Bandsaw issue - tries to start up then shuts down

[Michael Heffernan]

Hoping to get some help from fellow Creekers. I have a Grizzly G0514X2, with 3 hp induction motor. It's been running fine up until yesterday. I went to start it up, took a long time to get up to full speed, then shut down. I heard a click from the motor and it just wound down. Tried it again and it didn't even get up to full speed, then click and shut down. Waited a while, checked that the terminal connections were tight, got 245V at the plug and at the terminal block. Started it up, got it running, but was slow to wind up to full speed. I did some taper cuts for some maple legs and shut it down. The motor seemed to be really hot, too hot to keep my hand on the housing, but then again, I've never checked before. Now I can't get it to get up to full speed before, CLICK, and it shuts down. Even tried it with no blade on the saw. The motor spins freely, no grinding or other unusual sounds.
What could it be? It's too late to call Grizzly tech department, so I thought I'd get some help here.
Thanks.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Michael,

It sounds like the problem could be caused by 1 of 2 things. The first thing would be if the Start capacitor went bad and the 2nd thing would be if the centrifugal switch isn't closing properly when the saw is shut off thus isn't allowing the start capacitor to be in the circuit. I would remove the motor cover at one end and blow the centrifugal switch out as sawdust does get in there and prevent proper operation.

[Michael Heffernan]

Ken, thanks for the info. I did take the motor cover off, blew it out and checked the centrifugal switch on the motor. It seemed to be working okay, as far as I know. It clicks and retracts as the motor winds down.
Question: how can I check/test to see if the start capacitor is bad?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Michael,

If you have a multi-meter, a person can use the resistance measurement mode to check a capacitor. IME the old analog meters were better than the digital versions for this type of check. Using a meter in the "ohms" mode, a capacitor will initially show a low resistance and as it charges go to a high resistance. It shouldn't should remain a "short" or some low resistance. These checks are made with the capacitor removed from the circuit by disconnecting the leads. Often a bad capacitor will appear swollen and malformed but not always be deformed thus the resistance check helps. There are capacitor meters but they are expensive and don't get used often enough to warrant the expense.

[Gus Dundon]

how old is your band saw motor?

[Michael Heffernan]

Gus,
I bought the saw new in 2009 from Grizzly. I hope it's not the motor, but I suspect there might be an issue with it. I called Grizzly tech support today. We ruled out a bad start capacitor, as I can get the saw running full speed by holding down the button inside the magnetic switch. I also took off the centrifugal switch, checked the contacts (which were fine) and reseated it. Chris from tech support suspects it's a bad magnetic switch, so I ordered a new one.
In the interim, since I need to use the saw, I bypassed the magnetic switch and turn it on and off with the circuit breaker.
My concern is that it seems that the saw takes a lot longer for it to get up to full speed, about 5 or so seconds. I haven't timed it, but it is definitely longer than before. Also, as I said in my first post, the motor is very hot, too hot to keep my hand on it, after only a few minutes of run time. I don't hear any strange sounds when it is running and it didn't bog down today when cutting some tapered hard maple chair legs.
I'm hoping it was just a bad magnetic switch. We'll see when it arrives next week.

[Rick Moyer]

Michael, I am having similar issue with my cyclone. Since I can do as you can and have the motor running full speed by holding down the button, AND since I had already replaced the contactor switch, the tech I spoke to said he believes my circuit board is the issue. I was not getting power OUT at the circuit board connector. have you checked there? Did you verify that you are/or are not getting power where it is supposed to be? Just throwing it out there, as I had tried replacing parts before I got to the actual diagnosing! :o

[David L Morse]

...In the interim, since I need to use the saw, I bypassed the magnetic switch and turn it on and off with the circuit breaker...

The magnetic switch also includes the overload protection for the motor. You haven't said that you verified that the centrifugal switch opens when you get to speed nor have you mentioned the run capacitor. Faults in either of those can cause the motor to overheat and you have bypassed the protection for that.

[Michael Heffernan]

Rick, I have not checked to see if there is power OUT on the switch. I will do that when I have a chance.

David, the centrifugal switch does open when it gets up to full speed. I only hard wired it to complete some taper cuts for a job I need to finish. Did that and now the saw will be idle till I get the new mag switch. I looked at the start and run capacitors. There was no deformity in the cylinders. I know that they can go bad without looking bad, but I'm not sure how to check if they are.

Guess I have some more investigative work to do. Motor diagnosis and repair are not in my wheelhouse, but I'm learning....

[Rick Moyer]

Michael, what I meant is there power at the OUT connector on the circuit board. I had power everywhere I should have but not on the out plug from the circuit board. The tech believes that the circuit board went bad, because I should have power from that plug to the magnetic switch. May not be your problem but something to check. I am hoping a new board will resolve my problem.

One other note: Apparently Grizzly no longer sells just the board for my situation so I have to buy the whole unit; may be your situation too.