# table saw help...saw keeps tripping the breaker



## tito5 (Apr 5, 2011)

As some of you know I bought a saw off craigs list a few weeks ago and over the weekend I ran into a few problems. what could be wrong, and how would I go about fixing it?
here are the details
saw model: Delta XL10 or 36-380
it is a direct drive motor for 10" blades. It has an internal breaker that keeps tripping. 
here is what it is doing....
with no blade it works fine. it works in both positions motor fully lowered, and motor fully raised. I ran both for well over a minute in both positions. 
with a 10'" onsrund thin kerf combo blade it will run as long as the blade is fully lowered if you raise the blade to cut 3/4' stock or fully raise the blade the saw will run for about 5 seconds and then the internal circuit breaker will trip. Also the sound of the saw changed right before it trips, it is not a big sound change but something definitely changes.
with a 7 1/4 blade from my circular saw the saw will run fine with the blade fully raised and lowered, although with that small of a blade all I will be able to cut is 3/4 in stock. 
what would be causing this? 
and full disclosure time.....
I bought the saw used and took it home and cleaned it up. after getting the ts cleaned I installed the blade and did a test cut. it worked great. after that I found out that I needed to align the blade. well in working with that I removed the switch box and power cord, it was getting in my way. the removal was pretty simple, a ground and three wires white black and red. I drew a diagram on how it went together, I don't remember off the top of my head but it went something like this...white from motor and white from cord twisted together, black same as white, and the red wire from the motor went to the switch box and the cord side of the red plugged into that. there was also a green ground that was screwed to the body of the saw. 
after hooking everything back up the saw starts tripping the internal breaker. it does this with both an extension cord(and yes the extension cord is beefy enough) and without an extension cord. Also my garage is wired with 20 amp breakers.


----------



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*wiring is goofy*

From the power cord: green(ground) screwed to green, white (neutral) twisted and capped to white, black to switch terminal (in) and black to motor (out) Red? could be a overload module/thermal reset? 

Delta or an online manual source should have an manual for your wiring. Post a picture if all else fails of the switch and the wiring.  bill

http://www.toolpartsdirect.com/cgi-bin/schematic.cgi/delta/36-380


----------



## tito5 (Apr 5, 2011)

you beat me to it bill..... had to restart my computer due an update. I really don't think I hooked it wrong, but could there be a problem with the wiring or capacitor, or relay? or assuming it is wired correctly was could be wrong with it?


----------



## knotscott (Nov 8, 2007)

Dunno how raising the blade would change things but the motor brushes are worth checking on any older tool with a universal motor.


----------



## tito5 (Apr 5, 2011)

knotscott said:


> Dunno how raising the blade would change things but the motor brushes are worth checking on any older tool with a universal motor.


how would I do that?? and where would I get new brushes? I have a good feeling tha tthe motor is not what delta would call serviceable....but I have no problem with taking it apart.


----------



## knotscott (Nov 8, 2007)

tito5 said:


> how would I do that?? and where would I get new brushes? I have a good feeling tha tthe motor is not what delta would call serviceable....but I have no problem with taking it apart.


Not sure...the fact that they're not shown in the diagram isn't a good sign that they're user accessible. It's not necessarily a likely cause anyway....just thinking out loud and trying to cover basics.


----------



## woodman73446 (Feb 25, 2012)

In your post you stated "white from motor and white from cord twisted together, black same as white", what exactly did you mean by black same as white? 
The black wire in the saws power cord should go to the power switch, the black wire from the motor should go to the power (out connection) on the power switch. If you wired the black power cord wire to the black motor wire then the connections are not correct.The motor should have a wiring diagram some where on the case, that will tell you how to re-wire the motor to power. On older models the diagram may be hard to read due to dirt and grime over the years. But a good cleaning should shed some light on your problem, avoid using a stiff brush because it could strip the diagram from the case if it was just printed on the case. Since the motor is direct drive raising or lowering the motor will have no effect on the motors operation.


----------



## tito5 (Apr 5, 2011)

ok to bring this thread back to life.....I have found a replacement capacitor for the saw....not sure if that is the issue or not, but the cap was only 7 dollars, I figured that will take that out of the equation and narrow the problem to the motor if I am still having an issue. I have also found a possible replacement motor....however it is a motor for an older generation delta contractor saw. the saws ( and motor) look the same, but mine is a higher (newer) model number so here is a question...would a motor from a Delta 34-570 and 34-580 type 1 table saw Part Number 438-02-314-0855 fit in a 36-380 table saw?


----------



## tito5 (Apr 5, 2011)

no one? any guesses?


----------



## woodman73446 (Feb 25, 2012)

Depending on the amperage rating for the breaker, and how many other tools, lights, any power equipment is in use when you try to run the saw. You may be overloading the circuit breaker.

If the breaker is a 20 amp, then that may be the problem. I use only 30 amp breakers in my shop, but I constructed the shop and wired it myself based on the amperage load needed. I had the luxury of having an ample supply of power available when I designed and built my shop. Many shops I see, except for commercial shops, are very short on available amperage to run the tools commonly used in woodworking. 
You may want to check with a voltmeter to see if any of the power wires from the motor are grounded to the case, one should be, for the fields of the motor, and that is correct. But there should not be any wires that have continuity with the armature, or main shaft of the motor. I know that you stated that you had difficulty wiring the motor back to power. I would carefully disassemble the motor to determine if the brushes are worn out, or any other mechanical problems exist in the motor. If you know someone that has experience working with electricity, and especially with electric motors I would call them and request some experienced assistance.


----------



## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Without being there it would be hard to tell what your problem is. Since the saw is running at all it should be wired ok at the saw end. If your garage is a long distance from the breaker box it can be like running the saw off a long extension cord. Your comment about 20amp breakers suggested you should have 12 gauge wire bringing electric service which is good. You might try turning everything off in the house except for the saw and see if that improves anything. Sometimes a house is wired like a Christmas tree having too many things wired on one line. If that corrects the problem you should run a dedicated line just for the shop. If it is the brushes like knotscott has suggested it should have a larger than normal spark at the brushes and make a sputtering noise. It could also be the armature is worn out which would have to be professionally fixed and probably cost more than the motor is worth.


----------



## TomC (Oct 27, 2008)

tito5 said:


> ok to bring this thread back to life.....I have found a replacement capacitor for the saw....not sure if that is the issue or not, but the cap was only 7 dollars, I figured that will take that out of the equation and narrow the problem to the motor if I am still having an issue. I have also found a possible replacement motor....however it is a motor for an older generation delta contractor saw. the saws ( and motor) look the same, but mine is a higher (newer) model number so here is a question...would a motor from a Delta 34-570 and 34-580 type 1 table saw Part Number 438-02-314-0855 fit in a 36-380 table saw?


Have you tried it with the new capacitor? 
Tom


----------



## AMassey08873 (Apr 1, 2012)

Maybe the manual will have a trouble shooting section. http://servicenet.deltamachinery.com/Products/Detail/36-380# The first two are part diagrams, the third is the manual. 
I'm leaning towards capacitors..But to mucn on the line does sound like it would fit because bigger blade needs more power to spin.... smaller blade works fine...... Or possibly when you realigned the saw blade something went out of wack. But it seems like when the power needs to kick in so it don't stall out its failing on you. Capacitors and To much on one line.... Did you try replacing the breaker? When you cleaned the saw how much cleaning did you do could something internally of gotten wet.??? Just thinking of other angles . I know its frustrating as H ell. But when you get her going it'll make for good times. So hang in there.


----------



## AMassey08873 (Apr 1, 2012)

Heres the manual, not sure if you had it. http://servicenet.deltamachinery.com/Products/Detail/36-380# Maybe theres a trouble shooting area? 
It sounds like a capacitors not holding up, Make sure to check the solder around the leads to the capacitors as well. If its cracked or a hair line it'll cause it to fail prematurely. Also how much cleaning did you do? Is it possible something internally got wet? Causing it to overload. I don't mean anything bye this just throwing it out there but have you tried to replace the breaker/ fuse. That link also has a parts digram you can order from. Hope you figure it out, Please post pics so we can see! Might throw up a red flag right away, I know its frustrating as hell right now but hang in there it'll make for good times real soon. Good luck


----------



## AMassey08873 (Apr 1, 2012)

Thought the first one got erased LOL so I tried to rewrite what I'd said. Now you get an idea of how my mind works. Figured I;d leave it. lol But Ill erase it if its anoying to anyone. Thanks.


----------



## tito5 (Apr 5, 2011)

well guys I haven't had time to mess with it...been busy with other stuff, my wife graduated school one weekend and the next she was out of town and I was at home with the kids....and they are to young to leave unsupervised. hopefully I will get a change to throw in the new cap this week or this weekend. and do some more testing.


----------



## tito5 (Apr 5, 2011)

Well wanted to update everyone, I got the TS working, it was the capacitor, I put the new cap in, and the saw stared up quiet as a mouse, with no vibration. Put my 10" blade on it and still really quiet, lifted the blade up and still really quiet and did not trip the breaker!!!!! I have tested it and cut wood with it, and it is working Great!!!!!! I just wanted to referance another thread I stared that tells about buying the cap. the short version is if you need anything electrical go to the place I bought the cap from, 1st rate service. 

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f2/great-customer-service-newark-com-38991/


----------



## eusurp (Apr 28, 2020)

*Saw tripping breaker--not anymore!!*

I have a Delta 10" Table saw with brushes that was tripping a 20 amp breaker....if you have brushes you WILL NOT have a capacitor unless it is for electronic noise suppression. When I removed the brushes, the one on top was clean but I blew it out anyway...high pressure air wearing safety glasses...right? When I removed the lower one, there was quite a lot of what looked like sand...but on closer inspection they were probably microscopic pieces from the armature of the motor that conducted electricity to ground out the motor. When I blew all of the rest of that 'dust' away and pit the brushes back in...voila!!! Saw starts EVERYTIME...the surprising thing to me is I have seen NO MENTION OF THAT in any of the troubleshooting AND WHAT SURPRISED ME THE MOST? The brushes looked almost new and I use the saw very regularly...built two canoes with it...try the brushes thing....you will know if you have brushes by looking at the pics in the manual for your saw
Count your fingers!!


----------

