Henry repair

[julianf]

Just pulled a henry from a skip. Note stuck to the top -

"Joy used on Wednesday and said it started smoking - DO NOT USE"

So, I've plugged it in, and nothing. Obviously fuse checking is first up, but the note would imply that the magic smoke has leaked out.

Brushes wouldn't cause smoking. I guess some of the internal wiring loom could do, but its probably going to be the motor windings, right?


Who's bought and fitted a replacement motor recently? Id like as much suck as possible!

Its one of the older housings with the manual high/low switch rather than the latching relay. HVR-200-22

 

[Ton-up]

Mine did that a few weeks ago. it was the capacitor or suppressor thingy. I need to get around to order another to see if anything else has gone, but it checked out ok.

Pardon our interruption...

 

[Agroshield]

An easy thing to check is the connection between the rotating cable bit and the stationary body. I have seen a couple which had broken. No smoke though.

Can you poke a screwdriver in somewhere and check the motor turns freely?

 

[RWD3M]

I'm with @Ton-up , I had the same with my Vax a couple of years ago, new capacitor fixed it!

 

[AKN]

Mine did that a few weeks ago. it was the capacitor or suppressor thingy. I need to get around to order another to see if anything else has gone, but it checked out ok.

Pardon our interruption...

Do not use these RIFA caps as they do fail with lots of magic smoke after a while, they are well known in the hifi and test instrument arenas for their failure mode. The potting absorbs moisture over time and then the insulation breaks down.

 

[RWD3M]

Do not use these RIFA caps as they do fail with lots of magic smoke after a while, they are well known in the hifi and test instrument arenas for their failure mode. The potting absorbs moisture over time and then the insulation breaks down.

Ooh, I did. Knew no different. Seems ok but will know when and if it does fail.

 

[AKN]

Ooh, I did. Knew no different. Seems ok but will know when and if it does fail.

Here is one I did earlier!

 

[dobbslc]

The switches fail more often the not so worth checking them first, just link them out to see of the motor is ok first.
Check the rotating tracks as they could have collected a load of dust causing arcing.
Motors are cheap on Ebay.
Never leave a man (Henry) behind!

 

[julianf]

Well, i didnt even check the fuse before taking it apart, and the spring contacts show zero volts, so i guess i best check the fuse, and then (probably) find out whats blowing it -

The contacts dont look shiny either, which is odd. The grease is years old, but id expect some shine on the tips.

Ive replace them on henrys before, but theyre both intact, just dont really look like theyve been rubbing on anything.

Anyway, fuse time... i robbed a load from some old IEC cables that were going to the scrap yard, so i know i have loads at present!

 

[julianf]

Odd one -

No visible damage to the cable at all, but no continuity between the neutral pin on the moulded plug and the terminal on the wire winder.

I guess ill chop the plug off and see if its the plug or the wire.

The original fuse was intact (not blown).

 

[bourbon]

We have done a few of these at the repair cafe. Most of the time it is the last 6'' of cable that breaks as it goes into the cable holder. chop 12'' off to be sure. But as it's apart. you might as well check the board.

 

[dobbslc]

Looks like a big pinch on the cable at about 1 o'clock in the plastic top.

 

[dobbslc]

We have done a few of these at the repair cafe. Most of the time it is the last 6'' of cable that breaks as it goes into the cable holder. chop 12'' off to be sure. But as it's apart. you might as well check the board.

I think 3 out of the 4 I've fixed were the same!

 

[bourbon]

It's as if they were designed to fail who would have thought it.

 

[Seadog]

Odd one -

No visible damage to the cable at all, but no continuity between the neutral pin on the moulded plug and the terminal on the wire winder.

View attachment 367833


I guess ill chop the plug off and see if its the plug or the wire.

The original fuse was intact (not blown).

The first point to check is always the cable. People tow them around by the mains lead and one of the most common failures is where it is clamped in the drum.

 

[julianf]

Well there we go -

Neutral on the moulded plug.

I guess it could be a knock on fault from something else, but its generally the live that heats up. All seems to be running now.