My drill suddenly died mid-screw - battery or motor?

Hey all, I've got a 2-year-old cordless drill that just stopped working while I was driving screws. Battery is fully charged (checked with the charger), but the drill won't spin. No weird smells or smoke. It just quit. Could it be the battery or the motor? I'm on a tight budget and don't want to buy a new drill if I can fix it. Any advice?

Before you go buying anything, check the brushings on the motor if it's a brushed motor. Those wear out and can cause sudden stops. If it's brushless, then maybe the switch is fried. Take the battery out, pop the drill apart, and look for any burnt stuff. Usually it's a cheap fix if you're handy.

If the battery is good, might be the trigger switch. Those can fail internally. I've seen that happen a lot on drills. Try pressing the trigger while checking if there's any power getting to the motor with a multimeter. If you're not sure how to test, just check the contacts in the battery holder for corrosion. Also, make sure the battery is seated properly - sometimes they look like they're in but not fully.

Proper diagnosis is key. Clean the battery contacts and the drill's terminals with electrical contact cleaner. Then, if you have a multimeter, test the battery voltage - should be around 20V for a 20V max tool (or 18V for 18V). If that's good, check the trigger switch continuity. But it could also be the motor's armature. I'd also check if the chuck is jammed - try rotating it by hand. If it's seized, that might be the issue.

To add to what the others said - if it's under warranty, check that first. Some brands offer 3-year warranties. But if not, and you can't test it, you can try swapping the battery from a friend's drill if they have the same brand to rule out the battery. If it still doesn't work, it's probably the drill. I'd say buying a new drill might be cheaper than fixing if it's the motor, but check around for used parts.