Dust Collection CT 48 E

[john bourland]

My CT48e dust collector stopped working.  The tool outlet still works, but no vac.  I thought the motor must be bad, but the voltage at the motor is only 40 V.  I thought the board must be bad, but I don't want to throw parts at it without knowing.  The voltage at the board where the motor plus in is also 40 V.  There is another limiter on the board that is not connected to a knob on the outside.  When I fiddle with that, I can get 70 V at the motor.  But still no action from the motor.  The motor says it is 120V.  Any thoughts? This tool is out of warranty and has about 8000 hours on it.

 

[squall_line]

Have you checked the brushes?

 

[Crazyraceguy]

For real? 8000 hours on a CT? That is every minute of the day, every day of the work-week, for 4 years  [eek] That's a lot

 

[john bourland]

Yes, I was also surprised by that number.  Last year I had this unit in for repair and the Festool Tech told me it had 8000 hrs on it.  I asked him how he knew that.  He said it has an internal clock and his tools could access that information.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

Oh, I wasn't doubting you at all. My example was just the simple math. You could have had the thing for many more years, stretching this significantly. With the advent of chips on nearly everything, I am not surprised at all, to learn that there is some form of internal diagnosis/recording.

Is there any relation to the problem that you had it serviced for last time?
I suppose it comes down to a choice between fixing it again and calling 8000 hours a good life and starting with a new one. It becomes a $$/time equation

 

[john bourland]

I agree with you.  My goal is to be educated on this product.  However, there is no info available on the electronics of this unit.  The only way I will spend more money on it is if I can diagnose it with certainty.  But without specs, that is not possible.  If I replace the circuit board and the motor, the only remaining original part will be the plastic housing.  So, as you said it is a matter of the money spent on repair vs the cost of a new extractor.

 

[john bourland]

I forgot to answer your question.  No, there is no relation to the current problem vs the previous service.  I have considered by-passing the electronics and just wiring the vac motor to an on off switch.  Then by leaving the on board outlet "hot", I can have a fully manual extraction system.  But that is a last resort.  I would prefer a more graceful solution.
Finally, this may be my paranoia talking, but I would not be surprised if there was an onboard program set to shut the system down after a number of hours of use has been reached.  This would require a Festool tech to reset the clock.  But I can't be sure. [wink]