How to Replace the Cord and Strain Relief on a Porter Cable Router

Before you begin any repair, you should make sure you have the right parts. Remember to use eReplacementParts.com's Porter Cable parts finder to get the right parts for your router. For this repair we used a Porter Cable router, but the steps will be similar for other routers. Remove the Cord Before you begin cutting wires, you should note which wires go where--drawing a diagram can be especially helpful. This can save you a lot of time when you go to reattach the wires later.

1. Remove the top cap

Remove the two screws that hold the top cap on the router and remove the top cap.

2. Remove the switch assembly

Remove the screw that holds the switch assembly to the router.

3. Remove the strain relief

Remove the two screws that hold the strain relief assembly in place.

4. Cut away the crimp connectors

Porter Cable installs crimp connectors to connect the wires at the factory. Cut the wires as close to the crimp connectors as possible to give yourself plenty of wire to work with when you connect the wires later.

5. Remove the ground wire

Remove the ground wire screw. Now your cord should be free.

6. Replace the strain relief

Slide the strain relief off the cord.

Replace it with your new strain relief.

If you are replacing the cord, you will slide the old strain relief off the old cord and onto the new one. [Back to Top]
  Reinstall the Cord If you are installing a new cord, you will need to trim your wires down to size and install an eyelet on the ground wire before continuing with the re-installation process.

1. Reattach the ground wire

Reinstall the screw that secures the ground wire to the router.

2. Prep the wires for installation

You will need to strip the wires on the router and the switch. About half-an-inch of exposed wire is adequate.

3. Connect the wires using wire nuts

Twist the wires together.

Then trim them for proper length--they should be short enough that they fit completely inside a wire nut.

Then install the wire nuts onto the connected wires.

4. Reinstall the strain relief

Reinstall the two screws that secure the strain relief holder.

5. Reattach the switch

Before you reattach the switch, you should ensure that the black wire is routed over the top of the switch so it stays out of the aperture's way.

Then secure the screw that holds the switch in place.

6. Replace the top cap

Make sure your router wires are short enough that they won't interfere with the aperture. You may have to nestle them into place to be sure they won't get in the way.

Then just reattach the top cap with the two screws.

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  Conclusion Removing the cord on a router is an easy repair that you can do yourself in about 30 minutes. By learning to remove the cord you will be able to troubleshoot future issues with your router and keep it maintained and operational without having to pay for costly repair shop work. Remember that eReplacementParts.com has detailed breakdowns for Porter Cable power tools, and finding the parts you need is as simple as typing your tool model number into our convenient model number search feature.   [Back to Top]
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