Thread: Crappy Ryobi table saw won't start

Just throwing these out there - sorry if they sound obvious.

1) blown the home circuit? check your circuit breaker;
2) what about a powerboard - it may have tripped or died;
3) got any fuses between the saw and the main power? they may have done their dash.

What you describe sounds a lot like it overloaded the circuit and tripped something on the home side - I'd say check that out first.

After that there will be other things that people who know more than I do will be able to assist with.

sCORCH

Thanks for the quick reply, but none of those apply. It was plugged into a wall outlet and an extension cord that both power a plugged in light so it can't be anything on the home side. I read another article on dusty switches within the saw, so I'll see if that was fried and if I can clean it. Any other things I should look for if that doesn't do it? I'll post soon as to the switch thing working or not. THanks again.
Steve

Well, the switch is sealed and there was no dust in there and the contacts looked brand new with no dust or carbon buildup. Are we now looking at the field assembly or something like that inside the motor? Thanks in advance again.
Regards,
Steve

Press the reset button near the switch

The BTS15 does not have a reset button. Here's a detailed parts list with diagrams:
http://www.m-and-d.com/pdfs/ryobi_tool/BTS15_290_r.pdf

Might be on the motor itself

dose it smell like burnt bakealight?

Don't think I smelled anything but as I said before, it sparked and then died. It did smoke a bit too, and now that I think about, it probably wasn't the wood that was smoking, but rather the motor. No reset switch on the motor either. I'm going to try and take it apart today and see if the field assembly is melted (which I suspect). Found a site that sells them for 30$ so it might be worth it. Will update once I've opened it up and, possibly, figured this out for myself. Any other tips are still appreciated as I am venturing into unknown territory.
Regards,
Steve

I think it is going to be the field assembly. Not helpful, I know, but you may want to just jack the Ryobi up and slide a new saw underneath it.

It's DEAD!!

Toast, as the Yanks call it.

you let the smoke escape!

It's ALIVE!!! I ordered the field assembly just prior to Honorary Bloke's suggestion and we were both right! I pulled the motor, took it apart and the fried field assembly did not look bad, nor did it smell off. Tested the connections with a multimeter and one of the coils was definitely toast. Put the new one in (30$ fix for a 130$ saw) and it works just like new!! Thanks to all the humurous posts and to Honorary Bloke for actually knowing the guts of these things. Back to cutting. Bye.
Steve