Pinsetter just stops running

[Pitboy]

First off I apologize because this post is very similar to another active post. There are a couple of differences so I wanted to avoid confusion

Got a machine that will simply stop running at random times. It doesn't go into a blackout. Pit light stays on but the motor stops. The motor contractor is not pulled closed but if I manually close the contractor the machine will run. Motor start relay and contractor have been changed out. Thermal overload on motor is not tripping. One item of note is that my pin chasers complained of there being a dead animal smell coming from in back of this machine. This shutting off issues began about a week after the smell. If I let the machine sit it will come back on. The transformer gets pretty warm, not sure if that is normal.

Any ideas?

[Mechanick]

was the contactor replased with a new one, or a "good" used one on the shelf? Whats on the shelf is not always good. Maybe try another motor contactor if you have one.

[Roscoe]

I agree with Nick, many new Deltrol contactors exhibit this behavior.

[Popeye]

I agree with these guys, it sure sounds like the motor contactor. But then there is the issue with the heat and the smell. I would change the contactor with a brand new one unless you already put a brand new one in. Easier to change a contactor than a transformer.

[Pitboy]

The contactor that I installed was new in box. This problem was happening before the contactor and motor start relay were replaced.

[Popeye]

Might be the transformer then. Could have a break in one of the windings and when it warms up the wires go apart and when it cools the wires go back together.

[Mechanick]

The contactor that I installed was new in box. This problem was happening before the contactor and motor start relay were replaced.

Ok, even though it was new in the box, I would try putting a different contactor in. Ive heard quite a few times on here that some have had issues with these newer contactors out of the box.

[SoCalTom]

Ok, even though it was new in the box, I would try putting a different contactor in. Ive heard quite a few times on here that some have had issues with these newer contactors out of the box.

Absolutely. Just because it's out-of-the-box new doesn't mean that it's good. With today's "quality assurance" means that it may or may not have been fully and thoroughly tested before packaging and shipping.

[obdll]

i had a run on Deltrol contactors about 10 in a row that would not hold and all were new i found a local supplier for contactors and haven't had any issues yet ones i am using now are Allen Bradley700 type H
700HG47A1

[Mechanick]

i had a run on Deltrol contactors about 10 in a row that would not hold and all were new i found a local supplier for contactors and haven't had any issues yet ones i am using now are Allen Bradley700 type H
700HG47A1

If you don't mind my asking....where do you get yours? good to know since we are not too far apart.

[obdll]

If you don't mind my asking....where do you get yours? good to know since we are not too far apart.

Electrozad Supply i think the closest to you would be in London but you could always make a day out of it and stop by for a visit

[wepauls]

HAY can an two overlord 1 by motor contractor 1 in motor
I think one or an other can effect the other [ wat do you think ]

[Steve Stafford (JBEES)]

Let's put a meter on this the next time it happens and find the actual problem. It does sound like the issue is a bad motor contactor coil...but it could be somewhere else.

The next time this happens, put a volt meter on the coil leads of the motor contactor. If you have 120 volts at the coil leads but the coil is not pulled in...change the contactor. If you do not have the voltage present, then proceed to the thermal overload in the electrical box. (If you have one) Read the voltage across the leads that control the voltage going to the motor contactor coil. Not knowing what style machine you have will make it a bit difficult to explain this but I will give it a shot. There should be 4 wires going to the thermal overload. Two large wires...one that comes from the contact on the motor contactor and the other large wire would go on to the motor receptacle for the pinsetter. There should be two smaller wires going to the thermal overload...these should have one going to the coil of the motor contactor (one of the points you read earlier) while the other goes to a set of contacts on the motor start relay. Read the voltage across the two smaller wires. If you get 120 volts, the thermal over load is open and may be bad. If you get 0 volts...odds are it is not bad...but that is not always the case. If you get 0 volts...follow that smaller wire that went to the motor start relay. It will terminate at a set of contacts on the motor start relay. Read the voltage across that set of contacts. Could be the contacts are bad if you read voltage. You could also have a bad wire along this circuit...anywhere from the motor start relay to the motor contactor...or even further back in the circuit.

Read some voltages and post back here.

[Pitboy]

Thanks Steve. I did check the ohm reading on the contractor coil and it read .284, same as a new in box one I have. I'm pretty sure that there is no thermal overload in the control box. I'm back in to work on Monday. I will check then and post back.

[Steve Stafford (JBEES)]

The issue with some coils is that the resistance reads fine when it is cold...read "on the bench"...but the coil can open when heated. This is what Roscoe was eluding to about the Deltrol coils. As the coil cools down after opening...it starts back up as the coil "reconnects" inside and starts to work again. This sounds just like what you were describing...but verification of voltage will allow us to not guess and determine exactly what the issue is.