TS Won't Start

[John Hart]

Hi,

I have an old Craftsman 10" Table Saw that, while I was ripping some 2X4s, the blade got pinched and stopped. Before I could power down, the breaker blew. So, when I reset the breaker, now the motor won't start...it just groans a bit.

I assumed that the Starting Cap had failed, so I checked it and found that the bakelite covering had cracked and it had some obvious heat damage.

Now the weird part is...if I remove the drive belt, the motor starts and runs normally. I had an old motor sitting on the floor doing nothing, so I pulled its Starting Cap out and put it on the table saw...but had identical symptoms. I don't know what the ratings of that cap are, because there are no markings, but it was the same physical configuration...just slightly larger diameter.

Anyway...I assume that the cap I stuck on there is the wrong ratings....but thought that my symtoms would change....Am I wrong?

I ordered a new starting cap, but it won't be here for a week and I wanted to be sure that I haven't missed anything.

There's a 15 microfarad running cap as well, but it looks ok. So my question is....Should I just wait for the Starting Cap and find something else to do? Or should I continue troubleshooting because the problem might be somewhere else?

Oh yeah...dispite the appearance of the starting cap...it still produced a spark when I discharged it across its terminals.

Any help is appreciated.

[Chris Parks]

The obvious question is...how tight are the bearings that support the blade shaft. I guess you would have noticed if there were any problems in the area but it is a point to consider.

[John Hart]

Yes Chris..thanks. I checked the shaft and it is free spinnning. I can't detect any binding anywhere, and the motor bearings feel good as well.

[Britt Lifsey]

I had not used my Craftsman TS much in several years and had a similar problem last year when I started using it more but I did not have that final stall. Mine just started failing to start or would be very sluggish starting. I found web site showing how to test start capacitor with multimeter and mine checked out OK by the test instructions. I ended up removing motor and taking it apart and cleaning everything by wiping it down and blowing out with compressed air. Also, my motor has 2 locations for oil that have little yellow plugs in them. So far, my saw has been starting right up since then.

[John Hart]

That's interesting Britt!! And encouraging!!:)

Fact is...I've never cleaned the inside of the motor, and never removed those oil plugs in the 20 years I've owned the saw. And over the past couple months I've been building a library with an incredible amount of sawing.

After work tonight, I'll do a complete teardown of the motor and let you know how it comes out.

Thanks!

[John Hart]

This is too weird.

The table saw broke yesterday afternoon (Sunday)....I ordered the Capacitor on-line from Grainger at 9:00 pm last night....delivery via UPS Ground....I expected about a week delay.

It just arrived an hour ago.

So...that's 17 hours from order to arrival.....on a Sunday.:eek:

Is that some kind of record? :)

[Ken Fitzgerald]

John,

Grainger and others seem to work well in wilds of Idaho too.

[John Hart]

John,

Grainger and others seem to work well in wilds of Idaho too.

Well...I'll tell ya what Ken...I am thoroughly impressed. It's difficult dealing with companies these days because Customer Service is a dying commodity....

It sure is refreshing when you can order a routine $6 part and it arrives like it was given special treatment.

[John Hart]

Okie Dokie....Well, I came home and decided to install the starting Capacitor before cleaning the motor (just to be sure) and sure enough...it started right up. Full power...nothing wrong.

But...I decided to tear it apart anyway and give it a good cleaning. Actually, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be....but it was worth the trouble.

I'm back in business. Thanks for your help guys!! :)

[Britt Lifsey]

Glad you got it going!

[Randall Clark]

Make sure you change the oil and plugs and wires . . .

[John Hart]

Make sure you change the oil and plugs and wires . . .


Hmmm...Last time I did that, the transmission went out the next day and the radio died a week later. Tune-ups are bad. :mad: