Hi folks,
I'm new to the forum but have been watching EEVBlog for a while. I have an electronics question but it is more "electrical" than it is "micro-electronic" which seems to be the focus of EEVBlog. I hope someone can answer it. It has to do with a motor that runs my Range Hood... It is a Broan model # 10941071 (used to be K7448000).
After only 3 years, it has stopped working. At first I thought it may be the variable-control knob "pot" switch which turns on the motor and then lets me adjust the speed (I assume it is just a voltage regulator). However, when I tried another AC motor from another Range Hood it worked.... Successfully turned on the fan and adjusted the speed. I would have liked to just use the test motor from the other range hood, but it was a different bracket/screw/fan-hole sizing so I couldn't just use it.
So I am wondering, I physically inspected the motor and hooked it up to the mains and get nothing. My test motor when hooked up to the mains will turn. Once again, confirming the motor is the problem not the variable-speed "pot" switch. Physically removed some of the paper around the primary coil winding ("stator winding") to see if my fuse burned out, but it looks fine to me.
Next step, I guess is to check the resistance across my motor with a meter. Should be finite and low I assume, if infinity then something is broken in my winding, and I guess unless I plan on manually winding up my motor again it's done for.
I was hoping for some help with someone who has played around with these types of motors, the cheap ones found in most house-hold fans/range hoods and knows common issues with them. Also wondering why after only 3 years it is already toast? I should mention that the motor was extra noisy for some time (like 4-6 months) prior to this. I didn't know why, I couldn't see any problem with the fan blade, I thought maybe it was hitting something but when I checked it out it seems to rotate smoothly. So this may give some insight into what could have been the start of failure and possible cause!
Thanks in advance!