Compressor smokes, shuts off - dead motor or possible pistol friction?


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Old 08-03-16, 11:23 AM
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Question Compressor smokes, shuts off - dead motor or possible pistol friction?

Hi All, I've got a Husky (campbell hausfield) compressor model no. WL650703AJ that I scored for a song off Craigslist hoping to repair it. Kicking it on, it runs well enough for maybe 15-20 seconds before struggling, smoking juuuust a little bit then shutting down (I think due to the thermal reg). I took the plastic housing off and it looks as though the smoke is coming from the electric motor - which some forum folks elsewhere have suggested might mean it's on its last legs. What I also noticed, though, is that there are some indications there might be some slight oxidation in the piston housing itself (slight red streaks along that part of the unit), so I'm wondering if maybe the motor is smoking because it's struggling against some friction in the pump. I can turn the pump by hand, but it does take a little effort (and I've got no idea how much effort is appropriate in the first place for this). I opened the valve allowing the air to escape and ran it, and it went a bit longer than with the valve closed (~25 seconds)- but then when I closed the valve it shut down immediately. My question I guess is this: is it worth tearing down the pump, cleaning off the rust and trying again? Would that kind of friction possibly be to blame for the smoking motor, or would I be wasting my time? I'm curious if the smoke means the thing is shot and that even if I resolved the possible friction issue, I'd just be doing surgery on a corpse. Thanks much!
 
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Old 08-03-16, 11:49 AM
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Some follow up info based on the questions I'd probably get asked: it's plugged directly into a wall outlet, it's an oil-less model, I drained the water out (slightly rusty), and I meant PISTON friction. I have not yet actually shot the thing.
 
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Old 08-03-16, 01:56 PM
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Direct drive or vee belt? Being oilless I don't think you got all that great a deal but at this point I suspect the motor is not coming off the starting winding due to a stuck centrifugal switch. Can you disconnect the motor from the compressor and test the motor alone?
 
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Old 08-04-16, 06:12 AM
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Great idea, I'll give it a shot. Not sure what the difference is between direct drive and V belt exactly, but the shaft from the motor does rotate a belt which rotates a disk that has the piston crank attached so I'm guessing it's the V belt. Thanks for the help, that should let me diagnose the point of failure.
 
 

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