Servo Motor Is Dead... Options?

[CustomDoug]

My Servo Motor that I've had less than a year is no longer working. This I noticed after a line of thunderstorms came through our area and it's all I can GUESS to be the cause. Perhaps it may have received a surge of electricity, I don't know. We were away from home that afternoon (a few days ago) so I have no idea if there was any kind of lightning in our general area but i have no other idea what could have made this happen. Everything else works off the wall outlet and from the electrical extension cord that this machine is plugged into. ALSO - the accessory sewing light that's plugged into the end of this servo motor DOES work, which is puzzling. Nothing happens though when I press the pedal, just silence. SOOO.. I was wandering if there are any checks I can do to diagnose the problem? I have an electrical multi-meter but am a little confused which setting to put it on. I've removed the end cover and can see the colored wires... which ones go to what though? This motor is a SewPro 500GR, so is there a service and parts contact besides Toledo Industrial that I can contact? Conversely, is this something that my local Industrial Machine distributor could handle fixing (to save on down time associated with shipping). Thanks for any help and advice.

[Wizcrafts]

Doug;

Locate and check any motor circuit fuses, including any in the switch box. Did you buy your motor from one of our dealers, no more than 365 days ago?

[CustomDoug]

Yes I got it from one of the forum vendors here, less than a year. Finding a receipt would be a challenge but they may keep that stuff on file I suppose. I'm pretty handy and would much prefer to replace a faulty component myself than send it back and double or triple my down time. I understand that might not be possible though. I see a fuse that screws into the face of the switch box and it's fine. I'll have a look around inside the cover and see if I can spot any others (I didn't see any obvious ones when I looked earlier).

[Art]

Not trying to be funny, but did you turn it on at the switch. Some motors use magnetic controls or the functional equivalent that shut off when power is removed.

Art

[Gregg From Keystone Sewing]

Of course, like said, check fuse. Also check the motor brushes to ensure they are in good condition and are not hung up.

We warranty our motors for one year, and will simply send a new motor out to the customer. Then motor goes back to the supplier for credit.

Again, this is us, and we operate.

[CustomDoug]

Not trying to be funny, but did you turn it on at the switch. Some motors use magnetic controls or the functional equivalent that shut off when power is removed.

Art

Yes, the switch is turned on while I'm trying to work the motor/machine. When I flip on the power at the switch, the light that illuminates the sewing area comes on (as it always has) and it goes off when I turn the switch off. I've also tried adjusting the speed control just in case it was set to "so slow it's not moving at all" , but that's not the case.

[Techsew Ron]

do you have a warranty? whoever you bought it from should probably just replace it for you, you may have gotten a dud.

[CustomDoug]

Yes it's still under the one year warranty but I was trying to avoid the down time of shipping, etc. Didn't want to just assume I couldn't fix it myself.

Checked wires this evening with a 110v tester light. Here are the results:

~the main power wire is made up of 3 wires - a blue, a brown, and a yellow w/green stripe. The brown one illuminates the test light. Nothing from the blue one. Nothing from the yellow/green strip either (which just terminates at a bolt that holds the body of the motor together).

~Then there are two prominent wires that run back into the main body of the motor, one red and one white. Both of these light up the test light which indicates that power is getting into the main part of the motor. BTW, these two wires are connected at the front on the circuit board (if that's what it's called) to a blue and a red wire one on each side of the forward/reverse switch.

I removed the brushes but they seemed ok to me, I flipped them over to see if that made a difference..nothing, then flipped them back. This motor really has very little use on it so their appearance didn't surprise me. Any guesses ?

[Art]

As Ronnie said, DUD. This does happen, less often nowadays, but some nonetheless. Your dealer should replace without question. With DOA electronics, there isn't much the end user can do.

Art