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Questions about a Motor Starting Capacitor
My garage door opener stopped working; it just hummed for about 2 seconds.
For no particular reason I touched the starting capacitor and fixed it. It ran okay for a couple days, then stopped. I touched it again and it ran twice before breaking. Now my magic touch fails completely. (I can't find any loose wires) The manufacturer's best guess is that the capacitor is bad. It takes a 53-64 mfd 220vac 30b0363 Fujitsu Towa no. gk-86 1) Any way to varify the capacitor is bad before replacing it? I put an ohm meter across it, and it shows an open circuit, but since I have never tested a good capacitor I don't know how much that proves. 2) The manufacturer wants $20 for a replacement. Am I likely to find one cheaper locally? Where, an electrical distributor? 3) There are two red wires going to one contact and two blues going to the other. Is a capacitor symetrical, so if I got my contacts backwards it would be okay? Thanks |
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Travis Jordan wrote:
toller wrote: 3) There are two red wires going to one contact and two blues going to the other. Is a capacitor symetrical, so if I got my contacts backwards it would be okay? No, it would NOT be OK. The capacitor is polarized. I should have said "IF the capacitor is polarized". Some motor start capacitors are non polarized. Check to see if the contacts are labeled + and -. If the capacitor is NON polarized, then it won't matter how the wires are connected. |
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toller wrote:
It takes a 53-64 mfd 220vac 30b0363 Fujitsu Towa no. gk-86 1) Any way to varify the capacitor is bad before replacing it? I put an ohm meter across it, and it shows an open circuit, but since I have never tested a good capacitor I don't know how much that proves. Capacitor tester. 2) The manufacturer wants $20 for a replacement. Am I likely to find one cheaper locally? Where, an electrical distributor? Don't know about where you are, but you could buy one online. http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.as...tname=electric 3) There are two red wires going to one contact and two blues going to the other. Is a capacitor symetrical, so if I got my contacts backwards it would be okay? No, it would NOT be OK. The capacitor is polarized. |
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"Travis Jordan" wrote in message ... Travis Jordan wrote: toller wrote: 3) There are two red wires going to one contact and two blues going to the other. Is a capacitor symetrical, so if I got my contacts backwards it would be okay? No, it would NOT be OK. The capacitor is polarized. I should have said "IF the capacitor is polarized". Some motor start capacitors are non polarized. Check to see if the contacts are labeled + and -. If the capacitor is NON polarized, then it won't matter how the wires are connected. Thanks, $129 is a bit better than $20. For that price I can gamble. This capacitor has no markings on it, so I guess it is non-polarized. On a polarized capacitor, do the red or black wires go to +? |
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toller wrote:
This capacitor has no markings on it, so I guess it is non-polarized. On a polarized capacitor, do the red or black wires go to +? By convention, the red wires would connect to +. |
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On Sun, 06 Feb 2005 19:13:19 +0000, Travis Jordan wrote:
toller wrote: It takes a 53-64 mfd 220vac 30b0363 Fujitsu Towa no. gk-86 1) Any way to varify the capacitor is bad before replacing it? I put an ohm meter across it, and it shows an open circuit, but since I have never tested a good capacitor I don't know how much that proves. Capacitor tester. 2) The manufacturer wants $20 for a replacement. Am I likely to find one cheaper locally? Where, an electrical distributor? Don't know about where you are, but you could buy one online. http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.as...tname=electric 3) There are two red wires going to one contact and two blues going to the other. Is a capacitor symetrical, so if I got my contacts backwards it would be okay? No, it would NOT be OK. The capacitor is polarized. A polarized motor-starting capacitor? |
#7
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"Steve Rush" wrote in message news A polarized motor-starting capacitor? Thanks, I needed that. G === Use an ohm meter......with the zero set to the center of the scale, the needle will swing one way, then it return to center. On reversing the leads, it will swing the other way twice as far, before coming back to center. Otherwise, the capacitor has most definately failed. -- SVL |
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"Travis Jordan" wrote:
toller wrote: It takes a 53-64 mfd 220vac 30b0363 Fujitsu Towa no. gk-86 1) Any way to varify the capacitor is bad before replacing it? I put an ohm meter across it, and it shows an open circuit, but since I have never tested a good capacitor I don't know how much that proves. Capacitor tester. 2) The manufacturer wants $20 for a replacement. Am I likely to find one cheaper locally? Where, an electrical distributor? Don't know about where you are, but you could buy one online. http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.as...tname=electric 3) There are two red wires going to one contact and two blues going to the other. Is a capacitor symetrical, so if I got my contacts backwards it would be okay? No, it would NOT be OK. The capacitor is polarized. A cap rated for AC use (as that one is) ain't gonna be polarized. |
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More inserted.
-- Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus www.lds.org www.mormons.com "toller" wrote in message ... My garage door opener stopped working; it just hummed for about 2 seconds. For no particular reason I touched the starting capacitor and fixed it. It ran okay for a couple days, then stopped. I touched it again and it ran twice before breaking. Now my magic touch fails completely. (I can't find any loose wires) The manufacturer's best guess is that the capacitor is bad. CY: Good fix, and good guess. It takes a 53-64 mfd 220vac 30b0363 Fujitsu Towa no. gk-86 1) Any way to varify the capacitor is bad before replacing it? I put an ohm meter across it, and it shows an open circuit, but since I have never tested a good capacitor I don't know how much that proves. CY: Take a VOM that has a meter needle that swings. Physically take the cap out of the machine. Unwire it. Put the VOM to ohms, and put the leads on the cap. Needle should jump a little. Reverse the leads, and needle should jump a bit more than the first time. No jump? That's an "open". Pegs all the way over and stays? That's a "short". 2) The manufacturer wants $20 for a replacement. Am I likely to find one cheaper locally? Where, an electrical distributor? CY: Maybe, I've not checked my catalogs. I get them through my HVAC parts house, and I think they are cheaper. 3) There are two red wires going to one contact and two blues going to the other. Is a capacitor symetrical, so if I got my contacts backwards it would be okay? CY: I suspect it's symmetrical, and doesn't matter. Sounds like a mylar foil cap, not electrolytic. Thanks |
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My parts house had start caps,a nd run caps. Start caps were about $5, and
run caps are about $20. I'd suggest the one from the fan company. More likely a run cap. Start caps are used on compressors like in refrigerators. -- Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus www.lds.org www.mormons.com "toller" wrote in message ... My garage door opener stopped working; it just hummed for about 2 seconds. For no particular reason I touched the starting capacitor and fixed it. It ran okay for a couple days, then stopped. I touched it again and it ran twice before breaking. Now my magic touch fails completely. (I can't find any loose wires) The manufacturer's best guess is that the capacitor is bad. It takes a 53-64 mfd 220vac 30b0363 Fujitsu Towa no. gk-86 1) Any way to varify the capacitor is bad before replacing it? I put an ohm meter across it, and it shows an open circuit, but since I have never tested a good capacitor I don't know how much that proves. 2) The manufacturer wants $20 for a replacement. Am I likely to find one cheaper locally? Where, an electrical distributor? 3) There are two red wires going to one contact and two blues going to the other. Is a capacitor symetrical, so if I got my contacts backwards it would be okay? Thanks |
#11
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Hi Stormin, hope you are having a nice day On 09-Feb-05 At About 22:18:58, Stormin Mormon wrote to All Subject: Questions about a Motor Starting Capacitor SM From: "Stormin Mormon" SM My parts house had start caps,a nd run caps. Start caps were about SM $5, and run caps are about $20. I'd suggest the one from the fan SM company. More likely a run cap. Start caps are used on compressors SM like in refrigerators. You really should get more training. start capacitors are also used on quite a few motors. -= HvacTech2 =- ... URA Redneck if you hold a frog and _it_ worries about getting warts. ___ TagDude 0.92á+[DM] ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++ spam protection measure, Please remove the 33 to send e-mail |
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