# RongFu RF-40 help



## CaptainJack (May 6, 2022)

Hello everyone,
I took apart my RF-40 milling machine ten years ago and put it in storage until I finished our new house.
Well, the time is good for setting up the machine in my new shop. I've going through all the parts, cleaning, lubing and repainting.
The problem I have is the electrical connection inside the cover on the motor to the terminals there.
(It came wired for 220/240 and I did draw a map of the wiring when I took it apart, but that map is nowhere to be found)
The manual's wiring diagram is just short of useless for the motor hook-ups. The manual diagram is for the switch, not the motor.
The problem is there are six terminals in the motor electrical box that are labeled 1-6, the wires from/to the switch are color coded.
See attached photos.
The red, yellow and green wire are easy, two hots and a ground. The brown wire is apparently used for 120v, so that leaves me with the
black, white and blue wires to hook up to the terminals in the motor.
Does anyone have one of these machines and can snap a photo inside the cover on the motor to steer me in the right direction?
Any help would be appreciated.
Jack


----------



## mickri (May 6, 2022)

Make and model of the motor would help to get your questions answered.


----------



## CaptainJack (May 7, 2022)

This is all I got...


----------



## markba633csi (May 7, 2022)

Need more pictures & info- the color codes are nearly useless since all mfgs. do it differently
Show some close ups of the motor terminal box,  up close and personal
Are you certain the red and yellow are power? I see they don't have terminal lugs

If you are certain of the three wires that must go to the motor, there should be no continuity between them in the "off" position,
continuity between two in "forward" and continuity between two others in "reverse"-  one wire being shared between forward and reverse.

Having that information will indicate how they connect at motor end-  just need a multimeter that measures ohms or
a simple battery and light bulb tester
Let us know if you are unable to do that test or you are not sure how to proceed

PS: again, a closer shot of the motor terminal board as in post #1 would help, need a close up view
-Mark


----------



## mickri (May 7, 2022)

Welcome to the forum.  It may take awhile but somebody on here will know how to wire the motor.


----------



## pontiac428 (May 7, 2022)

From this thread:


----------



## markba633csi (May 8, 2022)

There's an error on the diagram above: for the 230v case the white wire should go to 4
The yellow is not used:  from member Werdi


----------



## CaptainJack (May 8, 2022)

pontiac428 said:


> From this thread:


----------



## CaptainJack (May 8, 2022)

My 22 year old motor terminal block is wired different, almost opposite of the picture in that thread(and no blue or brown wires).
Figures they changed wiring some where along the years.


----------



## CaptainJack (May 8, 2022)

markba633csi said:


> Need more pictures & info- the color codes are nearly useless since all mfgs. do it differently
> Show some close ups of the motor terminal box,  up close and personal
> Are you certain the red and yellow are power? I see they don't have terminal lugs
> 
> ...


Thanks Mark for some options to pursue. Yeah, looks like I'm going to have to break out the multi meter and play around. Guess it's going to be the hard way. I was so hoping someone had one of these older machines that a quick pic could provide answers.
Jack


----------



## mickri (May 8, 2022)

A picture of the drum switch would also help to decipher the wire colors coming from the switch.  Also would help to remove the unused wires.  The white, black and green wires that look to be from a cut off 110 volt cable and there appear to be two black wires that have some type of terminal on the end that don't connect to anything.  That would clear up things up and give a better visual of the terminal block.  Another thing that would help is labeling which wire numbers from the motor go to which terminal. 

I looked at the wiring on my RF 30 clone.  For 220 volt wiring there are 3 wires connected together, wire numbers 3,4,& 5.  Your wiring also has 3 wires connected together but I can't see the numbers.  For forward L1 from the switch connects to wire 1 and L2 from the switch connects to wires 2 & 6.  For reverse wire 1 and wire 2 are swapped on the wiring diagram on my motor.  I am interested in this because I have 220 in my garage and am thinking about converting my mill/drill to run on 220 with a reversing drum switch.  I'll do a sketch post it.


----------



## CaptainJack (May 8, 2022)

mickri said:


> A picture of the drum switch would also help to decipher the wire colors coming from the switch.


I'll get some shots of it tomorrow when I'm down in the shop. It's in the last stages of a rebuild/repainting.
The base, column and gear head saddle are already mounted on the new stand and dialed in.  
The gear head is on the bench drying right now after a second coat and the motor still needs a clean and paint.
Can't wait to have this machine up and running again.
Jack


----------



## mickri (May 8, 2022)

Here is the wiring diagram for how I understand 220 wiring with a typical reversing drum switch would be wired on my mill/drill.


----------



## CaptainJack (May 8, 2022)

mickri said:


> Here is the wiring diagram for how I understand 220 wiring with a typical reversing drum switch would be wired on my mill/drill.
> 
> View attachment 406493


I'll compare this to mine tomorrow...
Jack


----------



## markba633csi (May 8, 2022)

The type of drum switch may be different depending on the factory and date of manufacture, and some switches have so many terminals
it's best to buzz out the connections rather than trying to rely on color codes or even terminal numbers.  There's just no standardization,
and with 230 Volts you don't want to get it wrong-


----------



## CaptainJack (May 11, 2022)

Update: I finally gave up on trying to parse our the connections. Dropped off the motor and switch at a local electric motor
repair/rebuild shop yesterday. It will be two weeks before they can even get to it.
I just didn't want to brick the motor with the wrong connections. They are going to disassemble the motor and check bearings 
and everything else while they have it. Est. cost? About $150.
Once I get it back and mounted, I will get some photos of the connections to add to the knowledge base here and some 
photos to show off my rebuild job.
Jack


----------



## markba633csi (May 11, 2022)

You're lucky to have a motor shop nearby- they are going the way of the dodo bird unfortunately
-M


----------



## CaptainJack (May 11, 2022)

Especially the size of my town, maybe 25k inside the city limits.
HPS is the name of the shop. I tried to throw some extra cash into the equation to try to
get a little further up the wait list. He said sorry, he's working on a $100K rebuild.
Just got the gear head back on a few minutes ago...(boy, was that fun!)coming along.
Jack


----------



## matthewsx (May 12, 2022)

CaptainJack said:


> Update: I finally gave up on trying to parse our the connections. Dropped off the motor and switch at a local electric motor
> repair/rebuild shop yesterday. It will be two weeks before they can even get to it.
> I just didn't want to brick the motor with the wrong connections. They are going to disassemble the motor and check bearings
> and everything else while they have it. Est. cost? About $150.
> ...


Sounds like you will be dollars ahead in the long run.


----------

