Gray Lady test results-pics-questions

[Kathy Marshall]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far.
I went into town this morning and picked up a volt meter. I tested the wires going to the motor with the unit plugged in and the power switch off, and with the power switch on and both showed no reading (see the x's testing the ground and black and the ground and white). I do have a healthy respect for electricity and am being very cautious with testing.
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The clicking I hear when hitting the start and stop buttons is from the contacts in this relay box. At first I thought the box was sealed, but in the pics I can see there is a slot at the top and bottom to access the contacts. I'm thinking the next area to test would be the stop/start station and limit switch terminals that are connected to the relay switch and the connections from the relay to the transformer. Or should I work my way backwards from the motor until I find a connection that gives a reading? Also, I'm assuming the ground from the motor can be used as the ground for testin all other connections?
I will wait for replies before I go poking the tester into wires willy-nilly. One of my neighbors is an electrician so I may go see if he's available to help with the testing.
This is the relay switch. Lots of red wires coming out of it.
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Other pics for whatever good they may do.
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Let me know if you have any other suggestions, and thanks for all the help so far!

[Jerry Marcantel]

Kathy, seeing that you have a magnetic starter, it sounds like that could be it..... Something has gotten in it and wont let it make contact when you depress the switch. If there's a cover for it, remove it, blow it off, and try it and see what or where the clicking is coming from.
Tuesday, I'm leaving Tucson and going up to Kirkland Junction by way of Wickenburg on 60, so if you're home, I could stop by and maybe give some help if you haven't solved the problem yet......Jerry (in Tucson)

[Kathy Marshall]

Yaaaaaayyyyyyyy!Got the neighbor over and we got it running. Really a simple fix to do with the slow start safety feature. I'll post a better explanation tonight when I'm on the PC. Too much typing for the phone.Thanks for the help and thanks for the offer Jerry!

[Marty Eargle]

Awesome! I'm sure that's a big weight off your back.

[David E Keller]

Congrats on getting her up and running... I don't even want to think about the pouting that might have occurred over the long turkey day weekend if you'd been without a lathe! Looking forward to hearing more about the fix.

[Josh Bowman]

Fantastic! I'll quit Googling Delta 46-613 lathes trying to find the pictures you just posted:o
I had no doubt that it was something simple. Motors are fairly reliable, but all that junk in the contactors box.....well.....it's amazing it works as long as it does. My Jet 1642 and a friends PM 4224 are not immune to such. Dust in the low amp switch will kill them every time.
Now it's time to get back to turning, look forward to seeing what's next off the Old Grey Lady.

[John Keeton]

Folks, we all just witnessed the clearest example of VORTEX WITHDRAWAL that I have ever seen!!! I am so glad you got this fixed, Kathy. My concerns for your mental health are much relieved. Given the several hours you have gone without turning, that massive woodpile of yours will see no mercy!!!

[David DeCristoforo]

"Yaaaaaayyyyyyyy..."??? That's it? I would have thought at least some backflips...

Glad you got it running and completely interested in finding out exactly what you did. Mine does this from time to time and I would love to know exactly why...

[Bernie Weishapl]

Good thing Kathy got it running. She was needing a vortex fix fast.:D

[Allan Ferguson]

Oh yes! Don't we have fun. Glad you up and running.

[Kathy Marshall]

Congrats on getting her up and running... I don't even want to think about the pouting that might have occurred over the long turkey day weekend if you'd been without a lathe! Looking forward to hearing more about the fix.
The pouting would have been an ugly sight to be sure!


"Yaaaaaayyyyyyyy..."??? That's it? I would have thought at least some backflips...

Glad you got it running and completely interested in finding out exactly what you did. Mine does this from time to time and I would love to know exactly why...
I couldn't take pics of the backflips while I was doing them, but you can be sure they were there! Couldn't get my neighbor out of the shop fast enough!


Good thing Kathy got it running. She was needing a vortex fix fast.:D


Folks, we all just witnessed the clearest example of VORTEX WITHDRAWAL that I have ever seen!!! I am so glad you got this fixed, Kathy. My concerns for your mental health are much relieved. Given the several hours you have gone without turning, that massive woodpile of yours will see no mercy!!!
I just hope no one else ever has to go through as bad a case of VW. I swear the shakes and trembling started within minutes of realizing my lathe was in a coma!

Ok, so here's what happened:
My lathe is equiped with a slow start option safety feature (David, if yours doesn't have the locking box over the start button, it probably doesn't apply). Basically the feature protects from unauthorized use and keeps students from making dangerous mistakes. I always thought the feature was disconnected (and still do) because I have always been able to start and stop the lathe at any speed.
The feature works this way, there is a locking box that fits over the start button. In order for a student to use the lathe, the instructor would unlock the box, put the speed control at it's lowest setting (off) and then he would push the start button. Since the speed control is in the off position, the lathe will not start. The instructor would lock the box over the start button and the student would move the speed lever slightly to the left to reduce the tension and then by moving back to the right just a little the lathe would start. The student could then adjust the speed as needed and when they needed to stop the lathe, they would move the lever back to the off position and they would be able to restart it. If they had an emergency or used the stop button for any other reason, the lathe would be locked off again and the instructor would need to unlock it.
As I said before, I have always been able to use the start and stop buttons at will, but for some reason the slow start option decided to engage.
While my neighbor and I were trying to find the problem, we were tracing wires and just happened to find the control box for the slow start feature, it has a button that gets depressed when the speed lever is in the off position, a little bit of fiddling with the speed lever and bang, the lathe was on!
I turned on it all day today, and it worked just fine. But at least now I know what to do if it happens again!

[Baxter Smith]

Glad you solved the problem and it was something simple, and easily fixed - at least if it happens again!

[Dan Forman]

Glad you got her up and running again so soon.

Dan

[Steve Schlumpf]

Congrats on getting your lathe up and running!! Glad it wasn't something major!!

[Steve Campbell]

Now you need to turn a nice bowl for your great neighbor. Glad to hear you got it up and running. sure would have liked to see the back flips.

Steve