My Flex 3401 Died last night!! I will fix it (I hope)

Kamakaz1961

Kamakaz1961

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My Flex 3401 died last night!! UGH!!! I really abuse that DA and my guess is that the brushes wore out. It just stopped working. I did notice a little more sparks when using it before it died. I have no heating or trigger issues.

I took it apart (no longer under warranty over 2 yrs old) and ordered new brushes (2). It looks fairly simple to repair. I was kind of surprised to see how clean the inside was (not much dust or dirt) and how simple it was to take everything apart. I put everything back and will wait for the brushes. BTW, the brushes were about $15 per brush.

Once I get the brushes I will replace them and see if that works. If it does; I will be posting pics and letting you know how the procedure was done.

If that does not work; I have an authorized Flex repair shop about 3 miles from where I work. I will let you know that I CRASHED and Burned too!!

But I am hoping that will be the fix! This will be valuable information to all the Flex 3401 users that are out of warranty.

As I said before; I really use that machine quite a bit! I have dropped it a couple of times (from being STUPID) and it still kept on going. I think I used it and abused it too much this time. She got pissed!!!...LOL
 
Good luck. Hopefully replacing the brushes does the trick.
 
Regardless of the outcome, it sounds like you got your money's worth out of it.

Hopefully you don't have any work lined up that would require the use of a back-up polisher far inferior to your flex.
 
Update on My Flex: I replaced the carbon brushes and still dead!! My woman refused to start!! I will be taking it today to an authorized Flex Repair center.

For all Southern California Flex users the place is called Davis Tool Company located in Santa Ana, CA. Flex gave the contact.

I talked to the owner (I believe her name is Joan) and let her know that my girl is pissed at me.

She let me know that she had many other refurbished tools for sale and I inquired if there was any refurbished Flex 3401. She laughed and let me know that the Flex 3401 is highly sought after and she had no refurbished Flex. That was a nice compliment.

It is nice to know (according to her) she considers the Flex as a top DA. She indicated there were other refurbished brands available if I was interested.

Either way I will keep you posted as to what happened.

BTW, replacing the brushes on the Flex 3401 is real easy. I put back the original brushes back and kept the new ones as a future replacement.

I am sad but still have my back-up...my PC7424XP
 
Sorry it wasn't the easy fix. At least you have the backup PC, although I know you're probably going to be frustrated having to use that for now.

Good luck and I hope they get that Flex fixed up quickly for you.
 
gski said:
Sorry it wasn't the easy fix. At least you have the backup PC, although I know you're probably going to be frustrated having to use that for now.

Good luck and I hope they get that Flex fixed up quickly for you.
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Lucky I am pretty familiar with the PC7424 XP. No major corrections needed just simple polish and then sealant and wax.

Took the Flex to the repair shop and met Joan. She repairs most of the detailers DA's (all brands) in Southern CA and she mentioned that she repairs a few detailers DA that take care of Air Force One. So cool!! I will post an update and see what was wrong.
 
Kamakaz1961 said:
Lucky I am pretty familiar with the PC7424 XP. No major corrections needed just simple polish and then sealant and wax.

Took the Flex to the repair shop and met Joan. She repairs most of the detailers DA's (all brands) in Southern CA and she mentioned that she repairs a few detailers DA that take care of Air Force One. So cool!! I will post an update and see what was wrong.
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I would like to learn how to do that. What did she do to get there?
 
dlc95 said:
I would like to learn how to do that. What did she do to get there?
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That I do not know, however, it looks to me like she's been there for quite a while. Small shop maybe 1,100 Sq Ft a couple of techs there. There were quite a bit of other tools being repaired from drills to big lathing machines.

Flex has her shop in the repair shop guide for all Flex tools. Her website is:

davistoolco.com

She is a hoot to talk too. Mention my Girlfriend got pissed at me and refused to work (my Flex 3401) and she said I should be ashamed and treat her better!!...LOL All kidding aside, she was a real nice person to talk to. Her name is Joan "Thumper" Kennedy.

Hopefully, looking at her website may help. I do believe (not verified but my guess) she is an authorized repair shop for the majors too: Rupes, Griot's, Makita, Dewalt and others. As I said there were quite a bit of different tools that were being repaired.
 
My flex had to be returned to the main warehouse in NE like four times over the years but never been charged a penny. Except to ship it one way.
 
I hope you can get your 3401 repaired without spending too much, I would imagine parts can be pretty expensive.

Does anyone know why they do not use a brushless motor? All of my better power tools have a brushless motor but why not on the Flex?
 
Kamakaz1961 said:
That I do not know, however, it looks to me like she's been there for quite a while. Small shop maybe 1,100 Sq Ft a couple of techs there. There were quite a bit of other tools being repaired from drills to big lathing machines.

Flex has her shop in the repair shop guide for all Flex tools. Her website is:

davistoolco.com

She is a hoot to talk too. Mention my Girlfriend got pissed at me and refused to work (my Flex 3401) and she said I should be ashamed and treat her better!!...LOL All kidding aside, she was a real nice person to talk to. Her name is Joan "Thumper" Kennedy.

Hopefully, looking at her website may help. I do believe (not verified but my guess) she is an authorized repair shop for the majors too: Rupes, Griot's, Makita, Dewalt and others. As I said there were quite a bit of different tools that were being repaired.
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Ha! She gas a good sense of humor. Thanks for the info. That might be something I might pursue - I love fixing things like that.

As far as machines go, how is the down shift to the PC? The amount of time the 3401 shaves off my cutting polishing, and sealing steps makes it hard to justify using a random orbital on jobs where time is a factor - like when I have back to back jobs in one day. I'm actually saving for a PE14-2, just to have more power when I need it.
 
Love the flex!! She'll deserve a funeral with all the bangs and whistles!
 
dlc95 said:
Ha! She gas a good sense of humor. Thanks for the info. That might be something I might pursue - I love fixing things like that.

As far as machines go, how is the down shift to the PC? The amount of time the 3401 shaves off my cutting polishing, and sealing steps makes it hard to justify using a random orbital on jobs where time is a factor - like when I have back to back jobs in one day. I'm actually saving for a PE14-2, just to have more power when I need it.
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It's funny you mentioned that. I use the PC for minor corrections and this time I used it for just a polish on a large area. Man it was actually FUN!! I actually covered the area in a decent amount of time. Not as fast as the Flex, however, I think my technique with the PC has actually improved!! Maybe from working on a lot of different cars...who knows!! One thing for sure; I did not count on my Flex from not working. It is great to know that I had a back up. So to all DA users have a back up DA.
 
Update on the Flex. According to Thumper (Joan) the carbon brushes were fine (I put the old ones back and kept the new ones). There were 2 switches that were bad. I would assume it was the trigger switches. I will know more on Monday.

I will let you know total costs. I am hoping this will help out all the Flex 3401 users know the idea of a Flex DA repair.
 
Kamakaz1961 said:
It's funny you mentioned that. I use the PC for minor corrections and this time I used it for just a polish on a large area. Man it was actually FUN!! I actually covered the area in a decent amount of time. Not as fast as the Flex, however, I think my technique with the PC has actually improved!! Maybe from working on a lot of different cars...who knows!! One thing for sure; I did not count on my Flex from not working. It is great to know that I had a back up. So to all DA users have a back up DA.
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That's good news for sure!

I'm in the middle of battling with an 02 Camaro SS, and the lower concave in the door has swirls laughing hysterically at the PC.... The Flex took good care of those! Incidentally, the best combo for this paint had been the 3401, FG400, LC Cyan h2o, and Rupes Duetto (modded), M100, Rupes blue microfiber cutting disc... Either of those two do the trick.
 
For those wanting to know how to replace the Flex 3401 brushes, just google "Flex 3401 brush replacement"; top hit should take you to Ivan Rajic's excellent how-to instructions w/pics.
 
How did you make out? The most common problem ive been seeing with the FLEX is where the cord goes into the handle. Ive heard if you cut about 8 inches off and put it back in it works like a champ.Seems strange for 2 switches to go bad at the same exact time. I could definitely see 1 going bad but 2 at the same time.
 
TRDTACO said:
How did you make out? The most common problem ive been seeing with the FLEX is where the cord goes into the handle. Ive heard if you cut about 8 inches off and put it back in it works like a champ.Seems strange for 2 switches to go bad at the same exact time. I could definitely see 1 going bad but 2 at the same time.
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I will pick it up tomorrow morning. The 2 parts in question was the trigger switch and speed adjustment switch. Total parts and labor $160.00. I will have a breakdown of the costs of the parts. The carbon brushes were fine and have plenty of life left. Everything else was fine and the cord was not the issue which was a good thing.

I have attached some photos of the Flex apart. It is very easy to change the brushes. Hope this gives Flex users some idea of what is in the inside. I also have a comparison of a used brush compared to a brand new brush. If the Flex breaks in the future; I plan on fixing it myself. It looks pretty simple. I just have to learn how to diagnose the problem.

I hope this helps to all Flex users.
 
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