...
With the rotor removed energize the fields , throw a steel ball bearing
into field .If the field windings are good the bearing will race around
the inside , if one field is bad the ball bearing will stop and vibrate.
Simple , but it works.


Hey, I like Pete's method. Those hoists are pretty good stuff, so I'd not
suspect the motor first off. Check the switch, look for cruddiness or a
loose wire there.
....

Thanks for the tips. I just gotta try that ball bearing trick.

I can testify that they do break. I use a hoist to unload apple bins into
the packing line. On the VERY LAST bin of the year, the hoist broke suddenly
and dropped 800 lbs. of fruit in the water RIGHT NOW. Seconds earlier and it
would have caught my hand. Anyway, very lucky twice over.

I'm going to rebuild both the auction special and the broken one. Then I'll
have a spare ready to go.

Karl