Table saw running in reverse
philtomlinson
| Posted in Power Tools and Machinery on
OK this is a new one for me. I’ve got a 2-year-old Powermatic PM 2000, 3HP, wired for 220. Today after running the saw for a while, I stopped, changed a blade, and when I went to start it back up, it ran backwards for a second and then tripped the breaker. Two more tries, including hand-spinning the blade in the proper direction, it did the same thing. Nothing else changed in the shop, etc. Switch? Motor? Capacitor? Anybody have any ideas? Thanks Phil
Replies
Is the machine hardwired or plug-in? In either case, who did the wiring?
I did the wiring...two plus years ago. The saw came wired for 220 and I ran the line and plugs. This is a change in a saw that has run perfectly for quite a while.
Capacitor
Turn the blade around and go at it from the other side....JUST KIDDING...couldn't resist
I think you can eliminate the switch from your list of suspects. It could fail to connect one or the other of the contacts, but there is no way for it to reverse the direction of rotation.
Did you try posting on BT? There are (or at least were before the format change) several electricians who frequent that forum.
Good luck
Phil,
Check the contacts on the centrifugal switch on the end of the motor. Then check the capacitor. Either could cause this.
KK
Spoke with Powermatic service today: The original switch has insufficient overload protection so they are replacing them all (which may or may not have anything to do with this); and they are sending me a new start capacitor. Will report back after the changes. Thanks for all the suggestions!
Conclusion:
Installed new starter capacitor and switch. Tablesaw is back to normal.
Thanks for all the input!
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled