Router died suddenly

[RonB1957]

Well I was using my router table with my PC 3hp multi speed router when suddenly it just stopped as if someone flipped a switch. It had been running fine through out the day. First I thought I had somehow flipped a breaker. Nope. Then I thought perhaps saw dust got inside the router. Nope.
So I eventually removed it and took off the top to look at the brushes. There appears to be lots of brush left a good 1/2". OK so now I am stumped. Does anyone have any knowledge about these? The multi speed switch appears to have a circuit board. Could that perhaps be the issue? I am really not so thrilled about shelling out another $300.00+ for a new router. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[Philip1231]

Well I was using my router table with my PC 3hp multi speed router when suddenly it just stopped as if someone flipped a switch. It had been running fine through out the day. First I thought I had somehow flipped a breaker. Nope. Then I thought perhaps saw dust got inside the router. Nope.
So I eventually removed it and took off the top to look at the brushes. There appears to be lots of brush left a good 1/2". OK so now I am stumped. Does anyone have any knowledge about these? The multi speed switch appears to have a circuit board. Could that perhaps be the issue? I am really not so thrilled about shelling out another $300.00+ for a new router. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

This is a known issue with this router. I was lucky: it was just sawdust that gummed-up the switch. Others have had failure of that circuit board. I will let more knowledgeable folks get into the details of the availability or fixability of that circuit board.

[Roly]

Well I was using my router table with my PC 3hp multi speed router when suddenly it just stopped as if someone flipped a switch. It had been running fine through out the day. First I thought I had somehow flipped a breaker. Nope. Then I thought perhaps saw dust got inside the router. Nope.
So I eventually removed it and took off the top to look at the brushes. There appears to be lots of brush left a good 1/2". OK so now I am stumped. Does anyone have any knowledge about these? The multi speed switch appears to have a circuit board. Could that perhaps be the issue? I am really not so thrilled about shelling out another $300.00+ for a new router. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Did you check and see if the brushes were sticking in the holders not allowing movement ?   Then less likely would be a break in the cord or problems where it is plugged into.     Probably a soft start or speed control issue could cause this but betting on brush holders.   Roly

[jteneyck]

I had an old PC router where one of the wires broke inside the cord.  A continuity check found the problem.  Replaced the cord and all was well again.  On another router the speed control board died and was no longer available.  I bypassed it to get a fixed speed router that I now control with an aftermarket speed controller.  

John

[RonB1957]

I had an old PC router where one of the wires broke inside the cord.  A continuity check found the problem.  Replaced the cord and all was well again.  On another router the speed control board died and was no longer available.  I bypassed it to get a fixed speed router that I now control with an aftermarket speed controller.  

John

Is there a tutorial some where that I could watch to learn how to bypass and use it as a single speed?

[Philip1231]

FWIW:
https://www.routerforums.com/threads/por...ir.139877/

[Bob Vaughan]

Is there a tutorial some where that I could watch to learn how to bypass and use it as a single speed?

A hand router upside down in a table is a very high risk position for that tool.  Every now and then a chip falls down in the motor and shreds some of the windings.  Look inside wherever you can and check for loose wires around the armature or field coil.

Below is a PC 7518 that was used in a router table.  Whatever it was that fell down in inside the motor shredded the fan and the fan blades did the rest of the work.  This motor went to the trash.

   

[RonB1957]

A hand router upside down in a table is a very high risk position for that tool.  Every now and then a chip falls down in the motor and shreds some of the windings.  Look inside wherever you can and check for loose wires around the armature or field coil.

Below is a PC 7518 that was used in a router table.  Whatever it was that fell down in inside the motor shredded the fan and the fan blades did the rest of the work.  This motor went to the trash.

Thanks, every one. Looks like a little project for me to investigate further when I get a couple of latest projects finished.
A curious question, unrelated. Did Bosch stop making their 3hp routers. I have an old 1611 plunge, that is quite a power house. No soft start
, but I am used to that. I have had it for quite a few years. Never saw the need to replace it.

[jteneyck]

Is there a tutorial some where that I could watch to learn how to bypass and use it as a single speed?

Follow the tutorial Phillip posted.  

John

I posted something else earlier, but it didn't account for an on/off switch, which there needs to be.  With the router that I wired around the controller, I plug the router into an aftermarket switch and speed controller.  The router must be plugged into it for the on/off switch to control power to the router.  If I were to plug the router cord directly into an outlet it would come on immediately, and at full speed.  That's not good.  

John

[kurt18947]

I had an old PC router where one of the wires broke inside the cord.  A continuity check found the problem.  Replaced the cord and all was well again.  On another router the speed control board died and was no longer available.  I bypassed it to get a fixed speed router that I now control with an aftermarket speed controller.  

John

I had the speed control fail on a P-C 8529. Mine was a gradual failure of the variable speed function. It took longer and longer to start after flipping the switch and one day it didn't start at all. I also bypassed the speed controller. That speed controller was prone to failure due to bad capacitors, a plague that affected computers as well. The fix for bad caps was a couple new caps for less than $1. Of course I read about the capacitor problem not long after I threw the original speed controller out.

Bypassing the speed control on the P-C 8529 was pretty easy because it had separate power switch and speed control. I was able to continue to use the power switch and simply disconnected the wire from the switch to the speed control board and connected the wire directly to the motor, bypassing the speed control board. Other routers are going to be different due to switch/speed control configuration but the idea should be the same. The P-C had 3 wires from the speed control to the motor. I removed the 3rd wire.