Delta 46-460 speed control

Re: Delta 46-460 speed control

Max Monts

The speed controller is going south. Mine was a warranty repair - took 3 & a half months waiting for the part.

Re: Delta 46-460 speed control

Barry Rockwell

Thanks Max. I was afraid that was the issue. Mine is definitely not under warranty.

Most common failure is rheostat

Ken Vaughan

The rheostat aka variable resister is the common failure part with such symptoms. Easy replacement if you are soldering experienced.

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Re: Most common failure is rheostat

John C Lucas

First try spraying the variable resister liberally with an electronic spray. Work it back and forth as you spray. It might solve the problem or it might temporarily change the problem. Either way it will tell you that the Potentiometer is the problem. Its inexpensive to replace. Another possibility is cold or loose solder joints. Probably much less likely. Look for dull or non shiny solder spots or in the case of the potentiometer just touch each lead with the iron to melt and resolder that joint

Re: Most common failure is rheostat

Barry Rockwell

Uhhh, where is the variable resister? On the speed control switch? I haven't taken anything apart yet.

Re: Most common failure is rheostat

Dave Paine

The image below is a parts diagram from the Delta Machinery site.

N0 202 is the rotary plastic knob for the speed control. The plastic knob will rotate a potentiometer which is not easy to see in the drawing of part 205 (the controller). Likely the lower left corner in part 205.

If you are lucky and the potentiometer contacts are accessible so can be cleaned, as mentioned by others, this may be the present problem due to oxidation or dirt on the contacts.

Re: Most common failure is rheostat

John C Lucas

Thanks dave. All i could remember is the speed control knob is on the upper left side. It may be difficult to get acess to it unless the board comes out easily. You can spray from the outside once you pull the knobs off. It wont clean as well so probably multiple sprays.

I went to buy some contact cleaner the other day. I was surprised at the price. Cant remember now but hink it was something like $13.

Re: Most common failure is rheostat

Barry Rockwell

Thanks guys, from an electronics dummy.

Re: Delta 46-460 speed control

Mike Brazeau

Would be curious to see what kind of response you get if you spoke with Delta. The original version of the controller has not been available for a few years. That purchase of Delta has to be the biggest botch up I have ever seen. I was involved in transitioning several companies in highly technical products in the late 90's and we sure did not treat our customers the way Delta have. Such a shame. It is an excellent small lathe. There is a thread at Badger Pond on the topic of the 46-460 controller and a fellow that claims to have come up with a way to keep the electronics clean. I inquired with him by Emil as to how he accomplished it, but got a rather impolite response. The reversing switch is known to cause problems as well and disassembling and cleaning which is pretty tedious supposedly fixes it. The original warranty was five years I believe.

Re: Delta 46-460 speed control

Julian

If it is a bad potentiometer, most of them are sealed units and spraying won't fix it. You can purchase potentiometers are electronics suppliers and possibly Radio Shack. Just have to get the part number off the old one. I recently replaced one on my Powermatic lathe and it cost less than $20 with shipping. Local store did not have the one I needed.

Re: Delta 46-460 speed control

John C Lucas

I agree replacing them is best but ive cleaned a lot over the years. Many successfully

any resolution on problem?

Re: any resolution on problem?

Barry Rockwell

Okay guys, I'm back to the problem with the speed controller. We went back to Montana for the summer a couple days after I began this thread and didn't have time to get into it. As a matter of fact, I forgot all about it. We're back from Montana now and I turned on the lathe for the first time yesterday, and guess what? The speed controller is screwed up. So, now I'm going to try to solve it using some of the advice I've gotten here, and I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Re: any resolution on problem?

Roger

Get Allen a screwdriver and hammer and a couple bottles of wine and your current lathe problems will be over. ;-)

Re: any resolution on problem?

mikeee12345

Increase the bottles of wine and your lathe problem quickly fades away. :-)

Re: any resolution on problem?

Barry Rockwell

On Thanksgiving morning I removed the top plate of the speed controller box , which exposed the potentiometer behind the speed controller knob. Indeed, it looks like a sealed unit. I got the part number from it and looked it up on the Internet but couldn't find anything that looked even close. Friday morning I went to Ace Hardware and got a very expensive ($20) can of contact cleaner. I really doused the potentiometer good while rotating the knob back and forth, to no avail. A little later I tried again and soaked that little sucker from every possible angle, and again, no results. So yesterday, Saturday, just before leaving to take the wife and dog for a ride to the mountains, I switched on the lathe for no reason, and it worked! I turned the knob through the speed range and it worked perfectly. THANK YOU JOHN LUCAS!!! That "expensive" can of contact cleaner turned out to be the best buy I've made in a long time.

Re: any resolution on problem?

john lucas

I've had the same results. Apparently the contact cleaner has to totally dry up or possibly any residue has to be rubbed off by the contact wiper in the Pot. Glad it worked. Like you I had not bought any for several years and was totally shocked at the price.

Re: any resolution on problem?

mikeee12345

It is hard to get the "good" stuff (contact cleaner), everyone is trying to sell a "green"

product these days and most of them are not like the contact cleaners made years ago.