DW733 - It just stopped.

[frugal]

I am beginning to think that power tools hate me. Last night I went to thickness some wood and my Dewalt 733 thicknesser refused to start. It worked fine when I last used it, but last night I pushed the start button and nothing happened; it didn't trip the RCD; it didn't blow the main breaker as everything else seems want to do, it didn't hum or whir as though the motor was trying to turn and failing; there is no burning or electrical smells. Nothing.

I check the obvious things:

- The fuse looks good

- I pressed the little reset button on the top of the motor (doesn't seem to move very far at all), both with the plug out and in, and with the start button pressed or not.

- With the plug out I checked to see that the cutter block went around - it does.

- If I take off the extraction hood there was a fair few chippings, but nothing blocking anything.

- With the extraction hood off I can see the fan at the back, if I rotate this by hand it moves easily and the cutter block also rotates, so it does not look like anything has jammed.

- If I unscrew the switch on the front I can see that the wires are all plugged in.

I can not get at the rest of the motor without taking the whole thing to pieces. So it looks like my options are to find a Dewalt repair centre, or to hope that someone on this forum has had this problem in the past and has a cunning solution.

Any Ideas?

 

[andy king]

hi Frugal,

As you've checked all the ones i'd look at, i don't suppose it could be the actual socket it plugs into?
Worth a try to see if it works in another socket to save a trip to the repair shop.
Granny, eggs etc...

cheers,
Andy

 

[frugal]

hi Frugal,

As you've checked all the ones i'd look at, i don't suppose it could be the actual socket it plugs into?
Worth a try to see if it works in another socket to save a trip to the repair shop.

I tried it both into the 4 way gang that the radio was plugged into, then I took the 4-way out and tried it directly into the socket (I know the socket works because the radio works).

 

[Blister]

( The fuse looks good :? )

Either put a new one in

or check it with a meter

I have never been able to see if a fuse looks good , asuming its a 13 amp brown one and not a clear glass one :lol:

 

[frugal]

( The fuse looks good :? )

Either put a new one in

or check it with a meter

I have never been able to see if a fuse looks good , asuming its a 13 amp brown one and not a clear glass one :lol:

I will try a new fuse (I am not sure which end of a multimeter to hold). the couple of blown fuses I have seen seem to have the cover slightly charred brown, so I assumed that it happens in all cases.

I really would look like a muppet taking it to be repaired and all they did was change the fuse. Of course if it is the fuse then the question is: Why did the fuse blow? and will it happen again?

 

[Blister]

( The fuse looks good :? )

Either put a new one in

or check it with a meter

I have never been able to see if a fuse looks good , asuming its a 13 amp brown one and not a clear glass one :lol:

I will try a new fuse (I am not sure which end of a multimeter to hold). the couple of blown fuses I have seen seem to have the cover slightly charred brown, so I assumed that it happens in all cases.

I really would look like a muppet taking it to be repaired and all they did was change the fuse. Of course if it is the fuse then the question is: Why did the fuse blow? and will it happen again?

Just switch the meter to ohm's and hold one probe on each metal end of the fuse , dont hold the metal probes with your skin or it will measure the resistance through you :lol: :lol: :lol:

if the fuse is OK it should read 0 ohms tha same as if you touch the probes together

if its blown it will read 1 mega ohm

 

[Argee]

Have a look at this page, particularly part 119 in the top exploded diagram - it's listed as a Circuit Breaker and could be the cause of your symptoms. You can zoom the picture if that helps. A photo of this part can be found here, but can be ordered, if required, from the original linked site.

Perhaps that will help - I hope so.

Ray

 

[frugal]

Have a look at this page, particularly part 119 in the top exploded diagram - it's listed as a Circuit Breaker and could be the cause of your symptoms. You can zoom the picture if that helps. A photo of this part can be found here, but can be ordered, if required, from the original linked site.

Perhaps that will help - I hope so.

Ray

Cheers for that. Any ideas how I tell if that is the part at fault without completely disassembling the whole thing?

 

[Racers]

Hi, frugal

First change the fuse or try it in a lamp radio etc, fused get tired and will blow just because they are old so don't worry if it works.

If it dosn't work you need to test it it sounds like you have a meter so set it to ohms on a low seting ie 20 ohm range.
You should have a circuit through the machine and back out so hold the meter across the live and netural pins and switch the machine on (you might need 3 hands) if the reading dosn't change you need to first check the mains lead, by opening the switch and finding the incoming wires check you get continuity on each wire, then look for the wires going to the motor and connect the meter to them you should get a low reading if you don't it might be the circuit breaker which you can test with the meter it should read 0 or very low ohms, if every thing checks out it will be the switch it, could just be full of dust and needs a blow out or striping down and cleaning.


Pete

 

[9fingers]

I agree the cutout is well worth a check. Test in the same way as the fuse. It should measure virtually zero ohms.

Another possible culprit is worn brushes item 147. take them out and see how long they are and if the springs are still springy.

Minimum length will vary from motor to motor but as a rough guide, 6mm or less is bad news. 10mm or more and good springs will normally be OK.

New ones should only be a few quid and always change as a pair.

Good Luck

Bob

PS if you are still stuck and fancy a trip over to me in Romsey, I can take a look at it for you. Pm me to arrange.

 

[frugal]

Thanks for the suggestions guys, I shall try them tomorrow evening (we have guests around tonight).

 

[newt]

My thicknesser would not start due to sawdust inside the switch.

 

[frugal]

Thanks to all of the suggestions. Last night I borrowed SWMBOs multimeter and started to prod things. There was no resistance through the circuit breaker and no resistance through the motor. In the end it looked like the switch itself has gone wrong. I managed to prove this by putting the NVR switch from the Inca combi I am currently restoring onto the thicknesser and it all worked.

Looking at the switch itself it looks like a sealed unit and I can not get it open to see if it is full of dust.

Looking at the links that Argee posted it looks like the switch is £28!!! Which is more than a whole NVR including casing from Axminster...

 

[Racers]

Hi, frugal

They often have to be opened fron the front, you can prise the buttons out on the one on my lathe. If you knacker it dismantling it it will cost you £28 if you buy one it will cost you £28 so you have nothing to loose.

Pete

 

[Digit]

I had a similar problem with my DW, so knowing what I was doing I ended up with the whole thing in pieces, then found out it was a duff socket! :lol:

Roy.

 

[JonCIson]

In case anyone reads this thread in 2020 - I had the same problem a couple of times. The first was fixed by carefully removing and cleaning out the NVR switch (it gets full of dust). The second by simply pressing the little fuse switch on the top of the machine.