Laguna Dust Collector not going on

[Justin Rapp]

That's great support from Laguna. I sometimes read about poor experiences with Laguna support.

I have never really had any issues at all with Laguna support, however this was the first time I called with a failure, the rest were just questions and I always got efficient responses. I have 3 Laguna machines.

[Justin Rapp]

I haven't posted an updated as my son was in the hospital so that took precedence. The part showed up in a few days via Fed-Ex, and after swamping out the entire control box, everything works fine again. Thanks again for all the info and help.

[Justin Rapp]

This is now the second time my Laguna CFLUX 3 has failed. The first time I was under warranty and Laguna made good on it pretty quick. However this morning I ran it to make a cut and it worked just fine. About 4 or 5 minutes later I went to make another cut, hit the remote start and hear it about the start up and it just started to make some bad click noises and I saw a few sparks fly out of the side of the electrical connector box on the side of the motor. I just it down right away and unplugged it. I was shocked to see it's own circuit breaker not even trip. I opened the box and found it fried up. We'll see what they say this time, but the motor assembly is $709.00 from Laguna on their parts page. <GRRRR>

I will be in contact with Laguna today/tomorrow to see what they say.

However - I am looking to this group for some ideas that would help provide me a better and hopefully more cost effective solution.

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[Robert Hayward]

Is that box just a junction box? Could you have only fried a terminal because of a loose connection?

If the motor is fried and caused the connection to overload a motor repair shop would be a lot cheaper than new from Laguna. I would think anyway.

[Bill Howatt]

My first impression is like Robert's comment. It looks like the heat damage could have been caused by a poor connection on the terminal strip. I would speculate, fancy word for guess, is that the motor isn't fried because it likely would have tripped the supply breaker if not it's internal overload. The clicking is a bit of a mystery but and it might have been caused by the internal overload tripping on and off depending on its design if the motor went bad.
If it is a bad motor then the shop can advise you on how to proceed. They may well tell you a new 3HP motor is cheaper than a major repair like a rewind. If the mount is generic you don't need to go with a Laguna motor.

[Justin Rapp]

Is that box just a junction box? Could you have only fried a terminal because of a loose connection?

If the motor is fried and caused the connection to overload a motor repair shop would be a lot cheaper than new from Laguna. I would think anyway.

My first impression is like Robert's comment. It looks like the heat damage could have been caused by a poor connection on the terminal strip. I would speculate, fancy word for guess, is that the motor isn't fried because it likely would have tripped the supply breaker if not it's internal overload. The clicking is a bit of a mystery but and it might have been caused by the internal overload tripping on and off depending on its design if the motor went bad.
If it is a bad motor then the shop can advise you on how to proceed. They may well tell you a new 3HP motor is cheaper than a major repair like a rewind. If the mount is generic you don't need to go with a Laguna motor.

Thanks for the insight. I contacted a local motor shop and he asked me to bring it in to verify the issue. I will start the process of taking the motor out of the machine tomorrow or Friday.

[Robert Hayward]

I still think your problem is with the terminal. Only the terminal looks burned. The wire under the burned terminal looks pristine. If that wire got hot enough to burn the terminal the coating on the wire would be burned also. Take that plastic safety cover off the terminal strip and post a picture please.

Would sure be easier than removing the motor from the machine.

[Rollie Meyers]

That Packard definite purpose, DP, contactor is not UL listed, it is a UL recognized component for use in listed equipment, although some say DP means "don't purchase" because they are built to be cheap, OEM users only care that it lasts until the warranty expires.

[Justin Rapp]

I still think your problem is with the terminal. Only the terminal looks burned. The wire under the burned terminal looks pristine. If that wire got hot enough to burn the terminal the coating on the wire would be burned also. Take that plastic safety cover off the terminal strip and post a picture please.

Would sure be easier than removing the motor from the machine.

It looks like it might just be the terminal. Maybe the connection got a little lose and made a bad contact causing it to heat up and fry. I have a new terminal block showing up today but won't have time until tomorrow to reconnect everything and give it a try. It sure is better than removing the motor AND a heck of a lot cheaper if this is all it was.


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[Justin Rapp]

That Packard definite purpose, DP, contactor is not UL listed, it is a UL recognized component for use in listed equipment, although some say DP means "don't purchase" because they are built to be cheap, OEM users only care that it lasts until the warranty expires.

The Packard contactor is not what I put in my machine. That post was from Robert. My contactor was replaced with an entire new control box from Laguna. However I don't see a UL on the one Laguna supplied either!!!

[Robert Hayward]

It sure is better than removing the motor AND a heck of a lot cheaper if this is all it was.

Here's hoping that is all that is wrong. Make sure the new ring crimp terminal you put on the wire can handle the amp load.

I have had the motor/impeller out of my Cflux3. Terry cloth towels do not filter through the machine like sawdust, in case you were wondering. While not a fun job it was not all that difficult either. It was heavy though.

[Robert Hayward]

The Packard contactor is not what I put in my machine. That post was from Robert. My contactor was replaced with an entire new control box from Laguna. However I don't see a UL on the one Laguna supplied either!!!

Yes, that was me. The cheap Packard contactor is working just fine as I type this. My Cflux3 is in a hobby shop that is far from being mission critical. If the contactor burns out in the future I will buy another just like it.

[Justin Rapp]

Yes, that was me. The cheap Packard contactor is working just fine as I type this. My Cflux3 is in a hobby shop that is far from being mission critical. If the contactor burns out in the future I will buy another just like it.

Mine is also a hobby shop. What is interesting about the C-Flux-3 is it is supplied as a dust collector (or was) for their large CNC machines. When I ordered my C-flux 3, it was actually 'out of stock' from the retailer but after calling Laguna, they checked and had a c-Flux-3 that was slotted to pair with a CNC that was back-ordered for 4 months. So that does mean that this machine is used in large commercial/industrial shops.

I know the motor is heavy as heck - I carried it down to my basement when I first bought it. It seems I won't need to pull it off this time.

[Justin Rapp]

It looks like it might just be the terminal. Maybe the connection got a little lose and made a bad contact causing it to heat up and fry. I have a new terminal block showing up today but won't have time until tomorrow to reconnect everything and give it a try. It sure is better than removing the motor AND a heck of a lot cheaper if this is all it was.


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Update: I had time tonight to test out the machine with a new terminal block. I wired it up and the machine runs just fine. It was localized and my guess is this connection came loose, had an arc and it fried. I couldn't find the exact terminal block in a pinch and this one is a little bigger but for testing purposes it served it's purpose. I will be in contact with Laguna to try and get the exact one that fits or get to an electrical supply store. Oddly enough, the numbers on the burned up terminal block find zero matches on a google search.

[Robert Hayward]

Update: I had time tonight to test out the machine with a new terminal block. I wired it up and the machine runs just fine.

Good to hear. I am guessing also that a loose terminal is what caused the burn.