T18 3weeks old will not drill

Mack1108!

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Joined
Aug 10, 2016
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T18 stopped mid drilling a 2 1/2" hole. Only beeps now and will not drill. Putting a damper on installing these cabinets as i have removed all other drills from use. How do i get it restarted!?
 
Make sure it's in drill mode, not screw mode, using the setting on the top. Drill mode disables the clutch. Screw mode enables the clutch which is set using the dial on the back.

Welcome to the forum.
 
Thanks for the response..Switched to drill mode and still same thing. Pull the trigger and it beeps once then nothing. Battery is at full charge and works in the Carvex so its not the battery. I remember in the manual that it mentioned an explanation and interpretation on the drill beeps. The manual is not on site.
 
Just rotated the hole saw by hand and pulled the trigger..a little of this and it blew a puff of smoke out through the vents. Handle is hot to the touch and battery life indicator is in rapid blinking mode same with rapid blinking of the work light up front. Disappointed with this drill. Was not pushing it very hard at all. Ive installed cabinets for years and never have had any drill not be able to handle the holes in a sink base cabinet.
 
Im going to let it cool for a few hours with no battery. See if that works. Totally brought the inststall to a complete halt.  Not good.
 
If it's smoking with a brushless motor it has to be the electronics. As opposed to the vast majority of drills on the market, the current lineup of Festool 15v and 18v drills have electronic clutches. Also, because of the electronic clutch, when the drill encounters too much torque it stops with that "beeping" as a safety measure for both user and drill. I don't want you to think I'm putting the blame on you so please don't take it that way but, trying to push through the beeping safety measure too much may have caused the electronics in the drill to overheat or malfunction.

Either way I would give a call to Festool customer service and get the repair or replacement of the drill going as soon as you can.
 
Mack1108! said:
Im going to let it cool for a few hours with no battery. See if that works. Totally brought the inststall to a complete halt.  Not good.

Have you tried using the second battery that came with your drill?  If nothing else, it would help eliminate/identify the first battery as the culprit.
 
Thanks for the input,yah! Battery is not the culprit.
Being new to this drill i may not have recognized the warning beeps. Definitely need a replacement.
 
I've cut 6" holes with them so it sounds like a defect. In general though, these are not the days of the Edsel and you do not generally recover from a meltdown by letting anything "cool off." If there's smoke coming out of it, just stop. 
 
I agree! I surely didnt expect an 18 volt to be limited im its ability. Must be a defective drill. Sucks bc i really like the functionality of it!
 
I don't think the T18 is really an appropriate tool for such a large sized hole. If this is your intended use I'd suggest seeing if you can return it under the 30 day returns policy (provided they don't think it's been used outside intended specification) and maybe get something like the PDC 18/4, which is more suited to such tasks.
 
I've got two of these drills and I've made many holes bigger than what you are describing. Think you for a bad egg sadly.
 
Yeah thats what ive come to expect out if festool. Ill try a replacement and hope for the best. Love the T-18.
 
Must be a lemon.
I cut 3 inch holes all the time through cabinets no problem.
 
Right on! Replacement by Amazon on its way(no charge) Ship the old one back within 30 days they said👍🏻
 
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