I’m a fan of Bosch hammer drills. They’ve got a lot of functionality because of multiple operation modes. Plus, they’re usually not a hassle. But, usually doesn’t mean forever.
Sooner or later, users are going to get an issue with theirs. So, I want to help them deal with that or prepare for it by discussing the most common Bosch hammer drill problems and their troubleshooting.
Troubleshooting 4 Common Bosch Hammer Drill Problems
- Battery Issues
As is the case with any other battery-operated device, Bosch hammer drills suffer from battery complications sooner or later. That’s just because batteries don’t last an eternity.
They eventually lose their capacity, and as such, their functionality. It’s a normal thing for older batteries, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have to deal with it.
Once your battery reaches a certain age, it’s best to replace it. Most people with Bosch hammer drills that have old batteries probably know why I’m saying so.
Take the example of my old Bosch battery, which you can see in the image above this. This battery started to get in the way of a lot of things.
Its battery wouldn’t charge properly sometimes, it would shut down in the middle of use despite being on charge for so long, and have a bunch of other problems.
So, when your battery starts behaving like this, you know it’s time to replace it. If you buy a new battery that acts like this, you should be able to easily replace it for free with a functioning one.
But before you buy a new battery for your Bosch hammer drill, you should try to reset it first to fix the issue. I have a video about how you can do this and you can watch it below.
To do this, you need another working Bosch battery with the same voltage. Connect the positive and negative terminals of both batteries.
Then, press the battery indicator to check if the power flows through the battery in balance. This should have reset your faulty Bosch battery.
Your Bosch battery charger can also help you determine if the battery you have is still good. It has different light indicators which tells the different state of a battery plugged in it.
Read: Bosch Charger Light Meaning
I have made a video about this topic and you can watch down below.
If you see a blinking green it means the battery is charging, a solid green means the battery is now fully charged, a blinking red means the battery plugged on it is already bad, and a solid red means a hot or cold relay.
- Drill Not Hammering
Some people have complained to me before about their Bosch hammer drill not hammering the way it’s supposed to. That’s problematic since hammering is one of its main features.
But, before you troubleshoot this, I want you to inspect the current setting you’re using. That’s because some of these settings actually don’t hammer, and just drill or chisel regularly.
That’s why I want you to inspect this, as it could just be a self-error. When you want these tools to hammer something, make sure you adjust them to the setting I highlighted in the picture below.
But, if the setting is already correct, there’s probably something wrong with the drill bit. The bit or the chuck it sits on might have debris blocking its path and reducing movement.
In some cases, it can also be too loose or too tight. Both these things affect motion too, since the drill bit isn’t sitting the the right way.
But, these are problems you can easily fix and avoid in the future by taking good care of the drill bit and chuck. Clean both of them with a cloth regularly, and make sure the bit is attached right.
- Light Not Turning On
The light on Bosch hammer drills is super helpful when you’re working in dark corners or tight areas. It helps a lot with vision, but that’s only when it works.
Unfortunately, that’s not always the case for some users. Eventually, the light might stop turning on, despite the switch being on.
An obvious sign is damage to the outer layer of the light. Is the plastic cracked or shattered in any way?
If yes, that means the light was hit by something with a lot of force, and that made it stop working. It’s not always that easy though, as sometimes, the damage is internal.
An LED inside might have burnt out because of overheating or a short circuit. These things aren’t possible to treat at home unless you have the right tools and very specific replacement parts.
So, I recommend taking it to a repair person instead and seeing if they can help.
- Grease Leaks
If you ever notice a dark and/or sticky liquid coming out of these devices, it’s probably just some grease or oil. This is completely normal, but alarming if you don’t know about it at first.
The reason why you might see this is because these devices have a lot of grease in them. It’s there from the start to ensure smooth operation and no jamming.
But, when it gets hot, this grease starts to melt. When that happens, it has nowhere to go, so it starts leaking outside of the tool.
If you ever smell or feel any liquid coming out of your Bosch hammer drill, I recommend checking the points I highlighted in this photo. They’re usually where it might come out of.
Whenever you notice these leaks, just wipe them off. They aren’t harmful and won’t damage the tool. But, it’s still best to avoid them by taking proper care of the device.
Since heat is usually what makes the grease leak out, just store your Bosch hammer drill in a better environment. Don’t let it sit in the heat for too long, or this’ll happen!
