I have a DeWalt impact wrench, and I’m mostly pretty happy with it. It’s a reliable and simple little thing that’s helped me a lot.
But, I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t have its fair share of problems to look out for.
If you got a DeWalt impact wrench too, here are some common problems you should know about so you can deal with them.
Common DeWalt Impact Wrench Problems
- Battery Related Issues
Not Holding Charge, or Not Charging At All
DeWalt batteries are usually pretty decent, but that doesn’t meant they’re perfect.
You’ll encounter problems with them every now and then, especially after years of use.
In the worst cases, they might stop holding charge, or not charge at all.
The image below shows how the DeWalt 20V battery looks like after removing its battery cover.
Put it on charge for as long as it usually takes to get to full power to prove that it is still chargeable.
To test if it is holding charge, let it sit for a few days before using a multimeter to test the voltage, and press the battery indicator to show the full 3 LEDs are both turned on.
If your battery is healthy, the results should display 18V – 20V when tested with multimeter, and the battery indicator will still show the same full 3 LEDs.
My video below show you how to measure the voltage of DeWALT battery, my 20V battery was tested and it was recorded with 19.9V through the multimeter.
Battery Indicator Not Working
The battery indicator is what tells you how much charge the device is currently holding.
If working correctly, it should be lighting up on your battery like mine does in this image.
My DeWalt battery was just fully charged hence it shows all 3 LEDs turned on.
If your DeWalt battery third indicator LED won’t light up, read this post.
Read this post to troubleshoot DeWALT battery and charger indicator not working issue.
But, if the lights aren’t on, that means your battery is either dead or the LEDs burned out.
You can inspect the LEDs closer by taking the cover off the battery as shown in the image below.
- Charging Problem
If your battery won’t charge or draw power regardless of how long you leave it on, the problem could be due to either dead battery or faulty charger.
Dead Battery
If the battery already is bad or unhealthy, it won’t provide enough power for the DeWalt impact wrench to work.
For example, the impact wrench with weak battery won’t be to remove the lug nuts as it should.
In either case, there’s not much you can do, unless you replace it with a new battery.
Before that, you could try to reset it by “Jump Start” the battery as shown in my video below:
I would recommend taking the cover off the battery to see if there’s something wrong with the wiring inside that’s stopping it from drawing power.
Or you could try to charge another battery on the same charger to identify if it is the battery problem or charger related issue.
Faulty Charger
If the DeWalt battery charger itself is having problem, it won’t be able to charge the DeWalt battery normally.
As shown in the image below, this how my DeWalt charger looks like.
To inspect the internal components of the charger, simply remove the charger cover.
The internal components of the DeWalt charger comprise of capacitor, transformer, diode, etc.
If either one of the internal components is faulty, the charger basically won’t be able to work normally.
Inspect the surface of the circuit board if there is any signs of burnout.
- Weak Impact and Torque
Sometimes, people feel as if the impact and torque on the DeWalt impact wrench is a little weaker than what you want at the moment, especially when you are trying to remove the nuts of big vehicle.
Or sometimes you might feel that the impact wrench is not impacting as usual.
There are exact settings for the type of workload you want to handle, and specifications written on the side of the wrench that tell you more about them.
As long as you follow these specifications and use the proper settings, you won’t feel like the impact and torque is lackluster.
Precision Wrench Mode Not Working
If the precision wrench mode not working on your impact wrench, that likely means the impact wrench cannot Prevent Overtightening in Forward, and Run-Off in Reverse.
I recommend that you make sure you’re using the right settings for the job, and keep working towards getting better with the impact wrench.
- LED Light Not Working or Flickering
There is one LED light on my DeWalt impact wrench as shown in the image below.
The LED light is quite useful especially when I use it in a darker environment.
However, the LED lights on the drill can overheat or fuse after a while.
When this happens, they’ll start flicker or stop working altogether.
You’ll need to get them replaced in this scenario, as there’s no way to repair an LED once it gets too damaged.
I have written a post dedicated to troubleshoot DeWALT impact wrench light issue, read it here.
This is how the LED light looks like when the impact wrench cover is removed.
Besides, there are some reports saying that the LED light on impact wrench would just stay on forever, which is not normal.
- Too Heavy
I don’t think this is exactly a problem, but some people who work all day with tools might want to know that the DeWalt impact wrench is quite heavy.
The weight isn’t that surprising when you look at the size and heavy-duty capability of this device though.
I did sometimes use the impact wrench as impact driver, but the weight makes it not really ideal for this purpose.
Just take a look at how big it is compared to my hand.
I did a weight test, and it turns out it’s 7.23lbs or 3.28kg with the battery attached, which can get tiring to carry around all day.
- Difficult to Attach and Detach Socket
Sometimes when I try to attach different sizes of socket to the impact wrench, I found it quite difficult to do this.
This can be either due to attach angle problem or due to the “Square” shape on the Anvil of the impact wrench.
Or I would recommend to use a compatible socket that can fit into the impact wrench anvil easily.
I have recorded a video on how to change the socket of impact wrench.
Some socket sizes are just incompatible for it.
- Forward/Reverse Button Problem
I haven’t encountered problems with my forward/reverse button while using DeWalt impact wrenches yet, but I know some other people have.
If you’re unable to press down on the button, something might be blocking it on the inside.
This could be debris or the mechanical mechanism inside the impact wrench is not working as it should be.
You’ll have to take the cover off as image below and inspect if something’s in the way, or if the wiring near the button is faulty.
Besides, you need to know there is a locking mechanism on this impact wrench.
When it is set to center position, the impact wrench is basically locked and not able to move at all, which is normal.
In this case, some people might suspect it is due to impact wrench trigger problems, but it is just locked and you can unlock it easily.
- Speed Control Not Working
I find myself using the speed control feature on the DeWalt regularly, so a problem like this would be super annoying for me.
In case you have something similar happen to your impact wrench, I’d say that the circuit board probably shorted or the speed control button is disconnected inside and not working anymore.
What you can do in this case is to remove the casing of the DeWalt impact wrench.
Read this post to troubleshoot impact wrench speed setting related issue.
And this how the speed control button looks like, try to adjust it to different speed settings and inspect any loosen wire connection.
- Motor Related Problem
There are multiple problems you can run into with the motor of your DeWalt.
One of the most common and problematic ones is overheating, which you can fix by keeping the device in suitable temperatures.
Other than that, it can get stuck because of dirt and debris inside of it. It might stop turning and spinning altogether too while you’re using it.
The reasons and solutions for this can vary, so make sure to take good care of your motor.
However, one good thing about the motor of my DeWalt impact wrench is that is it brushless.
Which means can reduce the speed which the impact wrench motor being worn out.
Also, as you can see from the image below, there are connections to and from the motor.
Make sure those connections are all secured.
- Battery is Expensive and Not Compatible With Other Brands
Expensive Battery
One last thing I want to tell you is that the batteries for DeWalt impact wrenches are usually quite expensive.
They last long and are reliable. But, when you need a new one, it’ll hurt your wallet.
The price is normally quite expensive compared to other less popular brands.
For example, my 20V DeWalt battery alone would cost around $99 – $150.
With this price, you can buy full set of impact wrench without much branding.
Incompatible with other brand
Probably you don’t know that the DeWalt and Black & Decker are from the same company.
As you can see in the image below, my DeWalt battery is manufactured by Black & Decker Co, Ltd.
You might be thinking that their batteries might be compatible.
Since Black & Decker battery is cheaper compared to the DeWalt’s battery, you might want to get the Black & Decker Battery and use it on the DeWalt impact wrench.
However, my experiment shows that they are not compatible and not interchangeable.
Conclusion
I have listed the most common problem the DeWalt impact wrench would face.
If you are facing any problem similar, leave your feedback in the comment box below.
