christmas inflatable trouble

Thread Starter

paul m

Joined Dec 21, 2014
6
I am having trouble with the blower motor on a Christmas inflatable decoration. The motor fails to spin. I plled the fan apart and found that there is a capacitor wired into the system. I don't know if this could be the problem. This device also has lights and sound which I have disconnected. I am running a.c. power direct to the motor and it still won't spin. I did open up the motor and it appears to be in perfect condition inside. No rust or burn marks. I believe this is called a brushless motor. There is no label on the motor. I have 120 volts going to the motor. I have tried spinning the motor while plugged in with no success. Any ideas?
 

wayneh

Joined Sep 9, 2010
17,496
So the motor spins freely but does absolutely nothing with power applied? (No buzz, or indication that it is trying to spin?)

That sounds to me like a fuse or thermal cut-out has tripped. Post a photo of the motor.
 

Thread Starter

paul m

Joined Dec 21, 2014
6
I am having trouble with the blower motor on a Christmas inflatable decoration. The motor fails to spin. I plled the fan apart and found that there is a capacitor wired into the system. I don't know if this could be the problem. This device also has lights and sound which I have disconnected. I am running a.c. power direct to the motor and it still won't spin. I did open up the motor and it appears to be in perfect condition inside. No rust or burn marks. I believe this is called a brushless motor. There is no label on the motor. I have 120 volts going to the motor. I have tried spinning the motor while plugged in with no success. Any ideas?
 

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sdowney717

Joined Jul 18, 2012
711
motor looks good inside.
There is a tiny fuse they wire into the winding, see if it is open. The fuse is used to detect if the motor is overheating, like the bearings are stiff. I lube these with synthetic engine oil 20W, and that always does well.
 

MaxHeadRoom

Joined Jul 18, 2013
28,619
I believe this is called a brushless motor. There is no label on the motor. I have 120 volts going to the motor.
Appears to be a standard split phase induction motor, you should have three connections (after the Cap) and they should all show continuity.
Max.
 

Thread Starter

paul m

Joined Dec 21, 2014
6
Appears to be a standard split phase induction motor, you should have three connections (after the Cap) and they should all show continuity.
Max.
I am not sure what you mean. There are four wires coming out of the motor white and black and then there is a brown and blue going to a capasitor. the white, blue and brown all have continuity. the black has continuity with none.
 

#12

Joined Nov 30, 2010
18,224
There it is. Black is faulty inside the motor. Go looking for that fuse or thermal disconnect mentioned in post #2.
 

Thread Starter

paul m

Joined Dec 21, 2014
6
I did look for the fuse earlier, without success. I will look again. There is a peice of waxy glue where the wires enter the windings. I will peel that back and look inside. Thanks for the help.
 

wayneh

Joined Sep 9, 2010
17,496
Can you remove those star screws and/or look behind there? I don't think the fuse or whatever should be hard to find, but I could be wrong.
 

Krymium

Joined Jan 10, 2021
3
Can you remove those star screws and/or look behind there? I don't think the fuse or whatever should be hard to find, but I could be wrong.
I realize this is a pretty old thread but I seem to be having the exact same problem. I took apart the fan and the black wire doesnt seem to have continuity. I dont see any fuse though other than the one in the plug which is working fine. FWIW - the lights on this inflatable work just fine. Its just the fan. One other symptom. For a few days before it went completely dead, I noticed that the fan was running but the the inflatable wouldnt "fluff up" for a little bit. I would have to give it a bit of a shake to get it working.
 

wayneh

Joined Sep 9, 2010
17,496
I realize this is a pretty old thread but I seem to be having the exact same problem. I took apart the fan and the black wire doesnt seem to have continuity. I dont see any fuse though other than the one in the plug which is working fine. FWIW - the lights on this inflatable work just fine. Its just the fan. One other symptom. For a few days before it went completely dead, I noticed that the fan was running but the the inflatable wouldnt "fluff up" for a little bit. I would have to give it a bit of a shake to get it working.
Can you easily spin the fan blades by hand (power off of course) ? It sounds like it was struggling and then failed. Maybe the bearings or something fouling the blades. The fan might have an internal thermal fuse.
 

Krymium

Joined Jan 10, 2021
3
Can you easily spin the fan blades by hand (power off of course) ? It sounds like it was struggling and then failed. Maybe the bearings or something fouling the blades. The fan might have an internal thermal fuse.
Yes I can spin it by hand. The fan itself is just a plastic attachment to the motor. The motor appears sealed. Am going to try and get into it if possible ...
 

Tonyr1084

Joined Sep 24, 2015
7,853
Semantics my be at play here. Being able to spin the fan by hand doesn't say enough. The fan should spin very easily. If not then the bearings may be binding up the motor. You can probably still spin the fan, but with any resistance the motor will get hot. Those thermal fuses are designed to prevent fires. They're often as close to the windings as possible so as to detect the heat quickly and efficiently. When they blow - they're done. They can not be reset. They need to be replaced. And replaced with crimping, not soldering, as I found out. Soldering them will blow them out. They're temperature dependent. And if you find the blown thermal fuse (called a Fusible Link) and replace it - replace it with the exact same ratings. Going smaller just means it will blow out faster. Going higher could result in a fire.

Or you can do like some people do - bypass the fuse and run the risk. Bypassing the fuse will tell you if the fuse is blown. As for checking continuity - a simple DVM will do. They can be picked up at your local big box store, and they can be pretty cheap. You don't need an expensive one.

Just remember to unplug the fan before you test anything. I've made that mistake too. Blew out a meter.
 

MisterBill2

Joined Jan 23, 2018
18,176
The first thing to try is a sit of lubrication of the fan motor bearings. Just a few drops of mineral oil, not vegetable oil. If that solves the problem then a few drops more, automotive engine oil will work well, just a few drops after the rest of the container has been dumped into the engine. So an "empty" oil plastic container will have plenty for the application.
But if lubrication does not fix it, then look for a capacitor that no longer is in spec as far as the label capacitance.
Of course I just stumbled onto this thread, that may have been suggested and done already.
 
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