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Quad Drill Press Electrical Malfunction

WakelessFoil

Aluminum
Joined
Aug 18, 2020
So for a couple of months we have been scratching our heads on this WW2 era quad drill press. When we energize it, nothing happens until we push the small button like protrusions in on the small black electronic things located on rear (relays?). Only then do the motors spin up. The machine has one large main contactor that seems to output to the small black things. It really seems like a simple machine electrically, but considering we have gotten smoke from the black things a couple times, I wanted to get someone else's opinion on what could be the reason for our starting problem (and to figure out the nature of the small black components). I have included three images of the drill press.

Any input is greatly appreciated.
-Justin
 

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So, can we get a pic of the small black things, and the button(s?) in question?

And maybe a better indication of where these are?

I think, from the photos, that the "black things" are in the long slot in one pic (with what seem to be wire terminals), but that pic, most everything in there looks black.

Do the motors turn on together? Or are there individual switches?

So, the probable situation may be that there are overload detectors for the individual motors, and that you are holding in the reset buttons to get it to run.

Did you have to rewire it for your voltage? Like from 440V to 220V? If so, the overload detectors may likely need a different thermal element, which may or may not be available.

Smoke is not a great sign, but if, as it looks may be the case, there is oil in that area, then the smoke might be oil burning off a heater element.

Better pics of at least one of these "black things", showing the button you have been pushing, would be a big help.

Also of the motor data plate on one of the motors, as clear a pic as you can get. Wipe the dirt off first.

If indeed they are overloads, and you have not changed voltage, then, does the motor run when you push the button associated with each one?

And does it shut off when you stop pushing?
 
So, can we get a pic of the small black things, and the button(s?) in question?

And maybe a better indication of where these are?

I think, from the photos, that the "black things" are in the long slot in one pic (with what seem to be wire terminals), but that pic, most everything in there looks black.

Do the motors turn on together? Or are there individual switches?

So, the probable situation may be that there are overload detectors for the individual motors, and that you are holding in the reset buttons to get it to run.

Did you have to rewire it for your voltage? Like from 440V to 220V? If so, the overload detectors may likely need a different thermal element, which may or may not be available.

Smoke is not a great sign, but if, as it looks may be the case, there is oil in that area, then the smoke might be oil burning off a heater element.

Better pics of at least one of these "black things", showing the button you have been pushing, would be a big help.

Also of the motor data plate on one of the motors, as clear a pic as you can get. Wipe the dirt off first.

If indeed they are overloads, and you have not changed voltage, then, does the motor run when you push the button associated with each one?

And does it shut off when you stop pushing?

Thx, we’ll check your function questions tomorrow. Meanwhile here are some more pix, I work with the OP and was near the drill today.

John Morris has shared 13 photos with you! | Flickr
 
Yah, looks like overload units. And it sure looks oily/greasy in there.

I'd be betting those are old as the hills, and no parts have been available for the overloads for decades. But let's see what the answers are.
 
So, can we get a pic of the small black things, and the button(s?) in question?

And maybe a better indication of where these are?

I think, from the photos, that the "black things" are in the long slot in one pic (with what seem to be wire terminals), but that pic, most everything in there looks black.

Do the motors turn on together? Or are there individual switches?

So, the probable situation may be that there are overload detectors for the individual motors, and that you are holding in the reset buttons to get it to run.

Did you have to rewire it for your voltage? Like from 440V to 220V? If so, the overload detectors may likely need a different thermal element, which may or may not be available.

Smoke is not a great sign, but if, as it looks may be the case, there is oil in that area, then the smoke might be oil burning off a heater element.

Better pics of at least one of these "black things", showing the button you have been pushing, would be a big help.

Also of the motor data plate on one of the motors, as clear a pic as you can get. Wipe the dirt off first.

If indeed they are overloads, and you have not changed voltage, then, does the motor run when you push the button associated with each one?

And does it shut off when you stop pushing?

The small black things are in the rear just behind the table. We did some further testing and found that all the motors turn when we throw the lever on the big contactor manually (with the odd exception of motor 1).When we pull the little tabs on the black things nothing happens. The machine is receiving the correct voltage. Last I remember it was the black things adjacent to motor 1 that smoked the first time we tested it months ago. Maybe that has something to do with motor one not running?

-Justin
 
UPDATE:
We were able to get some normal function out of it. The culprit was a small switch on the front of the table that was wired in series with the start/stop buttons. We believe this small button is referred to as an interlock in the manual. We completely bypassed this and now the start/stop buttons work as expected. The only problem now is why motor 1 won’t run. As I said earlier, the overload relays for motor 1 were the components that let out smoke during our past tests, leading me to believe they might be at fault.
 








 
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