On Sun, 20 Aug 2006 09:14:48 -0500, dicko
wrote:

I need some advice here.

I turn on the planer and the motor starts spinning. A few seconds
later the breaker pops.

Its a 20 amp breaker.

I figure its either the capacitor or the centrifugal switch.

I've taken it apart and the switch looks clean, and there are no
obvious bulges on the start capacitor.

I think its the capacitor just because I think its more likely to go
bad than the switch.

I guess capacitors are cheap enough I aught to just go out and buy one
and try it out.

The planer is only 2 years old, hasnt really been used all that much
and sits in an unheated garage all winter long. Oh, I should say it
worked fine last fall, didnt work this spring, so it happened over the
winter. Unless a mouse crawled in it someplace that I havent found
yet, I think its the capacitor. It would be more temperature sensitive
more than the switch would.

Can anyone offer any troubleshooting tips/advise?

dickm


As you describe the symptoms it is most likely a centrifiigal switch
that is bad, but also could be a bad capacitor.

Frank