Motor Capacitor Replacement ?s

I agree with Mark, might as well replace both while you're at it. I read that the start caps are usually the ones to go out first. Cheap ones don't have good duty cycle so if you are doing a job where you have to turn & off the machine repeatedly you eventually blow the start cap.

Sure enough, that's what happened to my mill some years ago. Start cap blew during a production run I was doing. My lathe has the same motor as my mill & it's older but surprisingly it hasn't blew a cap yet. If you have a multimeter (even better if it can measure capacitance) you can check if the cap is bad. Sometimes the caps will also show physical signs of failure, like bulging or cracks, depending on the type of cap.

I don't know much about AC motors so I wasn't sure about ordering caps from Mcmaster at the time since they listed a uF range. Don't see that in DC & is what I'm used to. I ended up finding the exact values & physical size at Grainger. Weren't too expensive & I was able to just drive down to pick them up the next morning.

They were their house Dayton brand & at first I was worried cause they were made in China. But they looked nice & had metal cases. As mentioned, I had to cut the wires on the old ones & I installed spade connectors as that's what the new caps had. That will make future changes quick & easy.

Weird thing is the stock start cap was made in China & the stock run cap was German, both with plastic cases. I replaced both & haven't had a problem since.
 
Ah well I take that back, memory not too good anymore. I found the pics I took. Only the replacement run cap I got was a metal case but I have no idea it that even matters. Looks like my caps are the same value as yours. Here's what I had, again they fit inside my covers just fine. The stock caps barely lasted me a year & it's been 4 years since I replaced them. (I forgot how ugly that motor was painted white, yuk, I painted the motor black when I changed the caps).

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Thanks Will. They're probably the exact same caps I'm gonna get from McMaster, but branded otherwise. I know about caps via DC (I've built circuits in the past) but wasn't too sure of them pertaining to AC motors. But, this is how we learn. I'll get mine on Friday. We shall see.
 
Thanks Will. They're probably the exact same caps I'm gonna get from McMaster, but branded otherwise. I know about caps via DC (I've built circuits in the past) but wasn't too sure of them pertaining to AC motors. But, this is how we learn. I'll get mine on Friday. We shall see.

Yup same here, I worked in automotive & electronic repair. I'm not very familiar with AC motors. But at least when that happened I now know what the centrifugal switch looks like & how it works. And good thing there's plenty of guys here that are knowledgeable & helpful.

I assume the caps from Mcmaster will be good quality & they don't sell China stuff that is junk. As long as they fit you should be good.
 
Oh BTW, be careful when changing those caps. Make sure they're denergized first! Search online on how to do so or the guys here can recommend a safe way. Don't do like I do with a screwdriver.... ;)
 
Oh yes, I learned that cap drain lesson long time ago. It was a ....shocking moment. :p You definitely do not forget those lessons quickly. BTW, I first thought the centrifug switch was the culprit. It still could be but I doubt it. I thought of going to 3ph VFD setup but it'll have to wait. I'll be happy to have the lathe running properly again.
 
Guys, I need some help here please. My G4003G lathe's motor started slowing down while taking a really light cut the other day. Yesterday I go to start the motor at the 1400rpm setting and it wouldn't spin up unless I helped it. I spins up fine on slower settings tho. I'm thinking it could be either both start and run caps going bad or the motor itself. The motor seems to run and sound fine so I'm hoping it's the caps. The start cap is the one I'm unsure which to go with. The start cap is 150uF, 250V. McMaster has two ranged caps that might work, this 130-156uF cap, and this 145-174uF cap. I don't know which is the better bet to go with. Thanks.


Either of the two will work fine, particularly since the tolerance of standard electrolytic capacitors are 10 to 20%. The more important paramter is the working voltage - if the old cap is 250V, you will want a cap 250 V or more -- but never less.
 
Yep. I've always went by the 20% rule with caps, though that's for general use. For tight tolerances in a circuit I use 10% or less.
 
If the motor has enough age to have a cap failure, if it isn't a big effort, good time to check bearing lube, smell inside the motor to see if windings got hot. Sometimes the windings change color from the heat too.
 
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