Pulled motor on Powermatic 65 table saw, made repairs to elevation gears, reinstalled motor, and it will not run. It just buzzes and tries to turn. I checked switch for loose wires, plugged into wall socket that is running fine on belt sander. My volt/amp meter conked out, so I bought another one that has a clamp-on the cord type tester, but haven't checked it out. According to youtube, I can check capacitor with this tester. Will check it and also to see if a connection on the motor might have pulled out. Any other suggestions? Thanks!

Edited November 24, 20178 yr by Ron Dudelston
tags added

Some motors have starter contacts that use centrifugal force to open and a spring to close them. If dirt gets between the contacts, when the motor shuts down, it won't start up the next time. I had a radial arm saw that would do that. To get it started, I'd wrap a string around the motor shaft- NO BLADE- turn on the switch and pull the string- like starting a mower. The motor would run and I'd used compressed air blown thru the motor fan openings to clean out the dust. Usually it would start up the next time OK.

 

Not sure if this will help. 

Testing Motor Capacitors.pdf

Electric Motor Troubleshooting.pdf

Electric Motor Troubleshooting (Polyphase).pdf

Diagnosing Electric Power Tools 101.pdf

Type of motor?   open frame?   oil cups at end?   TEFC (totally enclosed fan cooled)...   if you have it unplugged you can a lot of times simply look at the caps and see if they are burnt/crispy critters...   Stick left you some good stuff there.. 

Jim, Lew's stuff is where I would start...have you checked those out yet?

Here's what I did: I bought a volt/ohm meter since my other one was defective. Checked out youtube on how to check capacitors, confirmed that they were good, pulled end of motor, found points were burned, took 600 grit sandpaper, shined points, reinstalled endcap, fired it up. It ran so sweet that I decided to check my 5hp motor on planer that had been sitting for several weeks waiting on a good deal on a new one of even a used one. Guess what! I found the same thing wrong with this one! When I connected it to a tempory power source, all I could do was praise God for His goodness! Then, the thought came to me: I wonder how many electric motors are thrown away or carried to an electric motor shop and pay a hefty price for a simple repair that almost anyone can do at no cost! Well, this leads me to another motor that has been laying around for a few weeks, but I haven't had time to check it out. Will try to remember to let you know what I find.

3 hours ago, oldwoodie said:

found points were burned

Glad you found it! The ones on my old radial arm saw would collect dust so compressed air did the trick. You're right about discarding or paying high prices for a simple repair.

Most of the time it's just dirt between the points.