Keith Marshall wrote:



I found a transformer from mpja.com for $12.95 that can handle 4amps which
is way overkill because the only thing this transformer powers is a 3 pole
contactor to switch on power to the motor when you pull the trigger. It's
a bit oversized but the price was right and there's plenty of extra room
for
it. So it arrived today, I wired it in and powered the saw up and it
worked great... until I started smelling smoke!! :-(

OK, first does the transformer have a 120/240 V rating on it anywhere?
Second, the two primary windings have to be connected with the right phase
when you user them both. I'd connect one winding to 120 V and see
if the other winding also produces 120 V. If not, then this is NOT the
typical split primary winding and can't be used in this application.
If it does, then connect one wire of the second winding to one wire of
the first one. Measure across the two other wires. You will get either
240 V or nearly zero volts. If nearly zero, switch which wire of the 2nd
winding is tied to the first. When you get 240 V, those are the two
wires of the 240 V primary input. Connect 240 V there and check that
you get 24 V AC on the secondary. When you get all this right,
supply 240 V and measure primary current. It should be quite small,
maybe just a couple hundred mA. If it is more than half an Amp,
I think the transformer is just bad.

Jon