Ridgid Brushless R86040 Troubleshooting Page

Smoke is coming from the angle grinder, it makes growling noises, the device overheats, and it temporarily stops working.

Motor burnout is most likely the problem and it can be caused by the byproducts of grinding, blocking airflow to the motor, using the angle grinder inappropriately, and the motor can burnout from simply becoming too old. Solutions to these problems are very simple. Grinding byproducts interrupt airflow to the motor so it’s important to clean your device after every use. At the same time, be sure not to block airflow with your hands while operating; this can cause motor burnout and other problems. While handling the device, it’s important to use it as it’s intended by the manufacturer and not to force it on anything it can’t handle. Working the machine harder than it can handle creates problems and motors can burnout from being overused or from old age as everything has an expiration date.

Your tool becomes hot and generally unstable when you try to use it.

Overheating is caused by interrupting airflow to the motor and by using the device for too long. Some solutions to this problem include, giving the device intermittent breaks, cleaning byproducts of grinding from the device, and making sure not to block airflow to the motor while operating. Once you feel like the grinder has cooled off you can return to your work and make sure to use the device safely.

The device does not operate smoothly and the blade has trouble spinning at full speed.

The cutting wheel jamming means either you have been applying too much pressure while grinding, or the cutting wheel is too loose or too tight. This grinder was designed to withstand some of the toughest materials. Your only job is to hold the device and make sure you don’t slip up and cause an accident. Let the wheel do the work, the cutting wheel will no longer jam and you can continue to cut safely. If the cutting wheel is too loose or tight however, you may need to manually fix the problem.

Your angle grinder is making bad or rough cuts and it tries to fight against you.

Many beginners do not know how to use this tool correctly so knowing proper technique is crucial to grinding success. Proper operating techniques are as follows. Every time you operate this tool, you need to firmly hold the handle and base. Do not cover any holes on the device as this can block airflow to the motor. When you start using the angle grinder, let the blade do almost all of the work. Your one job is to guide it to what you want cut and apply slight pressure to make contact between the cutting wheel and your project. At all times keep children away from this tool and never put any part of your body near the blade as it can seriously injure you.

Angle grinder has stopped working and won’t turn back on.

The device shutting off can be attributed to battery shortage, overheating, or applying too much pressure. First, it’s always important to make sure you’re operating the device with a charged battery as it cannot start with a dead battery. Plug the battery into a charger and when it’s fully charged, try using your angle grinder again. If this does not fix the problem, you might have overheated the device or applied too much pressure while using it. These can burn out the grinder motor so proper cutting technique is important so as to not break your tool. Let it sit for a while and try to use it after waiting about thirty minutes.