Flex Rotary Problem...Ruined My Friday!

jphilbeck · 09-25-09, 10:40

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.

mose · 09-25-09, 11:49

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!

EMIN007 · 09-25-09, 11:53

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...

jphilbeck · 09-26-09, 12:09

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.

salty · 09-26-09, 01:23

If not the cord and you can take it apart under warranty, check for a loose wire in the speed switch.

Setec Astronomy · 09-26-09, 05:02

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

vtec92civic · 09-26-09, 05:07

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.

Cleaning Fool · 09-26-09, 05:47

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.

jphilbeck · 09-26-09, 03:42

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.

landcruiser · 09-26-09, 04:22

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

jphilbeck · 09-29-09, 12:32

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?

jphilbeck · 09-29-09, 12:36

Forgot to mention that it is overheating at any speed now.