Why does my drill just click instead of driving the screw?
The ratcheting sound is the clutch doing exactly what it was designed to do — five reasons it is doing it too early, in the order worth checking.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 8 min
- Read
- 4 min
Short answer
The clutch is slipping because the screw needs more torque than the setting allows. Turn the collar up a couple of numbers first. If it still clicks at the top setting, the real problem is the screw: no pilot hole, too long for the material, wrong bit camming out, or the drill in the wrong gear.
That rapid ratcheting noise is a ball jumping out of a detent under spring pressure — the torque clutch releasing. It is a feature. What matters is whether it is releasing at the right moment, and when it releases too early there are only a handful of reasons, all of them quick to check.
Step by step
- Turn the collar up and test on scrap.Two or three numbers at a time, into an offcut of the same material with the same screw. Thirty seconds of testing saves a stripped hole in the actual work.
- Pilot the hole if it still slips at the top.A pilot sized to the screw's solid core removes the material the shank has to wedge apart, which is where nearly all the resistance comes from.
- Check the bit before blaming the clutch.Cam-out and clutch slip sound different — cam-out is a grating jump, clutch slip is an even ratchet. If the bit is climbing out of the head, the clutch is not your problem.
- Drop to gear 1.If you were in gear 2 you were asking the drill to drive at the wrong end of its range. Gear 1 often makes the clutch setting you already had work fine.
- Reset the collar afterwards.Once the job is done, put it back to a low number so the next screw does not go straight through whatever it is holding.
Tips
- Repeated hard slipping wears the clutch detents over time. If you find yourself at the top setting regularly, the answer is a pilot hole or an impact driver, not more slipping.
- Plasterboard and thin sheet materials want a very low setting indeed — often two or three — because the screw meets almost no resistance until the head suddenly bites the paper.
- Cold weather makes screws harder to drive in old timber and can make a marginal clutch setting insufficient. Set it by testing on the day, not by memory.
If it doesn't work
Clicks from the very start, before the screw bites
Cause: Clutch set far too low for the material — Fix: Turn the collar up three or four numbers and try again on an offcut. Working up from low is right; starting at the bottom every time is not.
Drives most of the way, then clicks as the head approaches the surface
Cause: Correct behaviour at a slightly low setting — Fix: Go up one number at a time until the head just seats flush and no further. This is exactly what the clutch is for.
Clicks at the highest number as well
Cause: The screw genuinely needs more torque than the clutch can pass — Fix: Drill a proper pilot hole sized to the screw's core. In hardwood, chipboard or a deep screw this transforms the effort needed. Move to the drill symbol only as a last resort and with care.
Clutch clicks and the bit is also spinning in the screw head
Cause: Cam-out, not clutch slip — a worn or wrong-size bit — Fix: Match the bit type and size exactly to the head, replace a rounded bit, and push hard along the screw's axis while driving.
No clicking, but the drill stalls and the trigger goes dead
Cause: Wrong gear, or a battery in protection — Fix: Change down to gear 1. If the tool cuts out entirely and comes back after a pause, the pack is hitting its current limit — use a larger or fresher one.
Clicking happens in the drill symbol position too
Cause: A worn or damaged clutch mechanism — Fix: The clutch should be locked out entirely in that position. If it still slips, the detents or the drive dogs are worn and the tool needs service or replacement.
Screws drive fine in softwood, clutch clicks in old timber
Cause: Dense or resinous old wood, and no lubrication — Fix: Pilot every screw, and rub the thread on a candle or a block of wax. It sounds like folklore and it halves the torque required.
Questions people ask
Is the clicking damaging my drill?
Occasional slipping is normal use. Sustained slipping under high load wears the detents and heats the gearbox, so it is a signal to change something rather than to keep pulling the trigger.
Should I just use the drill setting to get past it?
For one stubborn screw, carefully, yes. As a habit, no — nothing then stops the drill when the head seats, and that is how screws snap and holes strip.
Why does my impact driver never do this?
It has no clutch. It hammers until you let go, which is why it drives long screws effortlessly and destroys small ones.