Uh oh, dead motor, or just brushes?

[tfischer]

I was working on my infamous bunk bed project tonight, making good progress, and suddenly the saw sounded like it was bogging down really badly. It was still cutting ok so I continued for a bit, but then I stopped when I noticed a distinct ozon-y smell...

Long story short, the motor seems to be meeting resistance as it spins. It is arcing internally something fierce... I removed the brushes and although I'm not exactly sure what they're *supposed* to look like, nothing jumps out at me as "wow these are really bad". Both brushes seem to be arcing equally... Now since the motor is normally behind a panel that I've never removed before in the life of my saw until today (about 12 years), I'm not sure how much these motors normally arc internally, but it seems excessive to me.

So my question... do you think I should replace the brushes and hope for the best? Or does it sound like my motor is toast? I had a Ryobi router back in the day that violently thew out the upper bearing, literally exploding ball bearings across my shop right from my hands, so I'm a little paranoid...

And if my motor is toast, is it time to say goodbye to my beloved saw, or is there hope for a replacement still?

Oh, and I kinda need this ASAP as I need to finish this project in the next few weeks

Thanks!

[cork58]

Well I took one of my motors apart that was doing what you described and when I saw the burnt windings I replaced it. Not an inexpensive adventure but at the time I thought worthwhile. Not saying that is what you should do, just what happened to me. Might be worth taking the motor apart and see what it looks like.

[tfischer]

Well I took one of my motors apart that was doing what you described and when I saw the burnt windings I replaced it. Not an inexpensive adventure but at the time I thought worthwhile. Not saying that is what you should do, just what happened to me. Might be worth taking the motor apart and see what it looks like.

Ugh. Any advice on how to take the motor apart? Really not happy with the timing of this... I was in the home stretch of finishing up this project... basically just have to do the ladder now - I was able to get what I needed cut out for the upper rails which was the other thing I had to finish. I have a few nights worth of work getting those completed but was hoping to not have the saw down for weeks...

There's a used motor on eBay for about $100 shipped... just not sure I should be throwing that kind of money at this saw at this point of the game... and there's no guarantee that one won't die next week lol... I really have loved the BT3100 but I just don't know when to let it go... There's a used Ridgid TS3612 on the CL for $350 that I could probably talk them down... but then I'd be spending money on things like a new shark guard, different jigs, throat plates, etc etc... Plus it's MUCH wider and I'm not even sure I have space for it in the garage.

[LCHIEN]

usually bad brush failures are not accompanied by the acrid ozone smell you describe.

Were you using the motor heavily just before "the event"? Usually a long period of heavy use or overload causes heat buildup and insulation failure which is the usual culprit for acrid smell.

[tfischer]

usually bad brush failures are not accompanied by the acrid ozone smell you describe.

Were you using the motor heavily just before "the event"? Usually a long period of heavy use or overload causes heat buildup and insulation failure which is the usual culprit for acrid smell.

Not today, just some light ripping. A few weeks ago it was really bogging down and I wasn't sure what was going on... I eventually replaced the blade but I think it was a fence alignment issue. But it's worked ok in the time since (but I haven't been using it that much in the last few weeks). That may have pushed it over the edge.

Anyone parting out a saw or have a motor they can sell? The one new one I saw online was $270... uhm yeah right.

[tfischer]

Well if the motor is already dead... but it's still working in a sub-par manner, I suppose I could try to get a few more cuts to finish my project. Just have a few rips to do for my ladder... I did one rip on it like this to keep going today... I doubt it will last long this way but if I can just get this project finished then I don't mind if it's down for a number of weeks...

This is really kind of sad. How can they justify charging $272 for small part of a saw that sold for, what was it, $350? Just confirmed that price with the sears parts website.

At least if my cheap HF tool motors die i can replace them with a reasonably priced and fairly universal motor...

[JimD]

I can't speak to your shop space but I would buy the Rigid if you can get it for little more than the cost of fixing the BT3100. The rigid has a regular motor and regular miter slots. I like my BT3100 but sometimes long for a "real" table saw. I will probably keep using mine until and unless I have a failure like you describe but then I will not be totally displeased to move to a more typical saw. I would hate to have to do it to finish a project, however.

[LCHIEN]

if you want to stay in the BT3 camp then the best bet is to buy a used BT3100 off Craigs list for $50 to $150 depending upon what you can bargain for. The all your jigs will fit and the saw will fit.

[tfischer]

I'd really miss the sliding miter table and the riving kife... and the Shark Guard until I get one of those for any new saw... But I won't miss the lack of power, and the ridiculous cost of replacement costs that have been getting worse in the years since the saw was discontinued

Still hoping for a solution. Can anyone find me a motor (or parts for mine) for around $100??

[aiyou]

Sending you a PM regarding a motor..

Rob

[tfischer]

Does anyone know if a 13A motor would fit my saw (a BT3100), and if so, would it be a serious downgrade from a 15A motor?

Thanks

[dbhost]

Dumb thought, but do you have any shops around you that rebuild / rewind electric motors? Wondering if having your motor gone through would be cost effective... I really have no clue.

[tfischer]

Dumb thought, but do you have any shops around you that rebuild / rewind electric motors? Wondering if having your motor gone through would be cost effective... I really have no clue.

Not a dumb thought at all! Just not sure if it's cost effective compared to a used motor (assuming I can source one) or a new saw altogether...

Anyone else here used a motor shop to repair something like this before?

[LCHIEN]

its been suggested but I've never actually heard of anyone doing it successfully.

Its easy enough to call an electric motor rebuild shop in the yellow pages and ask if they can rebuild a 15A Universal motor and how much it would cost.

[Bill in Buena Park]

Does anyone know if a 13A motor would fit my saw (a BT3100), and if so, would it be a serious downgrade from a 15A motor?

Thanks

I think this translates to ~0.2hp loss, but not sure how noticeable that would be in use.