How to Tell When an Electric Motor Needs Replacing

by | Oct 7, 2016 | Industrial Supplier

The electric motor is almost omnipresent in today’s industry. Keeping your electric motor in shape – and knowing when it’s time to get replacement Baldor electric motors in Louisiana through a proper provider is important to any business running industrial equipment.

How does an Electric Motor Work?

The basics from physics class here apply pass an electric current through a wire in the presence of a permanent magnetic field, and the temporary magnetic field around the wire will repel against the permanent field and cause it to jump.

Within a stator, or permanent magnet, a revolving series of coils is attached to an output rod. This is the rotor. The armature of the rotor is fed an electric current regulated through two commutator rings and two brushes, and it spins in a direction regulated by the north and south fields of the stator and the direction of the current through both carbon brushes.

AC motors work a little differently, utilizing constructions such as the squirrel cage motor to produce more torque during the startup of a motor through the induction effect between the rotor and the stator, creating a rotating magnetic field through powered windings.

Identifying Motor Issues

An old capacitor: Replacing a capacitor becomes necessary when you notice that, through a VOM, the resistance of a capacitor does not move as the motor is switched on, or very little resistance occurs.

Burnt wires: If there is a burnt smell in the motor, it may be that the wiring in the armature or the windings have burnt out.

Problematic wiring outside the motor: Wiring outside the motor can also cause issues as power isn’t properly transmitted.

Tripped breaker: If a previous malfunction tripped a breaker in the motor, it may not start until you switch the breaker again.

Thermal overload: Electric motors heat up – fans can’t always keep that from happening, so a thermal overload breaker turns motors off before they get too hot. Let your motor cool off and turn the switch back before starting it up again.

If you feel that your motor is experiencing issues more often than not, it’s time to get a replacement Baldor electric motors in Louisiana before something worse happens.

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