Beginner dealing with first power tool failure - Delta table saw - guidance?

[Steve Morrissey]

Hey folks, been a lurker here for some time, recent member, and relatively new woodworker.

A few months back I got a used Delta 36-979 left-tilt table saw with a 1 1/2 HP motor (Delta A13922). It's been working well since I got it, few tweaks here and there such as a new belt and lining up the pulleys, but that's about it.

Until last night. I was adjusting the tilt stop for true 90 degrees, then loosened the 4 bolts holding the motor on the mounting plate to align the pulleys since there was a slight vibration. Tightened it back up, went to go flip the switch to fire it up: nothing.

Not just nothing, the power switch literally wouldn't flip to On. The safety wasn't inserted, it was just stuck. Being dumb, I just pushed the switch up a bit harder and eventually it went into the On position, but the motor didn't start. Crap.

Now I've introduced two possibilities: either I broke the switch, or the switch was stuck in Off for safety reasons (maybe?) due an issue with the motor?

Here is what I've tried to get it going again, with zero luck (no sounds, no smoke, nothing):


Multiple extension cords to rule out the one I was using being the culprit
Multiple outlets, all 20A, all different circuits
Reset button on the motor -- it's mushy, so I'm assuming it's not tripped
And the big one: bypassing the power switch entirely by using a computer power cable plugged directly into the power plug on the motor -- which I understand should just start it right up immediately, and it STILL wouldn't start


Now I'm baffled, and a bit sad.

Does anyone have a good resource for a beginner on motor troubleshooting relevant to table saws that have the motor that hangs off the back? I've found a few videos but a lot of them seem to talk about motors that directly drive the saw, as in benchtop saws, which seems less relevant to my issues.

Thanks in advance!

[Frank Pratt]

Give Delta tech support a call. Although I personally have no faith in Delta or their customer service.

[Frederick Skelly]

Give Delta tech support a call. Although I personally have no faith in Delta or their customer service.

I was surprised to find a site for tech support, but here it apparently is: LINK (https://deltamachinery.com/support/)

Steve, do us all a favor? After you talk to them, come back and tell us what you thought of their support. For example, were they able to talk about your machine, did they seem to know what they were doing, etc? There was a massive drop in their support and performance after they were sold a couple years back - Im wondering if they have all the tech manuals and troubleshooting tools, etc.

Best of luck!
Fred

[glenn bradley]

Will the motor turn freely by hand? The fact that you energize the motor directly bypassing the switch with no result does not bode well. Does the motor look as though it’s been stored outdoors or miss used or is it excessively dirty? You could try blowing it out to make sure that things aren’t just clogged up in there. Let’s try this is the first step and see where we get.

[Steve Morrissey]

Give Delta tech support a call. Although I personally have no faith in Delta or their customer service.


I was surprised to find a site for tech support, but here it apparently is: LINK (https://deltamachinery.com/support/)

Steve, do us all a favor? After you talk to them, come back and tell us what you thought of their support. For example, were they able to talk about your machine, did they seem to know what they were doing, etc? There was a massive drop in their support and performance after they were sold a couple years back - Im wondering if they have all the tech manuals and troubleshooting tools, etc.

Best of luck!
Fred

Hey folks, thanks for the pointer on contacting their support -- I'll give that a try!

I will say that back in August I contacted Delta support re: obtaining a dado throat plate for the 36-979, as I couldn't track down the part number to save my life. They told me where to buy it and what the part number was. Ended up making my own throat plate because it seems like the way to go, but they did come back to me with a workable answer after a couple days.

I've heard the horror stories about present day Delta, which is part of why I turned to you folks first on this issue :) But you're right, they're worth a try. I'll contact them today.


Will the motor turn freely by hand? The fact that you energize the motor directly bypassing the switch with no result does not bode well. Does the motor look as though it’s been stored outdoors or miss used or is it excessively dirty? You could try blowing it out to make sure that things aren’t just clogged up in there. Let’s try this is the first step and see where we get.

The motor does turn by hand, yes indeed. It's in what I think is mint condition for it's age, the guy who sold me the unit used it professionally in a shop and cared for it well based on what I see. No rust, etc. To cover my bases I did blow it clean just in case, alas no luck.

I ordered a Grizzly 2HP motor from Amazon (Prime returns if I can get my Delta working again), so I'll have a fallback -- in theory. I've never wired a motor before but it doesn't look hard.

Do motors usually come with power cables connected already? I assume not, and that I'd need to wire it with the male C14 plug like my current motor has.

I live in Minnesota and my shop is in a non-insulated garage, so this is prime time for getting Christmas gifts made before it gets too cold out. Ordered a bunch of hardwood to make picture frames for my family, which will sport a picture of my infant son. So it figures the tool I need to cut the pieces to size would fail now :D

[Clint Baxter]

When you describe the motor reset as mushy, that sounds like that might be the issue. That, and the fact that bypassing the switch did nothing for you. Most of the time I’ve pressed a “reset” motor reset switch, it typically has no give to it. The only time I remember give, was when I was resetting a tripped switch. If it were me, I’d be giving that some more attention.

Clint

[Steve Morrissey]

Alright my friends, I come with good news (well good for me anyway).

While looking at the reset button again I noticed the problem: in the overload box where the power cable enters the motor, one of the rubber L mounts (don’t know the technical name) that bridges the hot wire with the reset button/fuse wiring had an issue — the wire was starting to pull out of the connector and wasn’t making contact anymore. But it was still in the connectors rubber housing so it appeared fine.

I pushed the wire further into the contact and gave it power again, it started right up.

This makes more sense to me now, as it was me adjusting the motors positioning on the mounting tray that introduced this failure, an operation that is super gentle, UNLESS you have a wire in the motor that’s literally holding on by a thread already. That was enough to bump it loose.

Thanks for the pointers folks, those telling me to re-evaluate the reset button made me notice this issue, so I appreciate all your advise!

To follow up on contacting Delta: I requested a manual and troubleshooting information about the motor and received it within 1 hour.

[Frederick Skelly]

Great news Steve! Glad it's resolved.
And thanks for the follow up on Delta.
Fred