Hi everyone, I have done a search and not found any info so I'm goint to ask...my MC900 lathe has stopped starting under its own steam. The spindle will turn if I give it a spin to start with but will no longer start just from the switch. All the headstock seems to turn freely by hand with no strange noises.

Is it the capacitor that is dead? Not enough juice in it to kick the spindle over so to speak?

Cheers

Paul

Hi Paul
From your description it is the only answer capacitor is shot
Cheers Rod

almost certainly the cap.the one I had did the same thing.
from memory it is a plug in not soldered so just take it to a decent electrical supply and match it I go mine from HAFCO and I think it cost around $30
regards
Bowl-Basher

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I can turn large lumps of wood into very small bowls

get your capacior from a electronics outfit and it willbe cheaper that Hafco, about half . On the side of the capacitor should be all the info you need. If you cant find one Google is your friend.

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hughie

Dont worry about life cos' your not gonna get out of it alive!

Hi Paul,
What others have said maybe true, but maybe you should blow the dust out of the Switch first.
Not sure of your Motors size, & maybe I shouldn't be writing this either.?
My Electrician Friend fixed my 1/2 Hp. motor, with a Capacitor from a 4 x 40W Fluoro Lamp. even fitted into the Plastic Cover.
Now goes like a beauty. Cost ; Zero.
Jaycar had them for $20, but they were sq. & would not have fitted.

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Regards,
issatree.
Have Lathe, Wood Travel.

Hi Paulphot,
I had exactly the same problem with my MC1100.
Had an electrician fit a new one, took all of 10 minutes and cost $25.
Works realy well now.
Cheers Keith.

Thanks for all the replies everyone, I'll take the capacitor out tomorrow and get a replacement. I'll also give the switch a good clean out while I'm at it but I tend to keep those parts fairly clean anyway.

Paul

This thread reminded me that mine has needed a new start cao for a while. Mine has a 10uF cap in it, and the Jaycar ones have 10uF in a square cap, but the round ones don't come in that value. Looks like ebay is a good source though. Heaps of round 10uF / 450V caps. The original in mine had flying leads coming out of it that use double ended crimp connectors to connect to the motor leads. Still tossing up whether to do that again, or fit spade lugs and get a cap with spade connectors. The heat shrink crimp connectors would make insulation less of an issue, and no risk of vibration disconnecting them, but spade lugs make future replacement easier. Any thoughts anyone?

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The other day I described to my daughter how to find something in the garage by saying "It's right near my big saw". A few minutes later she came back to ask: "Do you mean the black one, the green one, or the blue one?".

This is a bit hard to explain but here goes - The capacitor provides the push to help start the motor its all about the angle of the lead /lag between the voltage and current in the motor. If you change the size of the capacitor it might slow down the start but probabily you won't notice. The rule of thumb is change like for like and motor life will be the same, changing size may shorten the life of motor. If you don't know the size of the capacitor post a reply with the details of the motor and I'll check with some of my motor winding friends and see what they say

It's easy enough to get the same value cap. The original is 10uF/450VAC, and those are easy to find. In my case, I'm wondering about whether to get spade terminals, or leads on the cap. The original came with leads that are crimped to the motor leads. I am tempted though to crimp insulated spade connectors onto the motor leads and use spade connectors instead. quicker replacement in future if it dies again. Also, the spade connector caps seem to be better quality (made in Europe/Aust rather than China, which I believe does actually make a quality difference with these parts). OK, I think I've talked myself into it.

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The other day I described to my daughter how to find something in the garage by saying "It's right near my big saw". A few minutes later she came back to ask: "Do you mean the black one, the green one, or the blue one?".

As long as the wiring is correctly insulated, it does not matter,

Jeff