Thread: Motor problem

Take care with that oil, Some of these capacitors were filled with fairly nasty stuff so dont take chances with it. The capacitor is leaking , this causes heat. The oil boils and spews out and in no time at all there will be a big bang and smoke.
So replace the capacitor and all should be OK.
There are cheap Chinese motors on the market which use standard electrolytics, These last OK as long as you dont push the motor. If this is one of those then the fluid is electrolite and should smell fishy. I suspect this may be what youy have. The value may be high, in the hundreds uF mark unlike standard starters in the tens.

As rrobor says be careful of that stuff if the motor is really old about the 1960s it could contain PSBs which are carcinogenic. Have it serviced.
Regards

Originally Posted by Malcolm Eaton

About 18 months ago I picked up a second hand Contractors saw bench for $250.00, the age of the saw is of unknown vintage as well as the brand. The motor is a 1 1/2 HP unit and of equal age to the machine. The unit has been going great guns for the last 18 months and has not missed a beat, that is till late yesterday after noon when while just finishing cutting a couple of chip board panels and in the throws of getting ready to turning the machine off when I heard a distinct zap sound ( a shorting sound) that appeared to come from the motor. After turning off the power and disconnecting at the wall plug I checked around the motor particular the junction of the power cable to the motor. In the process of the check I noticed a trace of oil on the cable where it hung just beneath the motor it appeared the oil had oosed out from around the junction of what I think is the capacitor ??? ( a semicircular housing which is attached to the motor) and dropped down onto the cable. The metal cover to the capacitor was quite hot to tough.
This morning I turned on the machine and it started up with out any trouble and I run it for a short period.
My question is could the problem be with the capacitor and what is the meaning of the oil around the housing,
is the capacitor on its way out and needs replacing or is it time to get the motor serviced.
Looking forward to your comments
Malcolm Eaton

I took everyones advise and removed the motor from the saw and had it checked out thoroughly including the bearings by the experts W.A. Rewind Co, according to their report there is nothing wrong with the unit. They could not determine what the problem could have been.
The unit has now been reinstalled and seems to be running OK.
Thanks for your advise.
Cheers
Mac

Good one.
May be the oil spilled from something else or was something else deposited by rodents or other critters. You can think of all these things after the fact but good on you for taking it to the experts.
Thanks for letting us know the result.