Bench grinder woes

[RedMF40]

I have an older Craftsman bench grinder, picked it up used. Worked perfectly, no noise or odd smells from the motor. Now when I go to turn it on it trips the breaker immediately. I've done no troubleshooting and am really not an "ace" with electrical stuff but I can replace a power cord if need be. The motor makes no sound or attempt to turn when I try to power it on. Just trips the breaker. I've had it for about a year.

I welcome any suggestions, but am also ok with buying a new unit if it looks like I'm going down a rabbit hole of repairs. Thanks in advance.
Gerrit

 

[da.bees]

I have an older Craftsman bench grinder, picked it up used. Worked perfectly, no noise or odd smells from the motor. Now when I go to turn it on it trips the breaker immediately. I've done no troubleshooting and am really not an "ace" with electrical stuff but I can replace a power cord if need be. The motor makes no sound or attempt to turn when I try to power it on. Just trips the breaker. I've had it for about a year.

I welcome any suggestions, but am also ok with buying a new unit if it looks like I'm going down a rabbit hole of repairs. Thanks in advance.
Gerrit

That's probably best if cord isn't the problem.
If it has a piggyback capacitor you can replace it fairly easy but odds are that isn't the problem.

 

[RedMF40]

That's probably best if cord isn't the problem.
If it has a piggyback capacitor you can replace it fairly easy but odds are that isn't the problem.

I’ll look at it when I have a few minutes, will also see what HF has to offer. Strange that it just stopped with no warning.

 

[stevieb49829]

That sounds like a direct short in either the cord, or the switch. If you turn it on, and then plug it in, does it still trip immediately? Pretty easy to open it up enough to find out if it's the cord shorting, or the switch. Sometimes it's as easy as finding the burnt wire. steve

 

[rrlund]

Does it have a replacement plug on the cord be any chance? I've seen wires touching where the screws hold the wires in those.

 

[RedMF40]

That sounds like a direct short in either the cord, or the switch. If you turn it on, and then plug it in, does it still trip immediately? Pretty easy to open it up enough to find out if it's the cord shorting, or the switch. Sometimes it's as easy as finding the burnt wire. steve

Yes, turned it on then plugged it in and the breaker tripped right away.

 

[RedMF40]

Does it have a replacement plug on the cord be any chance? I've seen wires touching where the screws hold the wires in those.

Cord looks original.

 

[flying belgian]

I'm putting my money on the chord.

 

[RedMF40]

Well, I'm an idiot. Just turned it on and it works perfectly. Last night when I was trying to use it I'm 78.5% certain I tried two different extension cords. That's how I connect to power since it's not near an outlet. Now I really don't know. I'll monitor the situation but I don't think there's anything wrong with it. I'll look at the actual extension cords and replace if need be. Thanks for the ideas and suggestions.
Gerrit

 

[Hemmjo]

This makes it more likely to be the cord or plug. Get it running then move to cord around. See if you can make it trip.

Gently pull, push, twist and bend the cord. Especially at the plug and where he cord enters the motor.

Good luck.

 

[DavyH]

Check that it can turn freely by hand. The switch on my grinder burnt out when I accidentally had the guide touching the grinding wheel.

 

[rustred]

I have an older Craftsman bench grinder, picked it up used. Worked perfectly, no noise or odd smells from the motor. Now when I go to turn it on it trips the breaker immediately. I've done no troubleshooting and am really not an "ace" with electrical stuff but I can replace a power cord if need be. The motor makes no sound or attempt to turn when I try to power it on. Just trips the breaker. I've had it for about a year.

I welcome any suggestions, but am also ok with buying a new unit if it looks like I'm going down a rabbit hole of repairs. Thanks in advance.
Gerrit

and if you give it a spin by hand at the same time u plug it in ? does it hum ?

 

[RedMF40]

This makes it more likely to be the cord or plug. Get it running then move to cord around. See if you can make it trip.

Gently pull, push, twist and bend the cord. Especially at the plug and where he cord enters the motor.

Good luck.

Thanks, I'll check into that. Thinking it may be an intermittent problem with one or both of my extension cords.

 

[flying belgian]

Thanks, I'll check into that. Thinking it may be an intermittent problem with one or both of my extension cords.

I can't tell you how many times I've had to replace the male end on extension chords.

 

[RedMF40]

I can't tell you how many times I've had to replace the male end on extension chords.

I've repaired a few. They are usually 100-footers and I can't bring myself to toss the whole cord because one end is bad.

 

[Ray,IN]

It's amazing how just one stray strand of wire will trip a breaker or blow a fuse.. Looks like that stray strand would just melt,, but nope.

 

[Hemmjo]

I've repaired a few. They are usually 100-footers and I can't bring myself to toss the whole cord because one end is bad.

I have several hundred of feet of extension cord and over a thousand feet of garden hose. All of it from someones trash over the years. Sometimes I end up with two or three shorter because multiple bad spots. But sometimes you only need a short cord or hose.

It is crazy what people will throw way.

 

[Mike(NEOhio)]

I have an older cheapie Cummins-Mack (love the way they pick two rugged-sounding names for them) that didn't want to start. Tore it down and found it was only the plastic switch for the start windings. Been using it for years, just give the wheel a spin before switching it on.