Ol’ reliable – my Skill model 5150 circular saw started acting up recently while I was using it to cut lumber for my utility trailer project. I really don’t recall how long I’ve had this saw but it’s been a good long time, probably on the order of 25 to 30 years, maybe more. Until recently the old girl has been absolutely reliable and it’s cut likely miles of lumber for my various projects over the years (literally). It was clearly well-made – US of course – and has simply been one of those tools you never had to think about, change the blade once in a while and it was always there ready to go.
What started happening is when pulling the trigger, it sometime wouldn’t start right away and would require several attempts to get it to run. My suspicion was the motor brushes or the switch was failing. Disassembly and inspection would lead to to the switch as the point of failure.
Fortunately, parts are still readily available for this unit, so I ordered a new switch online and had it within a few days. No big surprise, the new switch was made is Asia – bet it doesn’t last nearly as long as the original.
This saw was well thought-out and engineered and designed to service the motor brushes without significant disassembly required… remove a couple of Torex screws, the motor end cap comes off and the brushes are exposed. On top of that, the brushes are modular in design being mounted in a carrier that simply snaps into place – no tools or fasteners required. As it turned out, the brushes were fine and in spite of the years of use have a lot of life left.
It was a pretty simple matter to replace the old switch with the new one. I did discover an error in the supplied wiring diagram though. Apparently there were several OEM suppliers for the original switch, which were wired differently – go figure. Since my switch was clearly a Cutler-Hammer-supplied item (see photo), I used the appropriate wiring schematic. Well, that provided to be incorrect as it blew the circuit breaker as soon as I activated the trigger. I double checked the wiring – it was correct according to the diagram – and blew the breaker a second time. For the next round I used the schematic from a different manufacture’s switch and it worked worked fine.
In any event, for less than $10.00 and a few minutes my Skill saw is back in service and I avoided throwing away a well-made American item. A new replacement would (probably) have been an all-plastic, not-made-to-service import that was made down to a price and designed to throw away in a few years when it inevitably failed.
Note I disassembled the original switch to see what was going on inside. The photos clearly show the failure inside the switch.
I feel good about how this turned out.. I have to say.
- Original trigger manufacturer’s logo – Skill saw
- New trigger supplied wiring diagram, which was incorrect – Skill saw
Hey thanks for the diagram at the end it sure helped me cuz i had that marquart switch and i would have wired it wrong thank you so much 5* for sure
I need that same switch; everyone is out of stock or discontinued. Any suggestions?
I haven’t looked for this switch in almost seven years, so my only suggestion is to setup an Ebay search and keep an eye on the major part suppliers. If you haven’t already done so, you might consider dropping a note to a couple of the large online parts suppliers and see what they have to say regarding potential availability.
Good luck in your search…
My Skilsaw doesn’t have identifying decal, so I really don’t know what I have. The picture u showed is what my trigger looks like., so I know I’m safe to say it’s a5150. My switch is actually good; It came apart suddenly while I was trying to release the wires from it to fix cord. I can’t figure how it goes back. My internals are just like yours, except not burnt..i
It’s been years since I had my switch assembly apart and I simply don’t recall the details of how it went together. I’d suggest you research and/or drop a question regarding the switch on the various tool repair forums. Perhaps someone more familiar with the switch than I am will be able to help.
Looks like good advice on replacing the switch, but when I opened my saw (which I found at the local dump), to replace a bad power cord, I found that the switch was broken in two right across the middle. No dice when looking for a replacement switch.
Unfortunately, it appears the switch the switch is no longer available. I can only suggest devising a substitute using another switch.
You can use a Skil # 1619×00641 switch which has the same body and contacts and move over the black plastic trigger and red plastic trigger release from the old switch to the new switch. You will have to drill out the rivet in both the old and new switch and use a #4-40 3/4″ screw and nut to replace the rivet in the new switch, and then grind off the little bit of extra screw sticking out so it fits in the handle, but it work because I just did it.
The 1619×00641 switch is exactly the same as the discontinued one except for these two parts, but they are different enough you can’t use the new one without doing the above (unless you modifying the opening in the handle where the trigger and trigger release stick through), which is more work than swapping out the parts I think.
I’m going to try your fix. I ordered the part from Ereplacement. Is the removal of the two plastic triggers easy? Are springs going to come loose when the housing is opened?
It’s been seven years since I repaired the switch on this saw and I’ve worked on a lot of different equipment since then. Consequently the fine details of the process are a bit fuzzy. However, as I recall, the process wasn’t very complicated and I don’t remember an issue with the springs being a particular problem.
Good luck with your project…
I didn’t find it too bad but it is a bit tedious and you have to take your time. You have to drill the rivet out of both old and new switch as I mentioned above and then swap the parts over.
There are some springs in the switch, but once you have it apart it’s pretty easy to see how they go together. There really is only one spring that you have to kind of keep compressed while you push the trigger in place and slide in the contact block. The others springs are pretty much fixed.
I see it’s been a couple weeks since you wrote this so hope the fix worked for you as well.
It’s not high on the list right now. As long as I have the switch. Thanks again for your work around. I get frustrated that parts go obsolete so fast. If you ever look at coffee makers, companies like Krups have so many models and anything over 10 years old becomes a challenge to repair. Thank God for Ebay!
I used my dads old 5150 in a cold garage about 30¤ and it had real trouble starting up. I removed the blade and popped the side cover, brushes looked ok. I cleaned out the build up plugged it in and fired it up to my surprise bingo it started up! I cut 2 2×6 and 2 2×4.
2-1/4 hp !