Fault Finding And Repairing An Expensive Milwaukee Rocket Light

In this video we're going to take a look at an expensive Milwaukee Rocket Light. I bought it from eBay as faulty, let's take it apart, diagnose the problem and repair it!
I hope this video is useful to people who have similar problems with these types of lights. If you did find it useful, please consider subscribing and check out my other videos!
#electronicsrepair #electronics #repair
Milwaukee rocket light not working
rocket light repair
diagnosing and repairing a rocket light
dead rocket light

[@johnl8782]

Thanks again for explaining how the circuit board works M it helps so much. Top man and great video.

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks John 👍

[@coreycarver9974]

I like watching these milwaukee repair videos and can't wait until you do another tool. I like how you show everything and show the replacement parts

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks Corey 👍

[@TYGAMatt]

Great fix Mick. Your process of elimination and explination of what's going on is most helpful. I'll never own one of these lights but your fault finding steps are super useful none the less. Cheers Matt

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks Matt 👍

[@noventropy]

Thanks for showing the great step by step logical way of repairing things.

[@BuyitFixit]

You are welcome! Glad you liked it 🙂👍

[@FixitFred]

Well done. I just looked up the replacement pcb its $55.85USD (14-20-2132) without tax or shipping. This was a worthwhile repair and A great learning lesson

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks Fix it Fred 👍

[@CharlieVega-hz2uj]

What's the part number and which website could I find it on.?

[@thetraindriver01]

Loved the fix, little bit of corrosion hiding away underneath the board. Nice 👌👏👏

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks 👍Yes, a little bit of corrosion. It's a decent light. I like it 🙂

[@algator55]

When I design a heavy-duty lighting system I'm not dumb and I always design my batteries and electronics low to the ground and to be used after digging a hole down to water level so the battery and electronics can stay cool properly

[@Mymatevince]

Mr Milwaukee does it again! Well done Mick

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks Vince 👍👍

[@dash8brj]

The best kind of fix - no parts, just a scrap of wire :)

[@BuyitFixit]

Yep, good when it's a nice easy fix 👍🙂

[@MikeyMack303]

Wow! That was great! Nice easy fix that cost nothing but a little time. Thanks for showing that to us.

[@BuyitFixit]

You're welcome 👍Yes corroded trace 🙂

[@stephenkelly5642]

I'm fixated on watching these videos. Absolutely brilliant.

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks Stephen 👍Glad you are enjoying them 🙂

[@BaconbuttywithCheese]

The battery being so low seems to be a center of gravity decision versus a close to moisture decision.

[@BuyitFixit]

Could well be, it does seem quite sturdy still with the battery removed.

[@BoostedTT91]

Love to learn how these boards work and what everthing does so maybe can diagnose one. Thanks for the videos. Learn alittle each time

[@BuyitFixit]

Glad you like them!

[@positivefix]

I did place a bud on this early on and missed the ending 😂, glad you managed to bring it back to life 👍

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks👍I think the guy had more than one as he listed it again after I bought it, and this one has a couple of more marks on it than in the pictures in the listing.

[@positivefix]

I believe her had more than 2 for sale 😆, this seller appears to have a lot of faulty Milwaukee gear for sale

[@BuyitFixit]

Yes, I've bought a fair bit from him in the past 👍

[@599miata]

Unreal how rust can impair an electronic circuit. Great video.👍👍

[@BuyitFixit]

Yes, totally. I had a lot worse with the ring battery charger I did a few videos back, and a belkin wireless power bank (future video).

[@wherami]

I’m working on microcontrollers lately to be able to read them and see what they are doing. Will come in handy as another level of attack

[@Txst21]

Man super handy this is awesome great stuff and Chanel ! My issue: I’ve scoured the Internet and for some reason your videos only one I can find dealing with this prob/fix regarding the circuit board. It’s helped me navigate pretty far through the process of disassembly and troubleshooting however I’m still stuck. Was using mine in the yard when it started to mist a light rain. I didn’t really think much of it because it wasn’t coming down very hard and I didn’t have it out too long, but the next day it would not turn on with a battery. I tried letting it dry out, used multiple working batteries, yet no power. When plugged into the wall, it works perfect. Additionally, I’ve taken it apart to examine the circuit board, cleaned it properly, checked all of the connections and tried to find the origin of error. However I’m at a loss and cannot figure it out. I’m somewhat at a loss, because I doubt Home Depot or Milwaukee will honor warranty due to water damage. Do you know if there’s anything else I can try? I did not see any burn marks or shorts in the circuitboard everything looked perfectly wired up as original in top power switch and all throughout - sorry for the very long comment. I would really appreciate any help or guidance you have before buying new or paying a pro to look at it. thank you so much -Caleb from Austin, Texas

[@BuyitFixit]

Hi Caleb, I did have a problem where a light wouldn't light due to it thinking the battery was flat. I think it was one of the previous Milwaukee worklights I looked at, might be worth having a look at that. It was a resistor that had gone open circuit and wasn't sending the battery voltage to the microcontroller and therefore it wouldn't switch on the mosfet to send power to the LED driver.

[@Txst21]

@@BuyitFixit excellent thanks so much - I’ll look into that. I really Appreciate the quick detailed response.

[@andymouse]

Bargain ! great work.....cheers.

[@BuyitFixit]

Cheers Andymouse 👍

[@stoicgreg]

Great video, portable flood light going to be well handy.

[@BuyitFixit]

Definitely! Thanks Greg 👍

[@ianhelsbyservices]

Cracking walk through of the board. Once you had shown the components to be working I started to worry as that is my current stumbling block.

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks Ian 👍

[@oopskky]

Doesn’t seem like an easy fix definitely feel like I leaned something! Thank you

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks Kaleb 👍

[@MahlerLab]

Very educational. Thank you for explaining your thought process!

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks MahlerLab 👍 I'm no expert, but I do have a lot of experience in fixing things over the years, and try to explain what I'm doing and why on most of my videos. Thank you for commenting 👍

[@ralphj4012]

Well done. Interesting that it was a via, as the board looked to be coated in something.

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks Ralph 👍yes the board does have a conformal coating, I guess they must have missed that via 😂😂

[@chrisbartlett6022]

Wondering if the more screws there are the better quality the item. Needed a bit of checking but turned out to be an easy fix. Nicely done.

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks Chris. Have you heard from Nathan? I've still heard nothing...

[@chrisbartlett6022]

Shame you have not heard from Nathan, I can assure you he seems fine though to put your mind at rest. I have mentioned you to him but surprised he has not been in touch. Either scatter brained or distracted I suppose :-) I have always said you can ignore your friends but watch your enemies :-) I am sure he will get in touch over the next couple of Years :-) still no response from that Kindle btw, as you suggest it might be the battery. TTFN stay safe.

[@BuyitFixit]

I'm not sure how you managed to contact him? I've tried his phone and texting (always goes to voicemail) and telegram, which we used to regularly chat on. Email too.

[@somethingelsehere8089]

There's more screws holding the cover on the bottom of that than holding the dash in my car.

[@wherami]

Amazing work as usual. You are a wonderful inspiration

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks👍👍👍

[@Popeyes66]

Great deduction . I find that water or liquid penetration is the case in the majority of the jobs i am presented with. Sometimes not the users fault just shoddy design. But hey ho,another fine video of a successful outcome. Cheers.

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks mate 🙂👍

[@caramba10]

Good fix I doubt I would have spotted that, I was convinced the board wasn't outputting power as the thermistor wasn't in circuit. In hindsight though I guess the thermistor would go low resistance under fault conditions and a missing/high res. condition would be normal.

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks, and yes high resistance would be normal 🙂👍

[@ShainAndrews]

Heat the board from the bottom, then peal the silastic off. Especially on single sided boards.

[@BuyitFixit]

Good idea, thanks for commenting 🙂

[@ShainAndrews]

@@BuyitFixit Usually comes off a bit easier and cleaner. Takes longer to get the heat though. Never a free lunch.

[@seansysig]

Great fix!

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks 👍🙂

[@psi23k]

Great work. Love your channel 👍

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks 🙂👍

[@fouroakfarm]

Great job 👍

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks 👍

[@marcyd2007]

Well done fella, another issue very well spotted ❤

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks 🙂

[@powertoolsrepair]

Very informative video, big thanks to you

[@BuyitFixit]

You're welcome, hopefully it helps if you come across one with problems. I've repaired a good selection of Milwaukee tools.

[@powertoolsrepair]

@@BuyitFixit now I have similar light with capacitora blown out

[@Christophergriffiths1972]

So clever! 👍🏼

[@BuyitFixit]

Cheers Christopher 👍

[@wisher21uk]

Great fix thanks for sharing 😊

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks for watching!

[@wisher21uk]

@@BuyitFixit 😊 you’re welcome!

[@electronicsanta8149]

Love these videos!!!!!

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks mate 👍

[@didimilano2438]

great job

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks Didi 👍

[@dianeramakers3368]

Great video again.

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks Diane 🙂👍

[@tonyb7748]

We own one of the big Milwaukee rocket lights that cost us $5,600 a few years back. I sure hope it doesn't fail this way given the harsh environment rating it was supposed to have.

[@BuyitFixit]

Fingers crossed 🤞

[@jose83771]

When I saw the thumbnail I got lots of flash back when you helped me with mine, I assumed that it was going to be the same problem that I had, blown fuse, I had a bad resistor, and on 2 I had a bad of the 8 pin switching mosfet, on mine after replacing the fuse the lights never turn off they will go from high, med and low to high again, but understanding how power flows and what components do you make it seems like it's really easy good job like always and thanks for the help again

[@BuyitFixit]

No problem👍It sounds like the one that stays on all the time could be either the mosfet or one of the small transistors that drives it.

[@ernieschatz3783]

I was busy looking for what reduced 18v to 9v and the input of the 3.3v regulator. Couldn't figure it out. 😅

[@twistedhillbilly6157]

Well, I followed along hoping mine had the same problem but it doesn't look like it.. At least I found out to determine if it's the board or something else..

[@BuyitFixit]

Let me know how you get on. I've repaired quite a few different types of Milwaukee lights and might be able to advise what to test.

[@twistedhillbilly6157]

@@BuyitFixit THANK YOU** DELETE all my babble.. I got it.. When I added the external fuse, I damaged the through hole connection on the board. NOW operates normally.. What about an M18 sawsall that seems to have a mind of it's own.. I pull the switch and sometimes it goes sometimes not and changes speed?????

[@BuyitFixit]

Nice 👍Could be a faulty switch as they have a variable resistor built for the speed control.

[@twistedhillbilly6157]

@@BuyitFixit On the sawsall that's what I was thinking. I'll open it up and decide if I want to disassemble the switch or just replace it.. BACK to the light, I did get it working and it was the damage I did to the board,, BUT it will not shut off. I removed the external fuse. (with as much high amperage parallel wiring as I've done, I should know better than to parallel fuses) I can cycle through the light levels but when I get the off stage, there is a bleed keeping the lights on very dim. If I pull the battery and reinstall it, no problem but after I cycle though, it stays on.. Any thoughts on what I can look for???

[@BuyitFixit]

There are a couple of mosfets on the board. They control the power to turn it off and on. The brightness is controlled by the LED driver chip. I'd get it where it's on but should be off and see what voltage you get on the mosfets, make a note and sketch. Repeat with it off and battery connected and compare with your notes. Sounds like a mosfet is not switching off properly for some reason

[@ernieschatz3783]

Milwaukee just keeps throwing content your way😂.

[@BuyitFixit]

Yes 😂😂although I was purposely looking for broken Milwaukee tools at the time to expand my collection 🙂

[@Electrolab28Ag]

I like your videos. I have a Milwaukee Cat No. 2362-20 that is not working I open it and found a transistor has blown .... it is identify in the board as Q4 (SMD Code Marking X1SA). I tried google on that code with no luck. I know that you are a master at repairing these stuff and wonder if you can identify that part number for me. Thanks again for the videos.

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks 👍you can send me a picture of the PCB at the channels name at out look dot com

[@andregopee5360]

@@BuyitFixit ok will do.

[@isabellaburnworth-mm2gz]

Is it possible to wire this light to stay on bright the whole time? That way I can control it with a smart plug? Bypass the switch? TIA!

[@BuyitFixit]

Yes, if you link a wire across the bottom right of the board from the bottom pins of the 8 pin mosfet, it should send power always to the led driver.

[@ronwade5646]

I over E=R, if it was used with low voltage batteries, one dead internal cell, the current draw goes sky high.

[@daShare]

That would only apply if the load was constant power, otherwise less volts = less current.

[@Cornz38]

FFS, what's wrong with a mechanical switch. There is no need for 90% of the "features" of devices like this. There is zero need for a programmable micro controller in a sodding torch!!!

[@BuyitFixit]

😂😂I think it was the Milwaukee M12 floodlight I looked at was all run by microcontroller, even the current regulation of the LED.

[@teofilioanparaiac8668]

It is the same circuit? Min. 6.22 battery connector is clean, min. 23, battery connector has some corosion...? Just asking for a friend

[@BuyitFixit]

Yes, same circuit. See 1:11 and you can just see it on 6:22 between the two pins on the left. Hope your friend has a great day 🙂👍

[@shawnnelson3307]

I have a rocket light tower that works with a battery but doesn’t with the cord and I have tried a different cord of corse with no luck but when I push the power button it quick flashes once? I’m not great with electrical but I’m ok any ideas? CAT. NO. 2131-20 18 V= / 120 V~ 0.5A Milwaukee. Since I can’t upload pics the board looks ok but I’m not 100%

[@BuyitFixit]

If it's the same as this one, it has a power supply to drop the mains voltage. I'd check the power supply because it works ok on the battery.

[@shawnnelson3307]

@@BuyitFixit Thank you

[@markwhitfield5412]

i had money on 1 led popped, guess i lost my quid.

[@BuyitFixit]

😂😂Thanks for commenting Mark. I've only replaced an LED once in a Milwaukee light, had to build a hot plate to do it too! Mostly I've had faults on the driver/ BMS board.

[@cajuncoinhunter]

Another light saved from the trash pile , you never can have too many lights.......

[@BuyitFixit]

Yes, especially when you live in a remote area, although the good thing is the stars look awesome in the dark nights as we have no light pollution as there's no cities or street lights around...

[@wherami]

Just a wee too big for the mat ….

[@BuyitFixit]

Yes indeed 😂😂

[@ceemills]

Bargain, lovely =)

[@BuyitFixit]

Cheers 👍🙂

[@LetsGoJoeB]

18:49 what was odd?

[@BuyitFixit]

I just had to watch back as it was quite some time ago. It was odd that we didn't have any continuity from via where the on / off switch was connected to, to any of the pins on the IC. I would have expected to get a low resistance reading from the VIA, to one of the pins on the microcontroller, as it would need to get a signal to tell it to switch on.

[@LetsGoJoeB]

@@BuyitFixit thanks for taking the time out to reply, really appreciate it. Always watching your videos to try to learn from you, as I’m sure lots others do, so thank you for doing these videos 👍

[@andy70d35]

Beginning to think Milwaukee products are crap with the amount of videos you have on various Milwaukee products.

[@BuyitFixit]

I was just after some Milwaukee tools as I already had a few, thought I'd save some money and buy some broken ones, and also make some videos on them just in case anyone else had the same problem with their tool. I've got a fair collection now 😂😂😂

[@sandyrose-felix8579]

Do you know how to fix a broken prong on a Milwaukee Rocket Light?

[@BuyitFixit]

Sorry I'm not too sure what you mean.

[@sandyrose-felix8579]

@@BuyitFixit Hello, The two prongs on the part that plugs into the wall. One of the prongs broke off and we cannot plug the light into the wall to use it.

[@BuyitFixit]

Oh I see. This one has 3 prongs so I guess yours might be a US model. I would think you should be able to get a replacement connector for it. If not you could always connect a wire inside with a plug on it.

[@sandyrose-felix8579]

@@BuyitFixit Do you know how to do that?

[@kennybacchus1488]

Fault. Finding. And. Repairing. An. Expensive. Milwaukee rocket. Light