I think I broke my BT3000... Help!

[RayintheUK]

OK... so when i turn the blade, the belts are turning, but are not turning the motor shaft. It takes a fair amount of force to turn them and I can hear them slipping across the surface of the shaft like rubber on metal. Are there teeth on the inside of the belts that are supposed to catch on the teeth of the motor shaft?

The two belts do have teeth on the inner surface, but as far as I recall they turn a grooved pulley, not a toothed one. The belt teeth are for improved friction, I believe. If the motor seized while spinning, it's likely that the teeth were ground off anyway. If turning the blade by hand also turns the belts, that rules out a broken Woodruff key.

However, if the belts are turning but the motor shaft isn't, that's not good news, I'm afraid.

Even so, when I turn on the saw, nothing is spinning. The motor shaft is not spinning "under" the belts, and I would expect the blade to spin even if the belts were worn. Everything seems like there's something "stuck" inside the motor that's not allowing it to spin.

I have all the screws out, but I cant seem to get the motor apart. What am I doing wrong?

When you turn on the power, does the motor hum, jerk or do anything at all? Have you removed the motor brushes for examination yet? You'll need to remove them to take off the motor cover anyway, so that won't hurt to try. That could be the source of the problem. I'm assuming that the motor hasn't smelled burnt or emitted acrid smoke - if that's the case, it's toast anyway. Note the position and orientation of the brushes for replacing if they're OK. They live underneath the two black circular caps (marked 15 in the diagrams on my site here).

If the motor has seized, you've got two options - replace or repair. I suspect that there are a few motors out there amongst our members, but I don't know for sure, of course. HTH

Ray.

[Fastnhappy]

When turned on, the motor "hums". It sounds like it would turn if I just got something "unstuck" inside. It causes a slight brown-out in my garage when i turn it on.

I've taken the motor brushes out, although I'm just not sure what I'm looking at. What would they look like if they were bad? The saw obviously wont come on when they're not in there. I dont need to take part #17 out do I?

Ugh...

[docrowan]

I've heard mentioned before on this site ripping up 4x4's. I'm not just asking the OP - why do people rip 4X4's?

[LCHIEN]

...
I dont think I was giving the saw the power it deserved - it was run from the outlet on the back of my house - a ways from the breaker panel. It was also on an extension cord, but what i would consider a good one (one of the big fat orange ones - 3 prong on both sides). Until the breaker tripped the first time, I was also running a shop vac on the same outlet. I turned that off though, and the breaker kept tripping.

What could the power deprivation do to the saw that would make it not work now?

a fat extension cord is not always a sign of heavy gauge wire - sometimes manufacturers put more (cheap) insulation and fillers on it to make you think you have a heavy duty cord, rather than expensive copper.

Long cords, small wire, bad connectors all have increasing resistance.
Resistance under current load reduces voltage at the saw.
reduced voltage at the saw causes it to draw more current do do the same work, the increased current in turn causes more voltage loss in the wires.
This spiral ends up making the saw run with more current and less voltage to do the desired work. Current begets heat in the motor. All it's components are rated for 15Amps, at some point the magnetics saturate and more current doesn't produce more force, just more heat due to eddy current losses. So it draws more current. More heat causes more resistance losses due to the temperature coefficient of resistance, causing more heat. Pretty soon the motor burns up. It's pretty much a runaway death spiral due to heat.

Once the motor reaches a critical internal temperature, the insulation between windings breaks down and the motor shorts out with that distinct burnt electrical smell (burning insulation). Then it's toast. Parts of the wire coils that make up the circuit have been bypassed by the shorts and it just can't do the work anymore.

[docrowan]

Fastnhappy,

You should know that many of the active posters here are engineers, doctors, computer programmers, system analysts, etc. People who are by nature and training precise, methodical, and detail oriented. Many are also passionate in their appreciation for the Ryobi BT3000/3100 and it's clones (myself included). It kind of hurts us to know one is down. You've found some of the best helpon the internet for your saw and all kinds of other matters.

Welcome to the forum.

[RayintheUK]

When turned on, the motor "hums". It sounds like it would turn if I just got something "unstuck" inside. It causes a slight brown-out in my garage when i turn it on.

I've taken the motor brushes out, although I'm just not sure what I'm looking at. What would they look like if they were bad? The saw obviously wont come on when they're not in there. I dont need to take part #17 out do I?

If the brushes have an even, smooth appearance with a slight curved indentation where they contact the armature, they're probably OK.

No, you don't need to take out part number 17!

So, with the brushes out and the cover off, can the motor be turned by hand. If so, what else (if anything) also turns?

Ray.

[Fastnhappy]

MANY MANY thanks to all those who have replied. I'm trying to figure all of this out in the midst of moving into a new house in a new city and starting a new job, so I apologize if any of my thoughts were scatter-brained, stupid, or hasty. I didn't do the proper research and didnt heed the proper warnings in the use of my saw and it cost me. I guess it's one of those "live and learn" scenarios, of which we've all had more than we care to admit.

Ray - I pulled the brushes again, and turned the blade and the motor does not spin. The belts (which have very good tension) simply slip around the rock-solid motor shaft. It's toast...

Chris - As to the reason I was ripping 4X4's: I was building a vinyl fence and I was trying to reinforce the corner posts with something solid inside the vinyl posts. The vinyl is made into 3.5X3.5 inch posts, which I assumed meant they were built so you could slide a 4X4 inside them to shore up the posts.

Not so.

3.5X3.5 was the outside "diameter" so I had to rip the boards to about 3X3 so they'd slide down inside the vinyl. Well, I got 3 of them done before I learned a valuable and expensive lesson.

LCHIEN - thanks for the lesson I should have learned before I even turned on the saw for the first time, but I'm a guy - so I don't read directions before I dive right in. I'll be more careful next time.

I just bought a ridgid TS 3650 today on craigslist (including a 4X4' runoff table and a freud dado set) for $280 which I was very happy about. I'll certainly be much more careful with it before I do something stupid.

Thanks a lot.

-Brent

[dbhost]

I just bought a ridgid TS 3650 today on craigslist (including a 4X4' runoff table and a freud dado set) for $280 which I was very happy about. I'll certainly be much more careful with it before I do something stupid.

Thanks a lot.

-Brent

I hope you don't let that BT go to waste.... There is a possibility that somebody with some electro mechanical aptitude might be able to fix it, and get some good use out of it... But that isn't why I replied...

That TS3650 is a nice saw, lacking some features of the BT, but gaining in other areas. One item it has in common is a 1.5 HP motor. Be careful ripping thick material with it...

[Fastnhappy]

Roger that.

I posted a thread in the for sale section that said anyone who wanted the saw or any part therein could have it for free if they just paid shipping or came and picked it up.

Hopefully someone can get some good use out of it.

-brent