Hi Mike… It sounds like the capacitor has gone defective either open circuit or short circuit – if it's gone short circuit the motor will heat up very quickly. If the motors run like this it will do damage to the field coil insulation. A replacement capacitor is cheap compared with a new motor. If you've got a multimeter check out for a short on the cap other wise check out the wiring to it from the switch onwards.. Hope that helps.

John

Hi Mick,
If you can take a close up photograph of the motor connection box and you have a multimeter we may be able to help you to identify the connections to the centrifugal switch and start winding. does the motor have one or two capacitors ?

Les.

sounds like capacitor to me I always keep a spare one handy

Hi Mick,
Your pictures 1 and 4 look like the start/stop switch so these are not relevant to the problem. Pictures 2 and 3 shows that the the capacitor is connected directly to the winding. Not to a connection box on the motor which would more than just the two connection on your motor. Picture 3 shows the terminal box but it is badly illuminated and obscured by the cover so I can't see how many wires go to each terminal. On the assumption that two wires from it go inside the motor and two wires go to the start stop switch it is not possible to get to the ends of the start and run winding to do the tests to check the resistance of the windings and continuity of the centrifugal switch. The only test I can suggest is to connect your meter set to a low ohms range to the two connections on the terminal block. Note the reading and short together the two wires from the capacitor. The reading should change slightly as you are now measuring the two windings in parallel. (The start winding via the centrifugal switch.) If the reading does change then the fault is almost certainly the capacitor. If the reading does not change then break the connection to one side of the capacitor. (This is testing for a short circuit on the capacitor.) If the reading changes this time (Going slightly higher in value.) then the capacitor is short circuit. If the reading does not change on either of these tests then the centrifugal switch is probably the fault. (It could also be the start winding but that is unlikely.)

Les.

According to the silk screening the original C should be sufficient voltage rating for UK single phase. If of far eastern origin perhaps the figure of 450v may be more optimism than fact.