GE electric motor REVERSE THRUSTERS!

[diymatt]

HI all.

New to this space and hobby in general so howdy.  

I am rebuilding/refurbishing a circa 1950 Craftsman bandsaw. One of the previous owners added this motor to the device.  The number is 5kc63ab666ax and its a GE.  It has no wiring schematics on it.

I need to reverse the direction on it to tighten up the footprint of he bandsaw but documentation is slim.  

Mattias talks about generalities here.
https://woodgears.ca/motors/reversing.html

and others talk about it on Google, but I was hoping for specifics on this motor.  Anybody have any personal experience with this unit and reversing it?

Thanks in advance.

images

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next step is to jam it full of aluminum foil and cross my drunken fingers.

[Mac1]

If you have access to the start winding terminals, then yes it can be reversed.  Simply swap the leads. I can't tell from the picture, but it appears you have a lot of leads available, so the start winding may be available. On the other hand, all those leads may be for the 115/220 conversion.

[diymatt]

YEp. I thought I'd open it up and do the start winding swap but without clipping some of the windings binding string I can't really see what goes where.

Deep down I am hoping somebody recognises this type of motor and know more about it.

[TDKPE]

How many leads are in the junction box?  Four?  Or six?  Or maybe seven, since it has internal overload protection?

[diymatt]

The junction box was missing the cover and only has two connections.  
Four technically but they are jumpered together.  I wonder if that is the way it is supposed to be or if it was be-jiggered by previous owners.  That top terminal post especially was not done that way from the factory.
I tried to do the old polarity swap-aroo but no luck.  (not surprising)


More pics in case it helps.

[TDKPE]

There were originally two of those slotted straps, which get moved to configure for 120V or 240V operation, where just one is used between the two closest posts (where the copper wire jumper is, which was originally another slotted strap, and the other post with hook end of the slotted strap is). But there are no start winding leads or lugs, so it's technically non-reversible. That means you have to go diving for the leads inside the motor, as already suggested.

Don't flex those leads any more than you absolutely have to. They're already looking a little crispy.

[Roly]

Looking at your pictures it appears there are wires connected to the back of the terminal block.    Try reversing the two leads that come from the inside of the motor and reinstall the power leads were they were.  Leave the links  as they are.   Roly

[TDKPE]

It looks like "1" and "2" are visible on two of the leads in the back. By any chance, are there also a "3" and "4" on the other two? And if so, the leads not in that group may actually have "5" and "8" on them (looks like there may be a tag on at least the bottom one, covered in dirt), though that's a long shot.

Looking harder, there appears to be 7 leads, which would be due to the existence of an internal overload device. Which complicates things further, at least in identifying the start winding leads.

[Roly]

5 & 8 are the starting winding leads that have to be reversed in relation to the running winding. Given the fact it is a dual voltage motor with the links in the terminal box chances are very good the other two leads are 5 & 8 You should not have to go inside motor and cut the string that has the internal wires bundled together to reverse it. T5 & T8 are the normal numbers for a start winding. Roly

[diymatt]

Wow.  You two are sharp.  I have no idea how I missed the tags on the wires.  

I have unfurled the tags that are still there.  Look like 1-2-3 from front to back.  All on black wires.

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Definitely crispy wires.  Being super delicate and not moving much.

This was the condition of the motor when I first cracked it open.