For centuries, we've seen tremendous innovation in industrial operations. Our ancestors worked diligently to observe solutions to the sluggish processes they experienced, which ultimately led us to the development of motors and automation. Today, countless companies rely on electric motors to make their operations more efficient. While motors have certainly made significant improvements to the operations of businesses, companies also must maintain their motors to avert reanimation. In society to prevent future reanimation and inefficiencies, you must know how to check if an electric motor is going bad. If you know how and what to look for in a motor, you can take action early on and forbid your motor from going downwardly and potentially getting damaged. If you'd like to learn more, you can read our comprehensive guide below.

Check the Bearings and Shaft

A motor's bearings are ane of the virtually common components to become bad. The bearings endure regular wear and tear, so you lot demand to supplant them over time. You must bank check the bearings regularly considering if you keep using a motor with worn-out bearings, it can harm the mechanism and reduce the motor's efficiency.

Bearings are piece of cake to inspect. All you'll need to do is rotate the bearings to ensure they turn smoothly and freely. Another way to inspect the bearings is by pushing and pulling the shaft that the bearings attach to. The bearings should rotate smoothly and the shaft should be able to move smoothly likewise. That said, if you hear whatsoever scraping or feel any friction, you lot might need to replace the bearings. If the friction is minor, the bearings might merely require lubrication.

Audit the Motor Windings With a Multimeter

Unsurprisingly, the windings of an electric motor are vital to its mechanics. You should regularly inspect the windings for clothing and tear, only more than importantly, you need to analyze their resistance. First and foremost, you're going to need a multimeter to examination the windings. To begin, set the multimeter to read ohms and then test the motor's wires and terminal. Yous should exam the windings for a "short to ground" in the circuit and open or shorts in the windings.

To exam your motor for short to footing, you'll need to prepare the multimeter to ohms and disconnect the motor from its ability source. And so inspect each wire and look for infinite readings. Alternatively, if you become a reading of 0, you might have a cablevision issue. To decide if a cable is bad, you should test each cable individually and ensure none of the leads are touching. Testing individually volition allow you lot to observe the cable causing the problem. On the other hand, if each cablevision is providing an space reading, there'southward a motor problem, so you should hire a professional repair service.

To test for open or shorts in windings, you lot should test the T1 to T2, T2 to T3, and finally T1 to T3. Note: some motors volition have different markings such as U to V, V to W, and Westward to U—y'all can detect your motor's configuration in the user manual. In full general, you're looking for a reading of .iii to two ohms. If you lot end up getting a reading of 0, y'all should perform the test again to run into if you become 0 again. A reading of 0 ways you have a shortage in phases. A shortage ways the wires short to ground, which normally leads to a break in the wire. If your reading is well above ii, you probable take an open winding. An open up winding simply indicates at that place'south a broken wire.

Test the Power With a Multimeter

Patently, an electric motor is only as constructive as its power supply. You can test the power supply with the multimeter yous used in the previous point. The procedure and ideal ratings for testing power supplies can vary depending on the type of motor. Each motor will have an expected voltage range, and y'all'll want to test the wires to ensure they meet those ranges. Your user manual volition provide the necessary details for testing ability along with a guide. Testing the components of an electric motor get complicated speedily, and it's easy to make mistakes in the process if you lot're not experienced.

Ensure the Fan Is in Skillful Shape and Secure

Far too many people forget to inspect and maintain their electric motor'south fan. The fan is vital to your motor's operation considering it keeps the motor cool and so it tin operate for longer periods. As you might suspect, the fan tin can easily go clogged with dust and droppings, which reduces airflow and keeps heat in. Although the exterior of the fan may announced relatively clean, there could be grit and debris congenital up elsewhere that can slow the fan. When you lot remove the fan cover to clean, yous should also test the fan and ensure it rotates freely. Additionally, the fan should remain secure to the motor; otherwise, the fan won't move properly and the motor will overheat and certainly will get bad eventually.

While some of the preventative measures we mentioned are relatively simple, you still need to know how to check if an electric motor is going bad. Some of the methods for testing a motor may crave a professional's aid, and it'southward crucial that yous take a reliable professional person to contact when you need service. That said, there are a lot of motor repair shops out in that location, and all of them claim to exist experts, but few really are. So how could yous perhaps know which visitor to work with? The answer is establish in the company's history, experience, and integrity.

If you're looking for a motor servicer that's dependable, Moley Magnetics is the company for you. Our family-owned company began as a motor repair store, and nosotros're still repairing motors to this day. We take immense pride in providing top-quality service to our customers. Additionally, considering we're family unit-endemic, we ever treat our customers similar they're part of the Moley family. In other words, if you cull to work with Moley Magnetics, yous're going to receive great customer service and peachy products and repairs because we believe in quality. If you accept any questions or you lot're ready to asking service, contact u.s. today. Moreover, if your motor is beyond repair, we'll be honest and tell you and then, but don't worry—we supply new motors too.

How To Check If an Electric Motor Is Going Bad