Ro 150 Feq Sander Stopped working suddenly

[andythomson18]

Hi everyone, I'm looking for a bit of guidance with a very annoying situation. So I recently bought a preowned Ro 150 Feq sander from Ebay, and it worked well for a couple of weeks.

Then last night, I had the sander along with my shop vacuum (other brand) plugged into an extension cord . As I turned on the vacuum a circuit breaker triggered and cut the power to the circuit I was using. After resetting the breaker, I got back to sanding, then later on this happened again, but this time it was when I went to turn on the sander. After resetting the circuit breaker again, I went back to try the sander and it wouldn't turn on.

I've since checked the plug that I am using worked, checked the fuse in the plug it cord and also checked the continuity in the plug it cord with my multi meter, so with a process of elimination it looks like the problem is with the sander. After disassembling the back of the sander to get access to the Switch, electronics board, motor brushes and motor electrical connections. I've checked the Motor Brushes; These look in good shape, they have plenty of material left on them and there is nothing that looks like an issue. I also checked the continuity of these to the furthest point I could get to on the sealed electronics board. I also checked the switch - I checked the continuity of the switch when on and off, and it seems to be working fine. As I don't know how the electronics circuit works, the only thing I could really do is turn on the power and check if there is any current flowing from the electronics board connections to the motor. I am however reluctant to do this.

Would anyone be able to help me figure out any other things to check or with a diagnosis if they've heard of a similar issue before? Or does anyone know how the electronics work and/or know of a way to confirm if this is the root of the issue?

I'm considering buying a replacement electronics part, however I am reluctant to do this if its not a guaranteed fix, especially as I paid around £300 for the sander, and don't really want to have the total price of getting this sander working close to the price of a brand new sander. Does anyone know how much Festool UK charge for servicing for things like this?

Cheers, Andy

 

[Birdhunter]

Can you get your money back from eBay?

 

[andythomson18]

It's definitely something I'll look into, but with it being a unit that worked when I received it, and being an auction from a private seller I'm not sure where I stand in terms of my rights.

I've also emailed festool service for assistance, so hoping I get some guidance.

 

[AlexThePalex]

Would anyone be able to help me figure out any other things to check or with a diagnosis if they've heard of a similar issue before? Or does anyone know how the electronics work and/or know of a way to confirm if this is the root of the issue?

To help the process of elimination, you can bypass the electronics module and the switch completely. Take them out, and connect your mains cord directly to the connectors of the motor. Use a separate cord of which you know it works for sure.

But, if it trips your circuit breakers, there must be a short circuit somewhere. I doubt that would be in the electronics module. My first guess would be the Plug-It cord, these things break often. If that doesn't apppear to be the problem, I'd check for loose wires in the sander itself. Last thing that could be is that your motor is burned somewhere, and the burned wire curled up and touches another part of the windings inside.

Anyhoo, if it's not the cord but somewhere inside the sander, you're looking at a costly repair. That's why I buy a lot of used tools, but never over a distance, I always pick them up in person to check them out myself.

 

[junk731]

I had the same thing happen to me about 6 years ago, even though the brushes looked good they had worn out. Replaced them and everything worked fine.

 

[sancho57]

same thing happened to me, they replaced the cord and the plug on the sander, havent had a problem since, cant remember the exact cost but it was some thing like 60 quid including the cost of a replacement cord