Electric Spliter Problem

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shanenest

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Oct 1, 2008
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MA
Have an older craftsman electric splitter, its one of those models that splits in both directions. While splitting a piece of stringy willow it kept going in one direction & even after flipping switch to make it go back in the other direction it won't. I don't know much about electrical but i would like to try to fix myself. Any idea what part needs to be replaced to make this work again? My guess is it somehow switches polarity to make it reverse directions & whatever makes that happen is fried.

thanks for looking!
 
Have a picture?
 
Sure, thanks for the help!
 

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I am guessing a screw (threaded rod) provides the motive force?

Chances are good that the swicth is the problem. Are you confident in your electrical skills?

Edit; Further proof that trying to burn willow is bad.
 
yes, that seems like it would be the case. It is driven by a screw. I will open up & see if i can see that switch.

i am no electrician but my electrical is okay.

Thanks!
 
Here are a few pics of the electrical components. I think its probably the switch thats bad, but not sure...any way to test with volt/amp meter? Other 2 parts are circuit & bridge rectifier.
 

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Idealy, you can jump out the motor in each direction. If they both work, it is the switch, in which case, replace it with an identical one. If you are lucky, you can figure out how to jump the motor from the motor schematic, inside or under the cover plate.
 
tough to tell from the pics, but I would say that the fact that it has a rectifier means that the motor is a DC motor. So if you switch polarity of the motor it should go the other way. I agree check / change out the switch.
 
You should be able to ring out the switch to see if it reverses the polarity of the DC going to the motor but if I were to guess I'd agree that the reversing switch is probably broken.. One other thing to check is check the DC voltage from the bridge rectifier with your meter on AC range the meter reading should be low.. Sometimes a bridge rectifier will lose half the bridge giving you half wave DC instead of full wave (essentially giving you less than ideal DC with lots of AC ripple).. The rectifier cost is peanuts compared to the switch..

Ray
 
If you have a meter:

With power disconnected, read the resistance of the two switch positions (forward/reverse). One side should be open and the other a short. Move switch position: the readings should reverse, the first should be a short and the other open. If this is not the case, you gotz yourself a bad switch.

The switch is more than likely the cause. Ray is on it with the rectifier as well, but those usually leave a smoke trail if they fry.
 
Jags said:
If you have a meter:

With power disconnected, read the resistance of the two switch positions (forward/reverse). One side should be open and the other a short. Move switch position: the readings should reverse, the first should be a short and the other open. If this is not the case, you gotz yourself a bad switch.

The switch is more than likely the cause. Ray is on it with the rectifier as well, but those usually leave a smoke trail if they fry.
Click to expand...

I've seen rectifiers fail partially so you end up with half wave instead of full wave and no smoke etc.. If the OP lives nearby I will check it out for him if he drops by here..

Ray
 
raybonz said:
Jags said:
If you have a meter:

With power disconnected, read the resistance of the two switch positions (forward/reverse). One side should be open and the other a short. Move switch position: the readings should reverse, the first should be a short and the other open. If this is not the case, you gotz yourself a bad switch.

The switch is more than likely the cause. Ray is on it with the rectifier as well, but those usually leave a smoke trail if they fry.
Click to expand...

I've seen rectifiers fail partially so you end up with half wave instead of full wave and no smoke etc.. If the OP lives nearby I will check it out for him if he drops by here..

Ray
Click to expand...

If it was a partial fail then the splitter should at least make a nasty buzzing sound and it should affect both directions, not just one.
 
Contacts inside switch fail, will cause your problem. Partial failure of rectifier is a long shot. Another less obvious condition is a broken lead inside the insulation. Your power from the rectifier is fed to the 2 center terminals on the switch. The 2 sets of terminals on the edges of the switch are to the motor. polarity reversed between the 2 sets. as it works one way power is good. so need to determine which side of switch has failed. If 110ac volt input, output of rectifier is about 90v dc no load. the contacts furthest from the tip of the switch arm are the ones being used for that direction. Therefore we have isolated the problem to one set of leads from the switch. hope this helps. Chris
 
OK done troubleshooting here if you need an answer bring it here.. I have been a licensed electrician over 20 yrs. and been industrial troubleshooter longer than that...

Ray
 
Thanks to everyone who has tried to help...i really appreciate it!

Sorry for the late response, just too busy lately.

I am convinced its a bad switch, now trying to figure out where to find it or something similar, tried local electrical supply today, but no luck. Someone in a google search suggested its a McGill 0140-4017, i hope to look into that this weekend. I have the switch out & it has this info on it...

6A 600 VAC 17A 125-277 VAC
1-2-3 PH 1HP 125 VAC
2HP 250-600 VAC

If anyone has a suggestion on where i can get such a switch i am all ears. I have a few more pics of the switch out if that is any help.

Also figured out that it looks like this is a Flowtron electric splitter made for craftsman if anyone is familiar with them.

Thanks again guys!
 
Grainger would be your best bet,
 
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