# Bosch 1617 EVSPK switch problem??



## Toolfreak (Apr 12, 2005)

Hi. I have owned a Bosch 1617EVSPK combo-kit for a few months and recently had trouble with it. I plugged it in and flipped the switch, but the unit wouldn't run. So, I rocked the switch back and forth a few times and it started working again.

Anybody else have trouble with their Bosch not turning on?


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## GoonMan (Mar 22, 2005)

Hello Toolfreak,

No problems with my Bosch. You might contact Bosch and see who does their repairs in your area or take it back to where you purchased it if it continues to give you problems. I usually try to blow the excess dust off mine if I run it through some heavy use.

You may have a faulty switch.


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Toolfreak, Bosch had a batch of 1617EVSPK's with bad switches, this is a known problem. Two other forum members ran across 1617EVSPK's with the switch problem. I own a pair of 1617's and both are trouble free. Return your router for warranty repair(or exchange) and you will be in good shape.


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## rh111 (Mar 24, 2005)

Went to turn my 1617evs on today, and whomo no power. Went and dug up the receipt and promptly called the national service center, and they are shipping me a new switch. The router was only made a year ago according to the serial number the polite man on the phone said. No questions asked, no hassles, and best of all, NO CHARGE. That is what I call service. They are sending it 2 day guaranteed. Meaning that it will be in my hands Tuesday. Bummer that I can not use it this weekend, but it will give me time to attend to a few other projects that I have been lacking on. I also called a local service company that is a Bosch certified repair facility, and they told me that I would be looking at 7 to 10 days by time they ordered the parts and got it back to me. Bosch national service center to the rescue. That is what I call service


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## jmm (Nov 13, 2005)

I also had a bad experience with the Bosch1617EVSPK. It only took 5 months for a brand new router to encounter the same problem. I had the switch replaced but my confidence in this router and in Bosch has been greatly reduced. Would I but another Bosch tool? Not likely.


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## Hickory (Oct 25, 2005)

i have heard of a few people with these routers, having trouble with the switches..including mine..I took the air gun to it and its working for now..dust gets into the contacta..Send me the info.i may order a new switch also.

Hickory


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## Bob Mitchell (Nov 9, 2005)

*Get Bosch to send you a new switch*

The original switch was unsealed and the cooling fan caused suction on the back of the switch pulling dust into the switch until filled and stopped the contacts from mating. My router is table mounted so the cutting is above the sw and everything falls past it. If you use it handheld with the cutting below, the original switch may never have the problem.
I got quite good at taking the switch apart and cleaning it about every 4-6 weeks. Bosch seems to have been using a better switch since this summer. Their rep sent me one even though the router was over a year out of warranty. Looks like it will do the job, but haven't been using it long enough to tell. 
Part# was 2-610-913-918-879


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## Sawdusty (Mar 25, 2008)

*Yep, switch could be dusty..*

I followed the advice to blow the switch out. There was lotsa dust in the switch, blew it from the front, both switch positions, she started right up after that. Covered the switch with clear plastic and duct tape hoping to keep that from happening again, time will tell. Thanks.


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## reikimaster (Sep 29, 2005)

Bosch will send you a new one for free. I had learned to take out my switch and actually disassemble it (pull out the rocker and the little metal piece inside) and put it back together in about 10 minutes. But one call to Bosch and they sent me a new switch that appears to be better sealed. No issues with the new one. It's an easy swap if you've never opened your router and even easier if you've already taken it apart and cleaned it.


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## Sawdusty (Mar 25, 2008)

*Thanks reikimaster*

Called Bosch consumer information today. They're sending a new switch. Thanks for the tip.


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## Michael Black (Feb 8, 2009)

Hello. Hope no one minds my resurrecting this thread.

I am a newbie, and I just posted an introduction thread in which I asked for advice regarding the bosch 1617 switch problem. (I am strongly considering buying one, but bad feedback regarding the switch problem has been posted on Amazon as recently as 11/08). Can any of you tell me whether switch problems have been ongoing? In other words, once the first switch was fixed, did the router function properly, or did you have to replace the switch periodically?

Thanks in advance for any info-

Michael


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## GoonMan (Mar 22, 2005)

Hello Michael,

Welcome to the forums. I own the Bosch 1617EVS and have had to replace the switch once. All I did was call Bosch and they replaced the switch for me free of charge and it has worked fine ever since. I also pulled the old switch apart and cleaned it, the old switch worked fine after that it is now a back up. I found the router easy to pull apart and change the switch. I did put the new switch in and still working. I would not let the switch problem detour me from buying another Bosch Router. I am planning on buying a new one soon. That is how much I like Bosch. I also own the 1619, it is mounted in my router table. I am going to build a new router table and mount my old 1617 in the table.


One suggestion that I started doing after having the switch problem was to blow out the housing after each use to remove the dust.

HTH


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## dovetail_65 (Jan 22, 2008)

My Milwaukee switch goes out every once in awhile. 

I finally just kept the unit on all the time and plugged it into a bigger router switch that turns it off and on. I never touch the router switch anymore and since I did that everything has been fine.


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## dgage (Jan 6, 2009)

Call Bosch customer service. If I remember correctly, they told me that the new sealed switch is on routers with a SN# beginning with 7 or 8 ( year of manufacture)


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## sodajockey (Dec 17, 2015)

*bosch router switch problem*

I've had 2 bosch variable speed plunge routers over the years and had the same problems. Got tired of taking them apart have the same thing happen time after time, new switch or not. Now I just buy other brands...


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Toolfreak said:


> Hi. I have owned a Bosch 1617EVSPK combo-kit for a few months and recently had trouble with it. I plugged it in and flipped the switch, but the unit wouldn't run. So, I rocked the switch back and forth a few times and it started working again.
> 
> Anybody else have trouble with their Bosch not turning on?


contact Bosch CS...
you may have a bad switch that may just replace...


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Welcome to the forum. If you read the thread all the way back you saw that Bosch replaced the defective switches free of charge in most cases. Your routers may be in that vintage and they may still do that for you. When I first joined in 2010 there were a few members still claiming getting them at no charge.


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

In 1982 I bought a Bosch belt sander...still have it...still stays in alignment where I left it from last use...never had a problem...true of all my Bosch's and some other brands...

If the only problem I will ever have with them is to replace a switch, I'm gonna consider myself fortunate...

Bosch stands behind their products...don't cut the nose off to spite the face...just sayin'...

Most of my other brand tools exposed to wood, concrete or tile dust have required a switch replacement at one time or another...just part of the program...

Bosch seems to be the only one not charging for a new one...must say something, yes...?


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

jmm said:


> I also had a bad experience with the Bosch1617EVSPK. It only took 5 months for a brand new router to encounter the same problem. I had the switch replaced but my confidence in this router and in Bosch has been greatly reduced. Would I but another Bosch tool? Not likely.


Too bad you feel that way. Bosch makes a lot of really top notch tools, has amazingly good customer service, and is hard to beat without spending several times their price. 

Blowing a router out is pretty routine practice. Think about how insidious dust in in your shop. Pull boxes off the most remote shelf in your shop and you find sawdust. Its a miracle that any switch works after a year or two in the shop. Did you know that OSHA says the most dangerous dust environments in woodworking are home shops? That's why you see so much discussion of dust collection on this site.

I have 2 1617s and have never had a switch problem. To me the Bosch is by far the best affordable router out there.


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