Hello all,
Here is my question. I’m working on a GE Monogram trash compactor. Thanksgiving morning, it ate the plastic trunnion nut. When it did, the motor fell and burned one of the motor armature wires in two. Can I solder the two wires together or what? If I put a jumper on the wires, the motor operates just fine. I’d hate to buy a new motor ($130) if I can safely repair the wire.
Thanks,
John
J.R. Lazaro Builders, Inc.
Indianapolis, In.
Replies
........Can I solder the two wires together or what? If I put a jumper on the wires, the motor operates just fine. I'd hate to buy a new motor..........
sure,...then start saving up $130...
Does that mean that the repair won't hold up?
John
J.R. Lazaro Builders, Inc.
Indianapolis, In.
it may work just fine.....just don't know for how long, soldering will make the wire a lot more stiff........
OK....educate me. I noticed that the copper windings in the motor were very flexible. I guess that I really don't understand how motors work. I can wire them up and such, but the internal workings are somewhat a mystery. Would the stiffness of the soldered area cause a problem? If I'm pi$$ing in the wind, I'd like to know and I'll just go ahead and order the motor. If soldering is a short term repair, then it's not worth the future tear down. I've got it apart now.
Thanks,John
J.R. Lazaro Builders, Inc.
Indianapolis, In.
if you keep the area of the joint as small as poss. and your soldering is very good, the repair may last a very long time...... otoh, you would be better off replacing the motor now, and save the old as a spare ...possibly have it repaired correctly.your motor is out of the unit ??if yes,then perhaps there is a motor shop that can fix it now.the current going thru the joint will cause the joint to heat up and move, if it is a poor connection it will fail again or damage the wire or the windings internally.......
Take it to a motor shop. See what they say. If you can get an 'old timer' he might be able to make a repair or rewind it cheaper than replacement. Maybe not. Worth a shot.
I might be tempted to solder it but taking the slack out and reinsulating would be a trick I can only guess at. If you do try to repair it make sure the unit and motor is well grounded. If it gives up and throws off your repair you want it to disconnect the power.
Either way let up know how it goes.
Motor is not out yet, but just 4 bolts. I've got the ram lowered and apart to change the nut. I guess I'll go ahead, pull it, and find a motor shop for an estimate.
Thanks,John
J.R. Lazaro Builders, Inc.
Indianapolis, In.
.... try Kirby Risk were you are , they have a motor shop in Anderson I think
you do not have any appliance junkyards around?. 2+3=7
....give'em a break, he lives in Indiana........LMAO
Something doesn't sound right here.
Are you sure that it is an ARMATURE wire.
The aramture is the part that rotates.
CP, at least older ones, have simple reversing induction motors. But probably speically setup for relatively low torque stall.
On an induction motor the armature has fairly heavy copper wire and it is ont connected to anything. The only time that is has "power" is when the motor is running and current is induced in the armature.
So I don't see how the wire could have been burnt.
John, like Bill says, you likely damaged (mechanical break?) nto the armature but the STATOR winding. This motor does not have brushes does it? Then it is the stator winding.
That said, solder it with with silver solder of 40/60 tin lead (or even 5/95 if you have it), best to solder it with a shim of teflon or something that does not melt between it and the adjacent winidng. Once soldered, slather it with epoxy and let set, be sure to get epoxy between the soldered part and the adjacent windings. If you do a good soldering job, it is as good as new (which btw, isnt saying much for a compactor, dishwasher, or other appliance motor)
If you jumpered it and it works - I would like to see how you jumpered an armature------ which again means you jumpered broken STATOR wires, not an armature.
My preferred method for this type repair is to slightly flatten the broken wire ends and add a short flat piece of copper strip if you cannot pull any slack out of the winding. On small 120 vac motors, have even simply sprayed 3 coats of polyurethane onto the solder joint to provide insulation.
Edited 11/27/2005 10:06 pm ET by junkhound
Junkhound,
I was hoping that you would see this post. I figured that if anyone had done a repair like this, it would have been you. I, like you, prefer to repair rather than replace. I just wasn't sure if the repair in this case was justifiable or even possible. It is correct that it is the stator or field wiring (whichever is stationary that the armature spins within). When the screw drive from the motor fell out of the trunnion nut, the motor dropped and the front of the motor contacted part of the ram, sparks flew, and burned only 1 wire in 2. There isn't enough slack to pull the two together.
So would a copper strip be better than a short piece of solid copper wire? And would 40/60 solder with flux be better than rosin core (not sure the ratio)?
BTW I jumpered the wire with 2 alligator clips just to see if in fact the break in the wire was the only problem with the motor.
Thanks,John
J.R. Lazaro Builders, Inc.
Indianapolis, In.
JL,
No offense, but do you really need a tag line here bigger than Piffin or Andy E.?
WSJ
Not trying to outdo anyone. I've had the same tagline for a few years and have actually been trying to think of how to change it or a nice quote or saying below it.
But then again size matters........John
J.R. Lazaro Builders, Inc.
Indianapolis, In.
But then again size matters........
JL,
That maybe true, Maybe why my wife married me LOL
WSJ
Short piece of solid copper wire is fine, all you want to do is smack it with a hammer a few times and squish the broken wire ends on the stator to a little bit of flat surface.
This will result in a larger faying surface (flat surface incontact) and better solder joint. Rosin core is fine, don't use acid core unless you really clean ALL the acid flux off with alcohol, or else you will corrode the wires. Good idea to even clean the rosin flux leftover off with alcohol so the epoxy or polyurethan sticks directely to the wire to replace the insulation removed for the soldering process.