HELP REQUIRED PLEASE - Dewalt Radial Arm Saw DW125 Powershop

[Glynne]

My Dewalt RAS died on me yesterday, the blade started for about 1 second and then nothing.
I checked the mains fuse which was fine and then searched the Forum for similar problems, of which there are a few posts.

Today I have checked the NVR switch and that is fine and then I managed to connect to the motor via the Motor Protector Reset and capacitor and the blade works so I'm down to the switch which seems to be a common fault with these machines.

The question is how on earth do you get the switch out - is there a knack or am I being particularly dense (which is always possible)?
I have posted a couple of pictures of the switch and handle assembly to give you an idea of the model. I have removed the 3 bolts (with captive nuts) that appear to hold the 2 sides of the handle together and also the 2 screws that hold the switch in place but apart from some minor give at the front, the handle does not want to come apart or off the machine.

I can't see any fastenings from the back and the bevel latch assembly doesn't seem to figure in the fixing but as I know several of you have managed to replace switches can you please give me a glimpse of what is probably obvious to everyone bar me? Any suggestions as to where would be the best place to get a replacement switch would also be very welcome.

Thanks,

Glynne

 

[MMUK]

If you're still stuck I'll be in Brum from next week so drop me a PM and I'll pop round with my magic tool kit

 

[Glynne]

Thank you for the reply and offer of help - the obvious has just occurred to me and the handle is off and apart (and not broken).

Rather than being bolted / screwed on to the motor assembly, each side fixes around a metal flange so by separating at the back (rather than the front), it all comes off very easily - simple when you know how.

Glynne

 

[Glynne]

UPDATE

As per my original post, having eliminated the NVR, checked the motor was OK and deciding it had to be the switch, I managed to get at the switch (after a prolonged senior moment). For some reason, I decided to check the switch itself and lo and behold it was fine!
The culprit was the live lead running from the switch to the top of the motor (motor protector reset & capacitor) - the negative and earth leads were fine
The photo shows the 2 ends of the same lead which is about 25cm long and hopefully you can see that the one end is "corroded" by something to the extent that it is very brittle and doesn't conduct.

I've never seen a copper wire "perished" in this way before and wondered if anyone knows what might cause it?
Anyway, with a makeshift piece of 13A ring main wire I re-wired the saw and it works.

In replacing the cable, I noticed that the leads to the actual motor were themselves perished and so I'll need to replace these at some point.

Can anyone please point me in the direction of a USER MANUAL for a Dewalt DW RAS 125 please - or any advice on removing the motor so as I can rewire the connections.

Thank you again.

Glynne

 

[Jack (W)]

Hi Glynne,

I'm sorry I do not have a DW125 User Manual, but Miles Tools provide exploded diagrams and part lists on their website which hopefully will be of some use to you:

http://www.mtmc.co.uk/Spare-Parts/Dewal ... 34013.aspx

http://www.mtmc.co.uk/Spare-Parts/Dewal ... 68297.aspx

Jack (W)

 

[fretnot]

In my experience it is a poor connections which inturn cause over heating damage to the wire

 

[MMUK]

The photo shows the 2 ends of the same lead which is about 25cm long and hopefully you can see that the one end is "corroded" by something to the extent that it is very brittle and doesn't conduct.

I've never seen a copper wire "perished" in this way before and wondered if anyone knows what might cause it?

By the looks of it, that's the result of a bad connection causing arcing (sparking).

 

[Glynne]

Thanks guys.
It may well have been a poor connection but the corrosion has spread to well over 10cm. I tried to cut back the insulation to see where it ended but got fed up after a while. I think that something got into the box on top of the motor but can't explain why only the live lead was affected. Whatever it was has affected the lead to the motor hence the need to replace at some point. At least my protracted diagnostics might avoid someone else buying a new switch when they don't need one.
Can't complain to much as it came from EBay and at a very reasonable price.
Regards,
Glynne

 

[Zeddedhed]

Can anyone please point me in the direction of a USER MANUAL for a Dewalt DW RAS 125 please

If you call DeWalt direct (number on their website I believe they will probably email you one.
I got them to send me a manual for 1201 Powershop RAS
HTH

 

[marcros]

there are various manuals on here- look for some posts by mrfish or misterfish.

if you struggle, i will have a search tomorrow for you. The models are much of a muchness- there is a very good supplementary manual for RAS's which covers a lot more that the original. that is on this site somewhere too.

the mr sawdust manual is said to be very good. Never seen it myself though.

 

[marcros]

here you go, specifically page 2, part way down...

setting-up-ras-t69868.html?hilit=ras%20manual%20sawdust&start=15

 

[misterfish]

there are various manuals on here- look for some posts by mrfish or misterfish.

if you struggle, i will have a search tomorrow for you. The models are much of a muchness- there is a very good supplementary manual for RAS's which covers a lot more that the original. that is on this site somewhere too.

the mr sawdust manual is said to be very good. Never seen it myself though.

Have a look at my earlier posting setting-up-ras-t69868-15.html that links to a couple of manuals and books for the 125 and 1251 (which are virtually identical)

Misterfish