Hi Baz,

It would be great if you could unscrew the nut secuiring the 3 way HP switch then use a Multimeter to find out to which Contacts, the thin BLACK wires from the three RUN Capacitors are connected to. The three Run Capacitors should be connected to the switch as in my pictures above, you should also find that one of the Capacititors, C2 6µF this is the middle one of the three, is connected to the Centre – COMMON terminal , taking a picture would be interesting but not be a great help as all the wires are cabled tied together, it is impossible to trace them by sight as they are all Black and the switch is right at the bottom more or less out of sight.

Please don’t start cutting off all your cable ties.

IF YOU DO REMOVE THE SWITCH, MAKE SURE YOU NOTE WHICH CONTACTS ARE AT THE TOP OTHERWISE IF YOU MANAGED TO PUT IT BACK UPSIDE DOWN THE HP OUTPUT WILL BE REVERSED IN RELATION TO SELECTION LABELS ON THE CASE

SWITCH UP  1/8 – 1/2 HP                   SWITCH DOWN  1 – 2 HP

Trevor

Hello again Baz,

This is how the switch works, A & B are the Common Terminals, The RUN Capacitors are connected by the three thin Black wires on A,  A1 AND A2 The only other wire is thicker Black wire connected to the Common B and that wire is connected to the Contactor Terminal 21 – 22 on my circuit (above) when that contact closes it supplies 240 Volts Live to the Common terminal B.

Terminals B1 & B2 are shorted together

Terinals  A1 & B1 are shorted together

Terinals  A  & B    are shorted together

When the switch is in the Central Position ie. neither up or down the only capacitor connected is C2 6µF to terminal A I think this may possible be for safely discharging the capacitors but I may be wrong about that.

When the switch is in the UP Position for 1/8 – 1/2 hp   — A &  A1 are switched together and B & B1 are switched togeteher and the Capacitor connected to A2 is not in circuit this gives a Total Capacitance of either 12µF or 16µF depending which way around C1 and C3 are connected.  NOTE MY SWITCH IS UPSIDE DOWN, I HAVE ONLY JUST REALISED. i only put it in temporarily.

When the switch is in the DOWN Position for 1 – 2 hp the other pairs are connected  —  A & A2 are switched togeteher and B & B2 are switched together and as B2 is hard wired to B1 which is in turn hard wired to A1 means that all three capacitors are connected together giving a total Capacitance of 22µF.

when I get it all sorted out you will be able to have a Schematic for yours.

Trevor

Hi Clive,

I have just been looking at the other old discussion about a similat Converter it is on this discussion

“Motorun 2HP statin 3phase converter”

The Converter looks a bit similar but does not have as many wires on the Transformer and there is a lot of componentes on a circuit board that is not presen in mine. But What is interesting is that the HP Switch has all three positions labeled. I only remember ever having two, but these labels can come loose and I am wondering if one could have been lost. the one in this discussion has the middle position as 1/8 – 1/2 HP that is when I only have one 6uF Capacitor switched in The top is labeled 1 – 2 HP and the bottom position is labeled as 1/2 – 1 HP. So maybe mine should be the same   Top – Mid  – Bottom    as   22uF   –   6uF   –    12uF This would make alot more sense to me I wonder what that circuit board does, mine has nothing like that.

Trevor

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for all the Replies, it is great to have so much help.

Hi Dave,

I will do that, I started today by taking everything out of the case, it really needs re painting. Then I will install all new Capacitors and re wire it with 1/8 – 1/2 HP using 6uF and  1/2 – 1 HP using 16uF and 1 – 2 HP using 22uF which I think is how it was. The HP switch is the only thing that was worrying me. I have not altered that switch in the last 30 Years and now I am not sure if it was set correctly for my lathe’s  0.74 HP motor and now can’t even remember which position it was in but it started and ran perfectly with no trouble for 30 years. The unit was out of sight under the lathe cabinet and I used the control gear on the lathe to start/stop frd/rev. I searched under the cabinet but there is no sign of a 1/2 – 1 HP label, so still a bit worried as this is the setting I should have been using.

Hi Baz,

Please, when you get time I would like to see a picture of the inside if your converter and labels on HP switch You can’t tell if it is identical on the inside to mine unless you open the lid, you may find a Circuit board in there. The one with the circuit board looks identical to mine on the outside apart from my rusty case and missing label.

But don’t rush it will take me days to get my case cleaned up and painted and I was going to re arrange it a bit and see if I can make room to accomadate a Meter or three. If yours is like mine inside and has three HP settings then I am back to worrying about whether the 1/2HP setting is 12uF or 16uF. but as I am going to use Crimp on spade Terminals it will be easy to alter but I would like you to tell me for sure to which switch terminals C1 and C3 are connected just to put my mind at rest.

Have you found out how to attach pictures, all you do is click this icon.  see picture below.

Thanks to everyone

Trevor

Hi Clive,

Hi Baz & All,

Very Sorry Baz, Thank you for taking the trouble to take the pictures, I don’t look at my Computer every day and this week has been a bit more problematic than usual. and I am from the Era where all communications were done by post and nothing happened quick, waiting for a reply was part of life, but if you still  have the pictures in your Recycle Bin Baz I would still very much like to see them, although I think I know how to wire it now. I did not know Forum Sites allowed Members to post private email addresses as I know they are detected and locked out of emails, and me being a new Member I didn’t want to get told off. But what I can do is show you how to post an Image then you can send other Images in future for Members to see, you will find it is very useful.

It is so simple, If I can do it anyone can. What I find difficult is where to enter a Reply as I can’t always see the posts that I am trying to Reply to on the same screen.

The picture shows the current state of mine now, Sorry Dave I had done this before I read your message sugesting not too, I am going to wire it up now I have already mounted the parts on a bit of plywood and will test it on an old 3 Phase Bench Grinder, but it will probably take me a few days to finish wiring. The Male Spade Terminals on the Capacitors seem too thin for the Female Connectors so I am going to have to make them a better fit.

Hi John,

Just seen your message about having a converter offer, I will definmitely have it if Noel changes his mind.

Trevor