I took a gamble today and purchased an almost new but known-nonfunctional electric mower. It's a B&D rebranded as Sears. The seller asserted that it simply died one of the first times he used it, and he never bothered to get it fixed. He told me there was no hum, no motor strain - just no indication of anything.
So if I can troubleshoot this guy, I'll save quite a few bucks, and if not, I haven't lost a fortune. Sure enough the unit appears to be stone dead. I dissembled the switch assembly, and noticed one of the AC wires going in, and three coming out - red, black, and white. Sticking my vom between the red and black gave about 60 volts when the switch was actuated.
Does anyone know the principle of operation of a mower motor? Is it capacitative start? Is one of the three leads from the switch intended to provide the reversal/rapid-shut-down circuitry?
Any diagnostic advice would be welcome.
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