Help me to ID this part from my corded Ryobi electric grass trimmer.

[Blinkybill]

I have a 240 V grass trimmer Ryobi ELT1100A which was working fine until today. It suddenly stopped working.

Squeezing the trigger now does nothing.

I've opened it up. I'm a complete novice at electronics and was more interested if I could identify why it has failed before putting it in the trash.

I have a basic multimeter and was simply checking continuity between different sections.

The orange trigger pushes on what I suspect is a switch. There is continuity from the pins of the plug to the switch and from the switch to the motor. However checking for continuity across the switch when the trigger is pressed is negative. I'm checking the 2 screws that connect the two blue wires.

• Does this mean the switch is the point of failure?
• Is the black box connected to the switch a capacitor and if so what is its role?
• If the switch is the likely issue, would it be difficult to find a replacement and screw in the wires to fix the trimmer?

Thanks

[Xena E]

1• yes!

2• Yes! It's for transient suppression.

3• Yes! And no it shouldnt be hard to find a replacement. Google is your friend, if Ryobi themselves are unhelpful.

A lot of those switches are generic and can be multiple sourced.

Just screw the wires into the new switch and away you go.

Regards,
X

Edit:

The switch appears to me made by a company called Shanho ... Happy hunting.

[inse]

If you have skillful fingers, you could also try to carefully pry open the switch, maybe the contacts only need a little cleaning.
There is a spring inside, take care not to lose any parts.

[Blinkybill]

Yes, googling reveals that the switch is proprietary. The model is past the time of support so this part is either out of stock or so expensive as to not be worthwhile. I may give a try to see if I can open it up but agree it's very small.

[inse]

As it is a double-pole switch, and if only one side failed, it would be possible to bridge that (not that I would advise you to do so ;-)

[wilfred]

Failing a reasonably priced replacement from Ryobi, you could search on places like Aliexpress for a trigger switch which seems to be how they generically describe power tool switches.

If you're prepared to have a go fitting a non standard replacement you first need to know the size of the present switch to be sure the replacement will fit and fit securely with a minimum of trouble. Ideally you want a switch that is DPST ie a pushbutton that switches both mains wires,  has screw terminals, is rated for 250V AC and has the button in a suitable position so you can retain your current trigger and does not have a push to unlock button on the side.

I found this on a quick search. Don't know how to shrink the URL or if it will work once pasted in a post.
This one CR-623F was from a listing with 20 varieties pictured. Just to serve as an example
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006697730740.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.pcDetailTopMoreOtherSeller.15.7dbcM911M911Y3&gps-id=pcDetailTopMoreOtherSeller&scm=1007.40050.354490.0&scm_id=1007.40050.354490.0&scm-url=1007.40050.354490.0&pvid=aa1dbe29-c9a8-4949-9b8a-46c49d14e169&_t=gps-id:pcDetailTopMoreOtherSeller,scm-url:1007.40050.354490.0,pvid:aa1dbe29-c9a8-4949-9b8a-46c49d14e169,tpp_buckets:668%232846%238111%231996&pdp_npi=4%40dis%21AUD%211.10%210.95%21%21%214.92%214.23%21%402101246417357266510194525e9751%2112000038036955612%21rec%21AU%21%21ABX&utparam-url=scene%3ApcDetailTopMoreOtherSeller%7Cquery_from%3A

Another idea might be to bolt a pair of these from Jaycar  together (or just the one) and see if you can make it work space-wise and mechanically.
https://www.jaycar.com.au/spdt-250vac-10a-micro-switch-with-lever/p/SM1040
It seems plenty robust enough electrically and micro-switches like this are common in microwave ovens and are also a common source of failure eventually. I would say they are the most likely failure as repeatedly switching mains is a tough life for a switch. And leafblowers are switched on and off constantly in some peoples hands. You may not need the lever at all. This was all I could find at Jaycar that had screw terminals.

If you were prepared to solder or crimp spade terminals and extend the current wires you could consider more switches.

If it were me I wouldn't be beyond hacking an in-line lamp switch and taping it to the handle. But I'm not proud of it.

[wilfred]

As it is a double-pole switch, and if only one side failed, it would be possible to bridge that (not that I would advise you to do so ;-)

I would do that. Not a recommendation either. But how far behind is the other side? It is an easy option though.

[inse]

If it were me I wouldn't be beyond hacking an in-line lamp switch and taping it to the handle. But I'm not proud of it.

That would even go below my quite relaxed safety standards as you would not want the trimmer to keep running once you release the switch…
Edit: next hacking level, skip the switch - plug in to start trimming, unplug when finished 😵😉

[wilfred]

If it were me I wouldn't be beyond hacking an in-line lamp switch and taping it to the handle. But I'm not proud of it.

That would even go below my quite relaxed safety standards as you would not want the trimmer to keep running once you release the switch…
Edit: next hacking level, skip the switch - plug in to start trimming, unplug when finished 😵😉

 You win. 

[BurningTantalum]

If you do try to open the switch to see if it can be cleaned/repaired, put the thing in a sizeable plastic bag along with yoiur hands. This will save you grovelling about in all the detritus on the floor looking for the small ball bearing and spring(s).

[wilfred]

If you do try to open the switch to see if it can be cleaned/repaired, put the thing in a sizeable plastic bag along with yoiur hands. This will save you grovelling about in all the detritus on the floor looking for the small ball bearing and spring(s).

I once did just that for a switch on a circular saw that lived upside down in a table. Lots of very fine sawdust had clogged it up. I doubt this switch is going to be good enough for more than a short life since I think it has probably worn out due to repeated arcing. Weed trimmer switches get a hard life as people are stopping and starting them constantly.

If you are going to spend time on this ( I get it) I'd at least start with a new switch to help make the effort worthwhile.

In Australia it is also peak season for people throwing stuff out after buying lots of new stuff for christmas. Keep an eye out for power tools and particularly leaf blowers. I found a corded one recently that had a torn collection bag. I really just wanted the heavy duty 30m extension cord. I found at least a dozen over the years just on my short drive to the supermarket and they ALL worked. I think people just "upgraded" to a cordless one. Same goes for vacuum cleaners. I found a top of line Hoover that was clogged up. I think they wanted a cordless and just weren't going to empty it one last time. That was 5 years ago.

It's a trade off between needing it fixed now and storing extra stuff just in case it comes in handy later. But even if I do eventually return it whence it came (roadside) I keep the brushes, switches and anything else that takes my fancy as potentially useful but not too big.