HELP i’m so frustrared

[[email protected]]

I have a 25-pdvc stove, bought in late august 2008. I have a auger motor issue i cant figure out, The top auger just stopped working a couple days ago. I have bench tested the motor and it does not work. I have tested the wires for power and when everything is hooked up I have no power to motor, when I bypass the vaccum switch I get power. There is power leaving the control panel. Is the vaccum swich bad to or am i missing something,i blew through the hose and it is clear and the little hole is clean.

 

[SlyFerret]

My initial thought is that the motor died, and then blew a fuse in the control system somewhere.

-SF

 

[BrotherBart]

What did England's Stove Works technical support say when you called them?

 

[[email protected]]

I haven't been able to talk to them, they're hours don't work so well for me. I sent an email last night and i am waiting to get a response

 

[jtakeman]

So if you jump the vacuum switch the auger works, Did you check the door seals and stuff like that?

You can check the switch with a small vacuum pump and a ohm meter. The switch is NO until it gets vacuum.

My guess is you might have a vacuum leak on the stove or a faulty vacuum switch.

Jay

 

[donbryce]

I have bench tested the motor and it does not work.

When my top auger quit, I removed all the pellets and shop-vacuumed the auger tube to get out all the findings, which were packed in there tight. Once free, I then tried to push/spin the armature, which you can get at with your finger or a small screwdriver with the back off the stove. It's visible through the opening as well. It wouldn't turn. So I removed the motor and took it to the bench, intending to open the gearbox to see if it was jammed. But I first tried again with a small screwdriver to free up the jammed armature, which did pop free on a second try. At that point, I made up a test lead and verified that the motor was working.

When out of the stove, does your armature spin freely, but applying 110V it doesn't turn?

 

[[email protected]]

My auger turns freely I didn't have any problem with that, i was hoping for that being the problem. when the motor is removed it does not spin by hand, when hooked to a 110 source the motor makes noise like it wants to go and that does not turn either. I think I am going to try Jay s idea with a vacuum and see if the switch works or not. Seems weird that the motor and switch would go bad at the same time.

 

[donbryce]

When I called Englander to discuss my problem, he said I'd done exactly what he'd recommend: push on the outer edge of the armature with a flat blade screwdriver as well as pushing the armature/shaft in toward the gear box, to free it up. Although I didn't see anything fall out of the gap between the armature and the core, we theorized that a particle of something got in there and jammed the thing up. Real easy to imagine, as the back of those motors is wide open through the hole in the backing plate. I removed my motor to do this, but he said I could have done this with the motor still in the stove.

It sounds to me like either your armature is jammed physically, like mine was, or there is a break in the winding wire, maybe at the crimp connector(s) if you're lucky, which should be easily re-soldered.

 

[[email protected]]

OK new findings. I screwed up a little I put the vacuum hose on the wrong port on the switch. I now have power to the motor, hooked up correctly, how ever the motor still doesn't turn. Hopefully just bad motor. I guess I'll wait for the warranty dept. to get back to me tomorrow.