Brand new drill press tripping circuits!

[=Adam=]

Hi guys,

I fired up my drill press yesterday to use on my first project, i got half way through the first hole and it cut out and shorted the circuit with the sockets. I reset the trip switch, turned it on and it tripped instantly.

In order to test the circuits, I reset the breaker again and tried the bandsaw and my lathe and they function fine! The lathe is a jet 1642 so it has a beefy motor. The drill press is an Axminster radial drill press and has a 550w motor.

After all of my tests, have concluded that the drill is at fault (but I dont know how). It is a shame really because I really like the drill.

Can anyone point ne in the right direction?

Cheers

Adam

 

[Myfordman]

Call Axi and they will sort it for you

 

[fretnot]

If its new or under warranty then as above contact Axminster they will get it sorted,if there is no warranty then I would check the capacitor

 

[mseries]

Could it be drawing too much current for the socket/circuit. What is the rating of the breaker that's tripping ?

 

[MMUK]

Could it be drawing too much current for the socket/circuit. What is the rating of the breaker that's tripping ?

It's a 550w motor so drawing about 2.3A at full load with potential of up to 5A start up surge current. I doubt that it will be drawing too much current for the circuit.

The fact that it trips instantly suggests an internal fault. It may be a fubar motor, a bad switch causing a short or a loose connection with a wire earthing.

 

[aesmith]

Is it an MCB (what rating?) or an RCD that's tripping? Could be a neutral to earth fault if the latter, you may be able to check that with a multimeter.

 

[DTR]

Could be a neutral to earth fault if the latter, you may be able to check that with a multimeter.

Might be best to check this with the drill unplugged, as the multimeter will read continuity through the earth-neutral connection at the substation and trip your RCD in the process.

edit: actually now that I think about it for more than 3 seconds, having the drill unplugged is the safest and easiest way of doing this test anyway

 

[aesmith]

I must admit it never occurred to me to test an appliance other than when it's unplugged! Check for resistance between N and E pins on the plug, should be virtually open circuit.

 

[MMUK]

I must admit it never occurred to me to test an appliance other than when it's unplugged! Check for resistance between N and E pins on the plug, should be virtually open circuit.

It should be open circuit between all cores when the switch is in the off position. You should get a reading only between L & N when the switch is in the on position.

 

[CHJ]

If the machine is not going back to supplier for a fix or refund I would check for an obviously trapped wire on initial assembly, or rubbing against something in drive chain from poor routing..

 

[MMUK]

Personally I'd be sending it back without question, after all said and done it's brand new.

 

[SteveF]

i assume u have plugged another appliance into that particular socket ?

Steve

 

[DTR]

I must admit it never occurred to me to test an appliance other than when it's unplugged! Check for resistance between N and E pins on the plug, should be virtually open circuit.

Sorry, my methods are influenced by my day job where it is mostly impractical to isolate before fault-finding. This is why I usually refrain from offering electrical advice