Posted: 8/14/2025 2:51:50 AM EDT
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After 5 years! I checked both switches (mechanically) and opened up the clamshell. With the safety switch closed and pulling the trigger switch, I can feel the block the battery plugs into getting warm pretty quick but otherwise nothing. No hum, buzz, or any kind of sound at all. No shaft spin. There's clearly something electrically wrong with it. We'll see what Milwaukee says. Its been 5 years, so its pretty well past warranty. I really loved this saw, too. Came with a 16" bar but I use a 14" bar on it most of the time (easier to handle, fits in tractor better). But it had enough power to run an 18" bar, too if I needed to. |
Never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be. - Adm James Stockdale
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Milwaukee has a 5 year warranty, so sounds like you're right on the cusp, unless outdoor power has a different period which I'm not aware of. ETA just checked, outdoor power is 3 years. Damn, learn something new every day! Interested to see what Milwaukee comes back with. The one time I sent a tool in it was like $17 or something inconsequential like that to fix. Hopefully you get good news. |
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Originally Posted By -Obsessed-: Milwaukee has a 5 year warranty, so sounds like you're right on the cusp, unless outdoor power has a different period which I'm not aware of. ETA just checked, outdoor power is 3 years. Damn, learn something new every day! Interested to see what Milwaukee comes back with. The one time I sent a tool in it was like $17 or something inconsequential like that to fix. Hopefully you get good news. Yeah, I thought it was 5 years too. Nope. 3 on chainsaws. I'm not real hopeful about repair, to be honest. Everything from the battery block I felt getting warm to the electronics boards and both switches is hard wired and/or potted and listed as one big mess of a part in the parts manual as "electronics assembly" part #14-20-2001. Purchase price on that part is practically the price of a saw. I had just ordered extra drive sprockets and chains, too. Original drive sprocket was starting to show significant wear. I had also just ordered a M18 8" hatchet saw a few days prior. We'll see how that one works out. |
Never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be. - Adm James Stockdale
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Attached File Attached File Part in question. Looking at milwaukee's e-service repair portal Attached File I'm going to see what the service center in Houston tells me in person. I'll bet that price reflects them just swapping out that entire electronics assembly. They don't look like they're made to be serviced at all. |
Never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be. - Adm James Stockdale
| lol, I wonder if Louis Rossman would be willing to work on a chainsaw |
Never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be. - Adm James Stockdale
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Oh for sure. I may just have to lower my expectations and consider it a 5 year disposable saw. But damn... Having that ribbon cable and power cables be potted into that battery block and all of it be one single non-user serviceable assembly is a real ball-ache. Like its a design feature... designed to increase sales of new saws. If its just that little black brick the battery plugs into, it would be nice to be able to order a new one and plug it in. But as it is, I don't know if I could separate out and re-splice that ribbon cable even if I could find a donor parts saw to rob that part out of. |
Never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be. - Adm James Stockdale
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Wow, I just looked and it's all one assembly. P/N 14-20-2001 for my saw. Price runs from $2-300 with https://greatlakespowertools.com/ having the best price. For that much I'd probably just buy another and have a parts saw. Especially without knowing for sure that would fix it. Hopefully the warranty center will cover it, at least partially. I've only had mine a few months but it's been great. |
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Originally Posted By Some_Beach: That sucks. I keep eying those as something to keep in the truck so I don't have to worry about gas leaking Yeah, don't get me wrong. They are incredibly handy saws. Convenience is a big plus. And its fired right up and did whatever I asked of it every time for the past 5 years. But having opened one up... they seem to have bet heavily on the "Fuck you, buy another one" design philosophy. My 8" hatchet just got dropped off in the mail. I might do a little tree cutting with it when the temps get down below triple digits this evening.  If you aren't already invested in milwaukee batteries, look at Makita. They seem to have gone pretty hard on battery saws. |
Never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be. - Adm James Stockdale
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Originally Posted By eric496: Wow, I just looked and it's all one assembly. P/N 14-20-2001 for my saw. Price runs from $2-300 with https://greatlakespowertools.com/ having the best price. For that much I'd probably just buy another and have a parts saw. Especially without knowing for sure that would fix it. Hopefully the warranty center will cover it, at least partially. I've only had mine a few months but it's been great. Yep. The block the battery plugs into, the motor/spindle, both of those electronics boards you can see in the pic and both switches... all in one parts number, non-user serviceable assembly. Really stupid, imo. |
Never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be. - Adm James Stockdale
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The hatchet is nice. Zipped right through a mesquite trunk larger than the bar Attached File Attached File I got alot done and don't feel nearly as tired. Regardless of the other saw, this one handles about 90% of what I'm doing perfectly. I'd have preferred to use the M18 saw with my 14" bar on it for that last flush cut with the ground but the hatchet still got the job done. And it was a breeze chopping up the rest of it. |
Never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be. - Adm James Stockdale
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Originally Posted By andre3k: My Hatchet leaks bar oil like crazy. I have to drain it when I done using it. Are you using legit bar oil or just motor oil? I've found motor oil works but tends to leak more. Not enough tackifier compound or whatever in it. |
Never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be. - Adm James Stockdale
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Attached File Attached File Attached File Attached File Pretty good sized huisache. Again... more trunk than bar but it still powered through it. |
Never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be. - Adm James Stockdale
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Originally Posted By andre3k: Mystic bar & chain oil, it leaks like crazy. Originally Posted By andre3k: Originally Posted By 1Andy2: Are you using legit bar oil or just motor oil? I've found motor oil works but tends to leak more. Not enough tackifier compound or whatever in it. Yeah, I see what you mean. Mine is leaking a bit even with stihl bar oil, too. |
Never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be. - Adm James Stockdale
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Originally Posted By 1Andy2: https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/55344/1000019622_jpg-3608081.JPG https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/55344/1000019627_jpg-3608082.JPG https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/55344/1000019632_jpg-3608085.JPG https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/55344/1000019636_jpg-3608086.JPG Pretty good sized huisache. Again... more trunk than bar but it still powered through it. I love those little hand removers. I currently use a one-handed reciprocating saw for pruning and cutting smaller trees. Next comes the DeWalt battery 12" then the big gas saws, but every time I see one of these smaller ones I drool a little. |
Nobody ever wakes me at 2 in the morning telling me that my grass is out on the highway.~~Radiopat
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe
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Originally Posted By 1Andy2: After 5 years! I checked both switches (mechanically) and opened up the clamshell. With the safety switch closed and pulling the trigger switch, I can feel the block the battery plugs into getting warm pretty quick but otherwise nothing. No hum, buzz, or any kind of sound at all. No shaft spin. There's clearly something electrically wrong with it. We'll see what Milwaukee says. Its been 5 years, so its pretty well past warranty. I really loved this saw, too. Came with a 16" bar but I use a 14" bar on it most of the time (easier to handle, fits in tractor better). But it had enough power to run an 18" bar, too if I needed to. You may already know that I'm on my third DeWalt battery saw (the smaller one---12") as I posted about these saws extensively for a while. I realized when I got this third one that for my small business, it's gonna be a disposable tool. This one has lasted the longest but I've used it less frequently. I suspect most battery outdoor power equipment is going to fall into the "disposable" category to some degree. I despise that "use it up and throw it away" mindset but we are where we are. 
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Nobody ever wakes me at 2 in the morning telling me that my grass is out on the highway.~~Radiopat
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe
| There's only so many little parts in these guys that can go bad. I've had the switch in some milwaukee saws go bad. Its the same switch that other saws use, and sold it lowes/HD on the shelf. The mosfets are also a fairly common thing for brushless tools. I don't think that's one the home gamer is gonna be replacing on their own. |
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Originally Posted By giantpune: Its part of the magic inside the makes the pixes dance where they need to and help keep all the smoke contained. How nice of you to give such an informative answer. |
Nobody ever wakes me at 2 in the morning telling me that my grass is out on the highway.~~Radiopat
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe
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Originally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs: How nice of you to give such an informative answer. If you really wanted to know the answer, you'd have just googled. There are articles and wikipedia pages written on the subject. You didn't really expect somebody to write it all from scratch in a forum post for you, did you? Honestly, it really doesn't matter what one is. If you have to ask, you aren't going to be able to replace it at home. So in your case, the provided answer is every bit as useful as the real answer.
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Originally Posted By giantpune: There's only so many little parts in these guys that can go bad. I've had the switch in some milwaukee saws go bad. Its the same switch that other saws use, and sold it lowes/HD on the shelf. The mosfets are also a fairly common thing for brushless tools. I don't think that's one the home gamer is gonna be replacing on their own. Mosfets don't seem that insurmountable. https://youtu.be/phuATraH3L8?si=KUc0anSXNdH6wXB8 |
Never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be. - Adm James Stockdale
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Originally Posted By 1Andy2: Mosfets don't seem that insurmountable. https://youtu.be/phuATraH3L8?si=KUc0anSXNdH6wXB8 That guy didn't show you soldering back on the individual little legs. And in many power tools, the board with the little mosfets are covered in epoxy. |
| Good luck… I had my M18 chainsaw go down about six months after purchase, same issue, quoted me $300 something for repair, told them to pound sand. Fought for another eight months with Milwaukee then eventually my local ace hardware rep swapped it out with a new one. Now my new M18 is my back up to my stihl and hangs out in the back of the 4Runner, barely gets used. |
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Originally Posted By CJSCARH: Good luck… I had my M18 chainsaw go down about six months after purchase, same issue, quoted me $300 something for repair, told them to pound sand. Fought for another eight months with Milwaukee then eventually my local ace hardware rep swapped it out with a new one. Now my new M18 is my back up to my stihl and hangs out in the back of the 4Runner, barely gets used. 6 months? Still in warranty. They should have just swapped it right out. |
Never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be. - Adm James Stockdale
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Originally Posted By giantpune: That guy didn't show you soldering back on the individual little legs. And in many power tools, the board with the little mosfets are covered in epoxy. Originally Posted By giantpune: Originally Posted By 1Andy2: Mosfets don't seem that insurmountable. https://youtu.be/phuATraH3L8?si=KUc0anSXNdH6wXB8 That guy didn't show you soldering back on the individual little legs. And in many power tools, the board with the little mosfets are covered in epoxy. I didn't get that far on mine, but yeah, you're probably right given the rest of this thing. I'm not sure what those big square ICs are on the big circuit board with the yellow insulation or whatever on the legs... maybe mosfets? I might play around with it some more someday and see if I can figure out what's wrong. |
Never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be. - Adm James Stockdale
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Originally Posted By giantpune: If you really wanted to know the answer, you'd have just googled. There are articles and wikipedia pages written on the subject. You didn't really expect somebody to write it all from scratch in a forum post for you, did you? Honestly, it really doesn't matter what one is. If you have to ask, you aren't going to be able to replace it at home. So in your case, the provided answer is every bit as useful as the real answer. It is not, however, in the spirit of this tech forum. Yes, I could google. I did google. Lots of things can be googled, but someone who actually knows can usually give a better, more useful answer, than what you get, correct or not, with a google search. You probably know that though, and didn't mind letting the dickhead out. In future, please either be helpful, or go elsewhere. This is your one warning. ~Kitties |
Nobody ever wakes me at 2 in the morning telling me that my grass is out on the highway.~~Radiopat
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe
Born with a low tolerance for bullshit
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Originally Posted By 1Andy2: Yeah, don't get me wrong. They are incredibly handy saws. Convenience is a big plus. And its fired right up and did whatever I asked of it every time for the past 5 years. But having opened one up... they seem to have bet heavily on the "Fuck you, buy another one" design philosophy. My 8" hatchet just got dropped off in the mail. I might do a little tree cutting with it when the temps get down below triple digits this evening. If you aren't already invested in milwaukee batteries, look at Makita. They seem to have gone pretty hard on battery saws. Makita is 100 percent what I would buy if I were not in the DeWalt system. I wish they had been more available when I started buying my small tools. I've used several of their saws at trade shows. They rock. I don't know have personal experience with the longevity or reliability but they seem more invested in quality, overall, than either DeWalt or Milwaukee at this point. |
Nobody ever wakes me at 2 in the morning telling me that my grass is out on the highway.~~Radiopat
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe