Drill doesnt work unless shaken

Hello Beverly, I would check for worn out brushes.

That drill had several speed options, do you have it on high?

Brushes are usually a power/torque issue and wouldn't effect speed unless they were really bad

This sounds like the ignition switch needs to be replaced. These are very typical symptoms of a common problem in these vehicles. It is probably not related to anything you did, but be sure you don't have a lot of weight hanging from your keyring.

The service light usually comes on when the brushes are low. The brushes usually have a small metal tab that grounds out when the brushes wear down to the point of needing to be changed.

That's where I would start. If your warranty is void, I would take the screws out of the body and investigate. Look at the brushes for proper wear and position, then check the connections at the switch for a loose wire or bad connection. If all looks good, check the battery connection clips at the tool. Good luck.

Common problem on a lot of cordless tools is the battery connections. inside the tool. They are just little springy bits of metal. In the course of normal use they can get bent out of shape and not contact the battery properly. Remember you are asking them to pass a fair bit of current to operate a low voltage device. Also the contacts both on the battery and in the tool can get dirty, and build up oxides and other deposits.
The cure.
Take out the battery . Look down inside the tool. Find the contacts. Do they stand proud of the body? Or are they flattened out?
GENTLY tease them out so they will contact the battery firmly. Use a small screwdriver or similar. You can break or damage them if you are to ham fisted with this.
Use some solvent(or contact cleaner if you are flash) and some rag to clean the contacts. I have had to use fine wet and dry sometimes to do this!! Don't forget to clean the contacts on the battery(s) as well.
Still not working?
Maybe your brushes (on the motor) are worn to the point of failure. I have not worked on this particular model of drill. But back in the day when Dewalt bought out ELU and re branded all their stuff in yellow and black casings they were one of the few manufacturers to make electric motors that were actually designed to have brushes replaced. A lot of cordless-es were made so that if you needed brushes you had to buy a motor to get them!
To change brushes you will probably have to split the drill casing. Unless you can see a couple of brush caps on the outside of the drill. They will be on the side of the casing at the back 180degrees apart. As I say i am not familiar with this particular model.
Still not working?
Could be that the switch (trigger) is starting to play up. Generally nothing you can do with these. Contact cleaner may sort it out fot a while. but there is a lot going on inside these switches. Forward reverse/ Variable speed etc. I have in the past dismantled them and cleaned/reassembled them. But it was always a **** or bust thing. Besides my eye-site was a lot better back then!
Still not working?
Chuck it away and buy a bit and brace!

check the brushes, they could be worn so that they are not making full contact

Sounds like the battery is not making a good connection inside the drill handle. Clean the contacts inside the handle where the battery plugs. Clean the contacts on the battery. If there are any springy tabs in either of these places, pry them up slightly to increase the pressure between the contacts.

Clean with wire brush, sandpaper, electrical contact cleaner.

If this doesn't work, get back to me and we'll go to the next step.

Charlie

Hi hope to help
sounds like you have a problem with your brushes they may just need replacing but do not strip the drill down to do this just take out the batery then take the 4 screws from the rear off the drill and take off the cover see if the brushes are worn it doesnt take a lot of wear to be worn.
You can take off the wire from each brush unit then use a small flat screwdriver to pop out the brush unit then replace you should be able to get the brushes from any dewalt stockest.
Hope that helps. Sean

I just replaced the switch assembly for the same problem