Aloha,
Recall, my crank up cable broke -- full of rust.
Well, in the process of beginning repair, discovered
the crank up motor, the US Tower MD-75 I believe it
is called, would not operate anymore!
Have found two problems: the three position motor switch,
Fwd/Off/Rev is quite rusty, in fact the control handle sort of
flopped off into my hand when I reached to actuate it,
fixed that, still no motor operation. Went up to check the
motor. Noticed some rusty streaks below the capacitor
housing. Removed, and sure enough, one of the capacitor
terminals was rusted clean away and the housing insides,
full of rust flakes!
Replaced with a new capacitor, and now the motor operates
as expected yesterday!
Moral: On motor driven crank ups, where all the stuff is bolted
to the tower, it probably pays to check all parts/electricals periodically,
not just re oil the cable. Clearly neither the switch housing nor
the motor capacitor housing stood up to Kauai's climate, of
course it has been nearly 7 years in the humid/rainy weather.
Fellow at the electrical supply store advised that it is a good
idea to replace motor capacitors every five years, whether
you think they need it or not. Motor will run hotter as the
capacitor ages, or some such story.
Anyway, just a few notes about the continuing saga!
73, Jim, KH7M
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