Dewalt orbital sander stopped working

[Jason Miser]

I have a Dewalt 5" orbital sander that I was using fine one day, set it down to move the piece i was working on, picked it back up and nothing happened when I flipped the switch.

I have cleaned it, and tried bridging the contacts on the switch, it still refuses to turn on.

The motor is not seized, it turns by hand fine. There is no smell of burning, the outlet works.

I still have to test the cord, to verify that power is getting to the unit.

Any other ideas? It was full of saw dust, I may not have emptied the "bag" that is on it, enough. Would that cause this?

I have had it for several years, don't think I have the option of warranty.

[Charles Lent]

You can try wiggling the brushes. The sawdust may have caused one of them to stick in their slide causing it to no longer make contact with the armature commutator. Of course check the cord. They usually break very close to the tool where they are flexed the most, but will sometimes fail near the plug end. Bending these areas while checking for continuity will usually show the problem.

Charley

[Myk Rian]

Can't say what's wrong with it, or even guess, without having it in my hands.