# FAO: All Kestral DA owners (power cable replacement)



## notsosmall (Sep 13, 2008)

So i got my self a nice new Kestral DA polisher and after using one for the first time on sat the first thing i noticed was the very short power cable length, so by the time you have the machine's power cord over your shoulder the plug is already off the ground never mind when you are trying to stretch over the bonnet or the roof, and the last thing you want is a extension lead hanging round you ankles or waist, which could also swing and cause damage the the paint.

So i decided the change the complete power cord on mine to 10metres and here's a little guide of how i done it, its very easy to do with only basic tools and minimal cost of £7.98, I bought a 10m garden extension lead from B+Q as it was only £7.98 as a pose to the £12 odds for 10m of cable plus you would need a plug.

Tools needed:

Philips screw driver 
knife or cable stripper 
2 X small spade connectors 
Crimping tool (for the spade connectors) 
Extension cable

*From this:* 









*To This, in under 5 mins:* 









First off you need to remove the Screw from the end of your machine next to the speed control: 









which leaves you with this: 









now remove the cord retaining clip and the 2 power connectors and pull the old power cord thru the base on the machine, i've kept mine in the polisher box just in case i need the warranty at any point i would replace the original cable. 









Now remove the plug from the new extension lead and get your spade connectors and crimping tool, 









the earth is not require so i simply cut this back, as below: 









crimp the spade connectors on: 









and now left with this ready to re build: 









Put the new cable thru the black end of the polisher, connect the power terminals (remember the way you removed them, mine was live top neutral bottom BUT CHECK YOUR OWN!) and re fit the cord gripper final check that all is well 









re fit the bottom of the polisher with the 1 screw you removed and you will now be left with this: 









A easier to use Kestral DA 

Hope this is helpful, i must add that i take no responsibility for damage caused to your machine if you try this your self!!


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## Glasgow_Gio (Mar 24, 2008)

I don't have one but well done on producing a how to. Maybe the mods could sticky this in the machine polishing or tools section...?


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## kenny wilson (Oct 28, 2008)

Mind you looking at it and commenting on Saturday, didn't think you would go n make it happen so quick!
Top marks fella! Cando kinda guy!


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## notsosmall (Sep 13, 2008)

kenny wilson said:


> Mind you looking at it and commenting on Saturday, didn't think you would go n make it happen so quick!
> Top marks fella! Cando kinda guy!


Can do = will do mate :thumb:


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## scott170 (Nov 21, 2008)

Pure Genius mate :thumb: Im off to b+q in the morning !


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## notsosmall (Sep 13, 2008)

scott170 said:


> Pure Genius mate :thumb: Im off to b+q in the morning !


Glad you like :thumb:


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## Turbo weasel (Nov 1, 2008)

Nice one. Will mod mine as well. Thanks. :thumb:


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Superb write up of it there and a perfect mod for the machine.. the cable really is too short as standard. Well done for sorting it quickly 



notsosmall said:


> Can do = will do mate :thumb:


Like it :thumb:


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## Rickeh (Nov 3, 2008)

Just used my Kestrel for the first time today and noticed how annoyingly short the cable is i'll be giving this a bash soon, cheers.


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## grant_evans (Mar 2, 2008)

awsome guide mate, gives me somthing to do tommorow


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## notsosmall (Sep 13, 2008)

Turbo weasel said:


> Nice one. Will mod mine as well. Thanks. :thumb:





Dave KG said:


> Superb write up of it there and a perfect mod for the machine.. the cable really is too short as standard. Well done for sorting it quickly





Rickeh said:


> Just used my Kestrel for the first time today and noticed how annoyingly short the cable is i'll be giving this a bash soon, cheers.





grant_evans said:


> awsome guide mate, gives me somthing to do tommorow


Really glad you like my guide 

Its a really worth while mod to do and as you can all see its very easy to do :thumb:


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## Scotty Pro (Nov 12, 2008)

Just came across this guide... well done and thanks for giving me the idea of changing my own power lead, although I don't have the same machine as yours (I've got the Clarke). Funny how most of these leads tend to be on the short side.


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## notsosmall (Sep 13, 2008)

Scotty Pro said:


> Just came across this guide... well done and thanks for giving me the idea of changing my own power lead, although I don't have the same machine as yours (I've got the Clarke). Funny how most of these leads tend to be on the short side.


Thanks, and i hope your is as easy to change as the kestral is but you wont know till you try it :thumb:


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## Gandi (Dec 18, 2007)

I assume this can be done in the same way on the Rotary version as the cable for that is also to short


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## notsosmall (Sep 13, 2008)

Gandi said:


> I assume this can be done in the same way on the Rotary version as the cable for that is also to short


Yeah i would assume so but it wont be exactly the same, i would try it if i had one :thumb:


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## Sim (Feb 18, 2008)

Fantastic guide


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## mneame (May 16, 2007)

nice guide that. just picked one of these up as an extra bit of kit and was a little disapointed that the lead was so short.


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## notsosmall (Sep 13, 2008)

Sim said:


> Fantastic guide





mneame said:


> nice guide that. just picked one of these up as an extra bit of kit and was a little disapointed that the lead was so short.


Thanks, glad you like it :thumb:


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## martin slaven (May 27, 2008)

Just been to b&q and bought one of these garden extensions, changed my cable over on the kestrel, took about 10 mins


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## notsosmall (Sep 13, 2008)

martin slaven said:


> Just been to b&q and bought one of these garden extensions, changed my cable over on the kestrel, took about 10 mins


nice one mate :thumb: Makes the machine much better to work with


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## Scotty Pro (Nov 12, 2008)

notsosmall said:


> Thanks, and i hope your is as easy to change as the kestral is but you wont know till you try it :thumb:


Well had a spare moment last night, also had a broken B & D Strimmer, :thumb: so, cut the lead off the strimmer and slapped in on my Clarke, took about 10 minutes in total. :thumb: 
Going to be a lot easier to work with now. :buffer: 
Thanks for the guide and if anyone else has not changed their cable yet, I suggest they do it, it makes a world of difference


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## notsosmall (Sep 13, 2008)

Well done mate :thumb: 

Good idea with the strimmer cable :thumb:


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## Scotty Pro (Nov 12, 2008)

notsosmall said:


> Well done mate :thumb:
> 
> Good idea with the strimmer cable :thumb:


yeah, saved me a few quid on a cable, now, what can I buy with the money I saved :lol::lol:


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## jasonbarnes (Sep 10, 2008)

that will help me loads thats something to keep me busy sometime next weekend when ive got a minute cheers:thumb:


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## notsosmall (Sep 13, 2008)

jasonbarnes said:


> that will help me loads thats something to keep me busy sometime next weekend when ive got a minute cheers:thumb:


Wont keep you busy for long though its really easy to do, i've been using mine the last few days and its been great not having to mess about with extension leads


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## Leodhasach (Sep 15, 2008)

Excellent stuff! :thumb: Having the extension thingy knocking around my ankles was a bit of a pain, so I'll be giving this a go!

Thanks,
Andrew


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## Tiggs (Feb 28, 2007)

Bought my kestral on friday, arrived yesterday, changed the lead over last night. Just waiting for the weekend:buffer:

:thumb:Thanks for the tip :thumb:


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## notsosmall (Sep 13, 2008)

Leodhasach said:


> Excellent stuff! :thumb: Having the extension thingy knocking around my ankles was a bit of a pain, so I'll be giving this a go!
> 
> Thanks,
> Andrew


yeah well worth doing, and as you can see others have done it and found it easy to do :thumb:



Tiggs said:


> Bought my kestral on friday, arrived yesterday, changed the lead over last night. Just waiting for the weekend:buffer:
> 
> :thumb:Thanks for the tip :thumb:


good for you mate makes the machine far better to work with :thumb:

Enjoy


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## prkprk1 (Dec 12, 2008)

Hi, thanks for the useful thread. B&Q now do the 8m version of this cable for £5.98!
Just changed my kestrel over but the live + neutral were the other way around.

PLEASE DO CHECK YOUR CONNECTIONS PRIOR TO TURNING ON!!


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## fulley (Oct 8, 2008)

This was also the first thing I noticed when I opened the box. I cant understand why the make the lead so short.

I extended my cable a different way. I chose to cut the plug off and fitted one of these,










I then attached it to a 6m length of flex. I decided to do it this way to make it easier to fit the machine into the toolbox I have for it. Means I dont have a huge length of cable to try and fit in.

I realised after I cut the plug off that it was only 2 core cable so could have got away with a 2 pin plug.


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## notsosmall (Sep 13, 2008)

fulley said:


> This was also the first thing I noticed when I opened the box. I cant understand why the make the lead so short.
> 
> I extended my cable a different way. I chose to cut the plug off and fitted one of these,
> 
> ...


I would rather change the cable and plug completely, this way you have the original cable and plug for warranty purposes and you still have that smaller plug hanging about your ankle with the possibility of it banging against the car your polishing and possibly causing damage


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## notsosmall (Sep 13, 2008)

prkprk1 said:


> Hi, thanks for the useful thread. B&Q now do the 8m version of this cable for £5.98!
> Just changed my kestrel over but the live + neutral were the other way around.
> 
> PLEASE DO CHECK YOUR CONNECTIONS PRIOR TO TURNING ON!!


I did write in my guide to check your self which way your terminals were,

just aswell you did check :thumb:


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## RobDom (Oct 26, 2005)

Did this today with the 8m B&Q extension cable for £5.98, did it before on my previous PC too, well worth doing.


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## North east Car Care (Jan 14, 2008)

Has any one done this with a Makita 9227CB Rotary??


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## Original Poster (Apr 28, 2008)

Does anyone have a link to where I can buy an extension lead from for my DA? Had a look in Homebase at lunch today and could not find anything? Anyone got a link?


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## Beancounter (Aug 31, 2006)

butler2.8i said:


> Has any one done this with a Makita 9227CB Rotary??


Try here :thumb:


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## Chris424 (Dec 5, 2007)

Brilliant! Nice one!

I have a G220, so may look at this, although I presume it would void the waranty?


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## Beancounter (Aug 31, 2006)

Chris424 said:


> .......although I presume it would void the waranty?


Not if you keep the old cable/plug and place it back on the machine should anything untoward hapen.


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## North east Car Care (Jan 14, 2008)

Cheers Beancounter:thumb:


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## Auto Detox (Dec 22, 2007)

Gent's what are these plug things called please ? 

Thanks
Baz


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## fulley (Oct 8, 2008)

Auto Detox said:


> Gent's what are these plug things called please ?
> 
> Thanks
> Baz


Have a look here http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=13182 :thumb:


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## andy monty (Dec 29, 2007)

Auto Detox said:


> Gent's what are these plug things called please ?
> 
> Thanks
> Baz


you dont need the 3 pin the kestral is double insulated....

another thing your connecting it to an AC power supply hence polarity isn't important.... most of our power tools have these fittings (electric drill, planer, sander, jigsaw, router et all










BUT it appears these have been discontinued probably due to several numptys using them on earthed appliances and getting killed :wall: or overloading and causing a fire...

(goes to local shop to buy stockpile of them tomorrow)

hell we have a duraplug converter somewhere which will do the old 5A round pin socket 15a round pin and 13a square pin...

TBF its like a lot of stuff you get what you pay for..

I am tempted to reflex mine with the type of Flex used on electric Irons (the heat resistant cloth covered stuff that should be kinder to paint (till it picks up grit)


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## Auto Detox (Dec 22, 2007)

^^^ Thanks guys :thumb: I want it for my Makita, lead is way too short as I dont fancy taking it apart to extend the flex this way is perfect for me 

Cheers
Baz


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## Auto Detox (Dec 22, 2007)

Picked up the orange connector & some flex from Maplins yesterday afternoon as usual very helpful & now fitted to Makita, excellent just what I needed, thanks guys :thumb:

Baz


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## Lump (Nov 6, 2008)

i have 2 machines so will do it the way above, one long lead that i can change over to both :thumb:


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## andy monty (Dec 29, 2007)

Lump said:


> i have 2 machines so will do it the way above, one long lead that i can change over to both :thumb:


if you use the 2 pin make sure the appliance doesn't need an earth (take plug top off and check before you buy) :thumb:


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## Mark OD (Dec 20, 2008)

thanks for the tip mate just got a Kestrel yesterday and made the switch to a 10m cable this morning 

works a treat now :thumb:


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## needhampr (Feb 13, 2006)

I've also done this mod now :thumb:
Found a spare 20m outdoor extension lead and used that. I'll be able to plug into the neighbours opposite and use their leccy with 20m


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## sharkey (Mar 19, 2009)

As being an electrician, cutting the earth off any cable is a big no no. It should be terminated inside the appliance even if the appliance does not have an earth connection for it. The cable may in the future be removed and used somewhere else that requires an earth. Otherwise, great write up


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## notsosmall (Sep 13, 2008)

Fair point 

But i would just strip the cable back to get the earth if needed again :thumb:


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## sharkey (Mar 19, 2009)

Yea i do realise that. If you do it properly first time round it means no more hassel, that's all. But hey it's helped alot of people so far. The orginal cable is just far too short


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## andy monty (Dec 29, 2007)

sharkey said:


> As being an electrician, cutting the earth off any cable is a big no no. It should be terminated inside the appliance even if the appliance does not have an earth connection for it. The cable may in the future be removed and used somewhere else that requires an earth. Otherwise, great write up


or just buy a length of 2 core arctic cable :wave:


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## sharkey (Mar 19, 2009)

Well if you have the Gees. Can be expensive lol


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## Judas (Jul 3, 2008)

aren't all the kestrel DA's really new, this will void the warranty won't it?


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## notsosmall (Sep 13, 2008)

Yes there are still under warranty, so that's why i still have the original cable in the box, 

There is no security tags/ stickers removed so who will ever know it has been opened 

:tumbleweed:


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## Rich00p (Feb 19, 2008)

somone from Kestrel who just happens to come on this site?

lol


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## notsosmall (Sep 13, 2008)

Well hopefully nothing will go wrong with them anyway and there will be no need to use the warranty :thumb:

And if there is someone from kestral here get it sorted and supply them with a usable length of cable in the first place


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## Rich00p (Feb 19, 2008)

^ lol agreed


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## sharkey (Mar 19, 2009)

Agreed too. For the price of the damn things you think that they could supply a few meters of extra flex


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## Judas (Jul 3, 2008)

Rich00p said:


> somone from Kestrel who just happens to come on this site?
> 
> lol


words right out of my mouth.......lol


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## sharkey (Mar 19, 2009)

Well if you install the flex properly they wont be able to tell. If you want to be sure, change the flex when the warranty has finished


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## swiftflo (Jul 28, 2008)

Has anyone tried this on the Kestrel rotary, it looks as the handle comes apart differently.


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## andy monty (Dec 29, 2007)

for as long as it lasts there is an BIN on Ebay for the duraplug 2 pin connectors £2.80 free postage (get em whilst you can) and its not me selling although i have just bought 3 sets since they have been discontinued 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/DURAPLUG-10A-...14&_trkparms=72:1683|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318


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## SPECKY (Sep 3, 2008)

Just got some extra cable for mine. Been meaning to change it for a while now. Cable FOC from sparks at work !!!!! GOTTA LOVE EM !!!!!


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## sharkey (Mar 19, 2009)

Fibre Optic Cable? I just used 0.75mm heat resistant


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## sharkey (Mar 19, 2009)

lol


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## Evil Twin (Jun 15, 2008)

Job done !! Ready for its maiden outing on sunday. Thanks notsosmall !!!


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## andy monty (Dec 29, 2007)

Spot the mistake :wall:  :wall:










:lol:


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## andy monty (Dec 29, 2007)

Oh FFS took the duraplug plug off slid the shroud on and i now have this










Im off back to bed :wall:


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## notsosmall (Sep 13, 2008)

:lol::lol::lol::lol:


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