Hitachi NR90GC2 fan has stopped working

[AlBundy99]

Good evening

I have a Hitachi NR90GC2 nailer that doesn't get used a lot, probably less than 5000 nails in total but it's now stopped working. I have been using it and noticed that the fan was running slower than usual so I replaced the battery with a freshly charged one but the fan continued to run slow and then stopped and now nothing. Occasionally if i depress the nose the fan will run very slowly and then stop, switched batteries to the original now charged and still the same.

Could anyone offer any advice please?

thanks
Andy

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Bad contact? Fan motor bearing shot?

 

[AlBundy99]

Thanks for responding so quickly, I've removed the motor and connected directly to the battery and it runs. It did stick a few times so I did think the motor had gone, which would be typical as a replacement is expensive, bit then it started to run. So I think your suggestion of had contact makes sense. I'll stop it down further and see if I can find anything, you don't have any advice on where to start looking do you?

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Start with the battery contacts. On Paslode guns they are notorious for blackening and giving a poor contact - which of course affects the fan. Senco/Rawl guns can have similar problems in my experience

 

[AlBundy99]

Right I've tracked it to the motor, it appears to stick. I took the piston assembly off and connected the fan back up, pulled the switch and the fan blades twitched but didn't run, give it a flick and it goes quite happily. Do it again and it does the same thing so it appears the most expensive bit has gone... again. This will be the second motor it's had as the first packed in about a year ago. I stupidly decided to buy a spare instead of sending back to Hitachi as I was in the middle of building a garage and couldn't be without it for weeks. Now this one has gone, different fault but still bloody annoying. It's like it's stuck between the brushes and needs a nudge to get it going. So the question is do I stump up for another motor or sell for spares on eBay and buy another make. Just seems the motor will also a few thousand nails and pack in at the cost of £120. If I do sell what would you recommend I buy?

 

[Deleted member 174758]

If you insist on a gas nailer (but TBH, I wouldn't) then I'd look at either the Senco GT90CH or the near identical Rawl WW90CH (which have interchangeable parts, in the main because they come from the same factory in Taiwan). I had a GT90CH for 5 years as my main gun - more powerful than the equivalent (at the time) Paslode IM90 - and today I still have two Rawl WW90CH guns (one fairly new, the other a bit of a nail). TBH I don't like gas nailers, but I recognise that they are lighter than cordless (battery only) 1st fix guns making them less tiring to use when working above my head. In 10 plus years I've needed 4 replacement batteries, one charger and an igniter board ( under warranty). Not too bad

A better alternative, at least to my mind for less intense use, are the cordless guns from DW and Hitachi. I've had a deWalt DCN692 (the better two speed model) for about 4-1/2 years and been very happy with it, other than the weight, which makes it tiring to use for extended periods when working above the head (e.g as in retro fitting solid strutting between flooring joists). Several colleagues are now using them for timber framing and profess their satisfaction with them. My current cordless nailer is a Hitachi NR1890. Whilst I prefer this to the DW gun (it can bump nail the 50mm ring shanks we use for sub-flooring almost as fast as a pneumatic nailer is why, although I concede that mine is a specific need), if anything it is a tad heavier than the DW gun

So, if you are a intermittent user, and if can cope with the extra weight, a cordless gun could well be the way to go

 

[AlBundy99]

Thank you JobAndKnock for the recommendations and for all your assistance, it's greatly appreciated. I am an intermittent user and pretty sure the weight won't be an issue, so will investigate the cordless guns.