Brand new drill press tripping circuits!

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=Adam=

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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
 
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
 
Could it be drawing too much current for the socket/circuit. What is the rating of the breaker that's tripping ?
 
mseries":ht5i5d0a said:
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.
 
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.
 
aesmith":2c827ejg said:
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 :oops:
 
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.
 
aesmith":2gdzb30q said:
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.
 
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..
 
aesmith":y54sm3hg said:
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 :oops:
 

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