Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
Switch going bad
Dale Gillaspy
I have a PM with an on-off switch that is becoming temperamental. Powermatic wants $75 plus shipping for a replacement, and I can't see how it is worth that. There is a small circuit box or something on the back of the switch where the connections are.
Does anyone have any experience with an aftermarket switch? I don't want to fry my electronics and I know just enough to be dangerous, but $75 for a switch seems ridiculous.
Re: Switch going bad
Dick Hines
Check with Granger. I got a switch from them.
Re: Switch going bad
Chuck Engstrom
You might try blasting it front and back with some compressed air to clear any dust that may have worked its way inside the switch. See if that helps.
Failing that --- the switch in my 3520 is marked ZBE-102. I put only that in google and got plenty hits from many suppliers for this switch. Among them was this from newark.com, a large supplier of electronic components:
http://www.newark.com/schneider-electric/zbe102/contact-block-1nc-6a-screw-clamp/dp/17C7052?mckv=sP2jd1b03_dc|pcrid|181534433252|plid||kword|zbe102|match|p&CMP=KNC-GUSA-GEN-SKU-MDC-NF&DM_PersistentCookieCreated=true&gclid=CKmW-s-O6NMCFRZLDQodNJ0BXQ
Price $14.31
Good luck!
Re: Switch going bad
Harvey Meyer in Atlanta
You can get 2 switches on ebay for less than $10. Then you'll have a spare for the next time it goes bad:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-of-2-Telemecanique-ZBE-102-Normally-Closed-Contact-Blocks-/322051887621?hash=item4afbc9d205:g:-7kAAOSwZ8ZW9Wdw
Here's an article on how to do it:
http://www.docgreenwoodturner.com/pm3520switch.html
Re: Switch going bad
John K Jordan
I had the same problem with the same switch (on a Jet 1642). I took it apart and cleaned out very fine sawdust and it has worked since (years now).
When reinstalling I did some dust proofing with plastic wrap and silicone caulk.
If you do remove and clean it out, don't do like I did and disassemble the switch over a pile of shavings on the floor. It took me a while to find the tiny steel detent ball that popped out...
JKJ
Re: Switch going bad
John C Lucas
My switch was acting up. Very hard to turn on or odd. When i started.taking it apart i found it was a heavy duty mechanical button that operated a micro switch. I squirted some lube in the mechanical.switch and it now works like new. I would have to take it apart again to remeber but at the time i thought it would be fairly easy to just replace the micro switch.
dust in the switch is your answer
Steven Antonucci
take it apart, blow it out and you'll be fine.
They are mechanical, so short of finding a broken part, your issue is 99.999% dust. (I need to do it to my lathe now too...off isn't always going off...)
Re: dust in the switch is your answer
mikeee12345
Contact cleaner can be sprayed into the contact block to clean oxidation
from the contacts, you then need to blow it dry with compressed air before
you try to use the switch again. This style of switch contact block is also available
in a sealed unit which will prevent dust from entering the assembly. Most of the
major electrical manufacturers make this style of switch assembly, but each one
is designed to fit there switch assembly and are usually not compatible with each
other for parts replacements. The most common sized switch assemblies are the
30mm and 22mm selector switch and push button style buttons.