Update: my trusty impact gun gave up the ghost on a '98 Civic brake job yesterday
I was in the middle of swapping out the rear rotors, everything was going smooth, and then the gun just went silent. No click, no whir, nothing. It's a Milwaukee M18 I've had for about five years, so it's seen some real work. I checked the battery, tried a different one, even gave it a few love taps on the bench. Dead. Had to finish the job with a breaker bar and a lot of swearing, which added a solid hour to what should have been a quick swap. I'm torn between trying to fix it myself or just biting the bullet on a new one. Has anyone had luck rebuilding the motor on these, or is it a lost cause once they quit like that?
Man, that's rough. Did it smell burnt at all when it stopped? Like a sharp electrical smell from the vents. That usually tells you if the motor's fried or if it's maybe just the trigger switch.
Oh good point. If it's the motor you might also hear a weird hum or buzz before it dies, not just the smell. Did it make any noise like it was struggling to turn?