Help diagnosing Makita drill problem

[Matt Day]

My Makita drill/driver is about 8 years or so old and has performed very well until recently. After releasing the trigger it continues to spin. Is there a brake or something that's worn out?

[Rick Potter]

I had to replace the trigger mech on a couple of my older makitas.

[Jamie Buxton]

Is this a corded drill, or a battery one?
When it continues to spin, is it just kinda winding down, or does it seem like power is still going to the motor? That is, would it cheerfully continue drilling through wood?

[Matt Day]

Battery, lion. It spins down slowly with diminishing power.

[Mike Stalkfleet]

On my Bosch drill the brake stopped working when the brushes were worn low, replaced the brushes and the brake started working again--don't know how they are related though.

[Jamie Buxton]

Here's a guess, without knowing much about your drill. It is a variable-speed device, right? That is, you can pull the trigger lightly and it spins slowly, but if you pull the trigger harder, it spins faster.
So I'm guessing that when you now let off the trigger, some part of it is kinda stuck, and the trigger takes a while to come out. The motor is following the orders of the slow trigger. I'd take the trigger apart, looking for sawdust or something that keeps the trigger from sliding easily and smoothly.

[Jerry Bruette]

On my Makita the brake is engaged when the trigger isn't pulled and this enables me to tighten bits in the chuck. If you can turn your chuck by hand maybe it is a brake, if not then it's probably the switch.