Problem with Craftsman grinder

J

jonathan creason

Joined
Oct 8, 2012
Messages
49
I've been using this 2x42 grinder for over a year now with no issues, but today every time I turned the switch on it overloaded the outlet and tripped the reset. I tried it in all three outlets in my garage with the same results. Anyone have an idea of what could be causing this?
 
A short? Try blowing out the motor with an air compressor, make sure there's no metal dust in it.
 
With the power OFF can you rotate the belt? If not it may have a very bad bearing problem . Frank
 
Which reset do you mean ?

Is it a ground fault outlet, or is it a circuit breaker that's tripping?



What else is turned on in the garage?

electric heater, lights, anti icing tape, fridge,
 
I have an electric miter saw with a damaged cord that trips the breaker for me. Did you try using it on a different circuit in case the current (no pun intended) one is faulty?

- Paul Meske
 
Yep, I tried it on a different breaker. I'll give the air compressor a shot, hopefully that'll do the trick. I appreciate the advice, everyone.
 
since you can plug it in and it doesn't immediately trip the breaker then it isn't likely the chord... it only does it after the switch is thrown right??? it might have a buildup of dust inside the motor causing a direct short there... or as mentioned it may have a bad bearing... unplug it from the wall... then try to rotate the belt by hand... if it moves freely then it's not likely a bearing... make sure you turn it over more than just an inch or two... you can have a flat spot in a bearing that will release and catch at different places... or different directions... some bearing start to go bad and will still turn backwards, but will bind and lock up when going forwards... if it won't turn then loosen the tension on the belt a little and see if that helps... keep the unit unplugged while doing this... you don't want to grab it to move it and accidentally turn it on with your other hand holding the belt... if it still doesn't turn then remove the belt and try to turn the indivial rollers... some gaurds may need to be remove to do this... keep track of what goes where and make sure you replace them... it may be any one of the gaurds... or the motor bearings... if you still can't find the problem, leave the belt off... and plug it in and start it with no belt... see if the motor turns on/over... some motors have a capacitor attached to help start the motor... if this goes bad then it'll drain the juice instead and trip the breaker... if all else fails... get ahold of sears or enter your model number into their website... they offer a pretty good breakdown on most of their parts... and you can order almost any part you need, as needed...
 
Take the belt off and and spin the contact wheel.If it spins freely then plug it in and try to run it without a belt,if it still trips the breaker you have a motor problem.
Stan
 
Thanks for the advice everyone. I unplugged the machine, and the belt and disk both turned freely. So, I cranked up the air compressor and shop vac and tried to blow air in anywhere I could. That must be the issue because I did manage to get it to run for a few seconds last night before it shorted again. I need to figure out how to get in under the housing to try and clean it out better.
 
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