drill (see pic 1). All I want to do is shorten the cord and cut off the frayed section closest to the drill. In disassembling the drill, the wires go into the trigger switch, I can't see any screws or pins or anything to loosen to allow me to remove the power cord from the switch, the wires go into the sealed switch, and I cannot pull them out without fear of messing it completely up.

How do you remove the wires from this sealed switch, without damaging it?

 

[ganymede]

The wires are held in by little strips of spring steel. You need to stick a pick or scriber in the hole and at the same time, pull the wire out.

 

[tube_guy]

I've done this before on a similar older Milwaukee drill. Like ganymede said, the wires are pushed into the holes in the switch and there are small pieces of spring material that act like barbs to prevent the wire from being pulled out. I also tried the pick approach, but every pick I had was too large in diameter and I ended up ruining the switch. Removing the wires seemed to go just fine, but then when I tried to push a wire back in, just as a test, the switch would no longer hold the wire. I was replacing the switch which had gone bad anyway, so for me that wasn't such a big deal. I was primarily interested in getting the old switch out. Maybe if you have some really small diameter picks, and are very gentle, it might work out for you without ruining the switch.

 

[91bronc300]

Are the actual copper conductors frayed or just the insulation is cracked? If no damage to the actual conductors you could just cut the boot back a little, paint it all up with liquid electrical tape, then wrap it real good with quality electrical tape.

 

[Golgoroth]

I have changed out a... few... of these switches.

Best thing to use is a paper clip. Unfold one side of it and make a mini T handle tool. Next to where the wire enters the switch body will be a small round or square hole. This hole is where you want to stick the paper clip in and wiggle it around a bit while applying a gentle pull on the wire.

Reinserting the new wires can also be a bit of a pain. Easiest thing to do is to tin the tips of the wires with some solder. If no solder is available go for a tight twist on the exposed stranded wires and then use the paper clip again so the wires slip in without getting all bent up.

 

[Duct Tape Man]

Well, after playing with it a little, I decided against taking the old wires out of the switch, I don't want to take them out and take a chance that they won't hold new wires again. Instead, I cut the existing wires back about 2 inches, cutting out the bad portion of the power cord, and using two small wire nuts to connect the old leads to the new leads. Packed in there nice and snug, put it back together and works like a charm again! This way, if the cord frays again, I just have to screw around with the wire nuts, and not the switch.

 

[Zeke]

^^^^ that's how I would have done it. I use a lot of these:

 

[tube_guy]

I have changed out a... few... of these switches.

Best thing to use is a paper clip. Unfold one side of it and make a mini T handle tool. Next to where the wire enters the switch body will be a small round or square hole. This hole is where you want to stick the paper clip in and wiggle it around a bit while applying a gentle pull on the wire.

Reinserting the new wires can also be a bit of a pain. Easiest thing to do is to tin the tips of the wires with some solder. If no solder is available go for a tight twist on the exposed stranded wires and then use the paper clip again so the wires slip in without getting all bent up.

The really old switches don't have the holes next to where the wire enters the switch body. They look just like the picture in the original post. My drill is from 1978 or so, and there were no holes except where the wire itself enters the switch body.