Flex Rotary Problem...Ruined My Friday!

I

imported_jphilbeck

New member
So I bought a Flex 3403 Rotary from Autogeek on Sept. 4th and today it bit the dust! Business was slow this week because we have had ten straight days of rain and no one really wants their car detailed while it is raining. Anyway, I was bored so I decided I would strip my M3 and try some new products on it. Using Menzerna polishes and the new Lake Country Hydro Tech cyan pad (love the cyan and orange!!!) I was about 1/3 of the way through with vehicle and I kept noticing the Flex would just cut off at speed 2. I could release the trigger lock and pull the trigger again and it would start working again. It would run fine at speeds under 2 and over 2 but kept shutting off right at 2. So I noticed the whole thing was getting REALLY hot and I definitely wasn't pushing it at all. You couldn't lay your hand on it without it really burning you. Well I called Autogeek around 5:30 (6:30 there time) and thank God I spoke to Bobby. He said they hadn't heard of any issues with the 3403 doing this at speed 2. I went back out and ran it for probably 5 more minutes after letting it cool down some and it finally just stopped and wouldn't do anything at all. I tried it again an hour ago and it started up again but got really hot really fast.



Someone from AG is supposed to call me tomorrow I guess to start a freaking warranty process since this thing is 3 weeks old but I have a ton of cars coming in next week and nothing to work with!!!! Sold the Dewalt backup and was planning on buying a 2nd Flex for my backup because I love it so much. Well funds are tight and the fiance is wondering why I keep getting boxes of product in the mail every couple of days so I thought I would hold off on buying a 2nd Flex but I definitely didn't think I would need the backup in 3 weeks! Anyway, has anyone had to deal with Flex or AG on warranty claims? I guess I just wonder how they will replace it. Will AG overnight me a new one so I don't lose out on valuable work?



Sorry about the long post.....by the way, I am Jeremy. Don't post very often but read tons every day. I just wanted to give a heads up about this with the Flex and wonder if anyone else has experienced it. The Lake Country Hydros are definitely awesome and they are now my go to pad.
 
Ok.......this might sound very simplistic and stupid......but I had the same problem with my FLEX 3401 DA. Would run for a while, get hot, stop working, cool off and then start working again. Turns out.......ya ready for this?.......it was my extension cord. I was using a 16ga cord and had been using it for two years. First with my Porter Cable and the with my FLEX. The cord was taking on way more amperage then it could handle. I bought a thicker gauge cord and it's been working perfect ever since!! Give it a shot....you might be surprised. Good luck and let me know!
 
Yes I think your right the power cord is very tempramental on those!!! Try connecting to the biggest power cord you have the bigger the better that should solve your problem if not you just got a lemon...
 
Thanks guys. I will try that. I hadn't had any problems with the last few details I had done with it though. Wouldn't the power cord cause a problem from the beginning? My Flex 3401 doesn't have any overheating problems using the same cord. I will try the cord tomorrow. Thanks.
 
If not the cord and you can take it apart under warranty, check for a loose wire in the speed switch.
 
There was also the whole gear lube issue with the 3401, I thought Supe told us that his 3403 ran really hot and that he suspected a gear lube issue with that also...forget what happened finally with that :think:
 
i had this exact problem but with my makita. It turned out to be the power cord itself. Part of my power cord was bad from me constantly pulling it in/out of the makita bag and the position that the cord would be in while in the travel bag.



I took it in to a local shop and they cut off the bad part of the cord which was like 2 inches and they put it back together ($20) and it worked like a champ after that.



Just figure i let you know that. I am not sure if that is what the issue it but those are the exact same symptoms i had.
 
Also, try plugging the ext cord into a washer/dryer outlet and run it like that if you can. However, your not required to be tool time Fred either, so if it doesn't work out, get on the horn to Autogeek and tell em you need a new one Federal Express.
 
Well after talking with Flex and AG it seems that they haven't seen this problem with the 3403 but I will be receiving a new one on Tuesday. At least I will only be one day behind!!! Thanks for your help and advice guys.
 
My Metabo will run hot if doing a lot of lower speed passes. In fact, had it cut out on me yesterday. But it bounced back after about 5 minutes.



Glad you got good customer support--hope it ends up being a one off incident for that particular machine
 
Well the saga continues!!! Got the replacement from AG today, bought a new 12 guage contractor extension cord, started buffing with the new one and it is doing the same thing. Been on the phone with the electric company, etc. This has me baffled and I am so frustrated with it. Any ideas?
 
You know, if you hadn't have said it, my first comment would have been... bet you're working on German paint!!



What size pads have you got? The 3403 is my favourite polisher but it doesn't have the wattage and torque to work tough paint with large pads. Move down to smaller pads and see if gets easier. The machine shouldn't start to heat up as much.



Make sure the paint is clayed first as well (I'm sure you did) and work more smoothly. Also ensure the pad is dead-centred. The reason I say this is that these are other factors that will cause your polisher to strain and labour on the paint.



When there is not enough torque and wattage to support the pad, polish and paint types then the carbon brushes in your machine are going to wear down and the machine will start to cut out.



If you want to work on German paint, then the Flex 602VR is your machine. Otherwise you will be working the paint all day long and making slow progress.



So either smaller pads or bigger machine -your choice!

Problem is though, your new machine may have worn brushes on it now so they might need to be replaced. You got a service centre near you?
 
KaPow said:
You know, if you hadn't have said it, my first comment would have been... bet you're working on German paint!!



What size pads have you got? The 3403 is my favourite polisher but it doesn't have the wattage and torque to work tough paint with large pads. Move down to smaller pads and see if gets easier. The machine shouldn't start to heat up as much.



Make sure the paint is clayed first as well (I'm sure you did) and work more smoothly. Also ensure the pad is dead-centred. The reason I say this is that these are other factors that will cause your polisher to strain and labour on the paint.



When there is not enough torque and wattage to support the pad, polish and paint types then the carbon brushes in your machine are going to wear down and the machine will start to cut out.



If you want to work on German paint, then the Flex 602VR is your machine. Otherwise you will be working the paint all day long and making slow progress.



So either smaller pads or bigger machine -your choice!

Problem is though, your new machine may have worn brushes on it now so they might need to be replaced. You got a service centre near you?
Click to expand...



Just curious what you based that comment on?



Perhaps knowing the specs of the flex 3403 would help out instead of assuming the flex didn't have the "balls" if you will. Below is a link to Flex NA and the specs are copy and pasted directly from there site:



below link said:
SPECIFICATIONS



L 3403 VRG



Max. polishing pad diameter 6-1/2"



Max. back-up pad diameter 6-1/2"

Tool fixture 5/8-11.

Speed without load 1100-3700 RPM

Power input 11.5 AMP

Power Output 1400 w

Weight 4.85 lbs



Welcome to FLEX North America
Click to expand...



The interesting thing is that the power input is 11.5 AMP and the power out is 1400 watt, why is this important you ask? We all would agree that the Dewalt Polisher DW849 is a top quality polisher and a true work horse. So again why would the above WATT and AMP specs matter? Here is your answer:



dewalt usa dw849 product page said:
Amps 8.0 AC Amps

Max Watts Out 1,400 W

No Load Speed 0-1,000/0-3,000 rpm

Spindle Thread 5/8"-11

Spindle Lock Yes

Tool Length 17.3 "

Tool Weight 8.25 lbs



DEWALT DW849 : 7"/9" Electronic Variable Speed Polisher
Click to expand...



Both machines have the same specs as far as output watts, and the flex pulls more in terms of amps than the DW849 does.



Yes it is possible that the flex would over heat with extremely large pads, but I dont see that being a big threat or reason it would over heat.



Now the power cord could be loose, or something else going on inside to small of an extension cord run over to long of a distance could be an issue as well, but to say the flex doesn't have the "balls" is completely incorrect.



But we all know you can't compare performance based on "Amps" and "Watts", yes the stronger motor in the flex could cause an overheating issue in the "smaller" housing that the lightweight flex uses vs. the larger oversized housing the DW849 uses.
 
bwalker25 said:
Both machines have the same specs as far as output watts, and the flex pulls more in terms of amps than the DW849 does.
Click to expand...



Pretty hard to dissipate 1400W with only 8 amps at 115V, or even with 11.5 amps....Ohm's Law, you know?



All these Flex stories consternate me a bit...I have both a 3401 and a 3403, and I don't have much time on either, but they've both done what I needed them to do. But it sure seems like they need to research their gear cuts or lube or something.
 
I have to say my flex will get WARM but it by no means gets hot and I use a 50 ft drop cord. I have heard the flex rotary has a break in period, dont remember where I read that at but some how 50 hours rings a bell with me.



FWIW I use the Edge wool pads and the LC 6.5" pads with my flex and never had a big over heating problem.
 
My Flex 3403 rotary gets HOT as well after about 10 minutes use. Cant even touch it.



Also when any pad is in contact with the surface it gets a knocking sound that increases right along with RPM. You can hear near the top third of the machine meaning from cord to bail handle as the top reference.



The other thing is that with this knock noise comes a slight dimming of any halogens I'm using it with. My makita does not do this at all. With the makita when speed is bumped up it dims but then recovers back. With the flex its like a small little disco show. Its quite annoying.



For the warranty issue gurus: is there a way to get shipping covered as well. My flex is newish and I really dont want to spend money on something that isnt my defect.
 
I am using 6.5 inch pads so they are definitely not too big. Like I said earlier, bought a new contractor 50ft extension cord so that isn't it either and the pad is centered. I always clay any car I am buffing. When I got the first 3403 I buffed a Lexus with no problem and actually buffed my M3 with no problem. Today I was working on a Chrysler so not hard German paint. Also, ran my Flex 3401 for a few hours today and no overheating at all.



getch may be on to something. Mine makes the same knocking noise right along with the RPM. The replacement one I received today seemed worse than the other one and actually didn't seem to run as smoothly. Had more of a vibration even with just the backing plate on and running with no pad in the air (was checking to see if it was going to overheat). However, I don't have any kind of lighting issue so no disco for me! Anyway, AG is shipping me another one and these two I have are going to Powerhouse to see if there is an issue.



As far as warranty, the shipping is covered.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top