Have a used KitchenAid KSM50P. Worked fine initially but then beater stopped moving in the middle of mixing eventhough motor still sounds like it's working
I had to read this through a few times before it dawned on me what the problem may be.. I think you are right in saying the motor is "Going" but I am wondering if it is OK, you see what you are describing sounds like the bearing on the front of the Motor is binding, this in turn, causes the motor to stall out, and this quickly cooks the motor. Now this happens due to it (the Bearing & Motor Shaft) getting hot, As an aside here that also explains why it runs out of "Round" too, as it "Wobbles" in the bad bearing. Now if there are grease points, then maybe that may help. I wouldn't wonder though if the damage may have already been done? Anyway I hope that helps you
Ok, so there are two things that you have confirmed; firstly that the unit is not actually putting out any movement to the beater, and secondly, that the motor sounds like it is still mixing.
Now there are a number of possibilities to this and I will try to explain this in full but without to much technical mumbo jumbo.
Ok, lets look at the motor firstly. We need to find out if this thing powers the mixer spindle (the bit that connects to the mixer head) by direct drive (straight from the motor) or wether it has any connecting parts, like a rubber belt or gears (some do to control the adjustable speed settings). If it doesn't have direct drive, then we need to ascertain if any of these connecting components are at fault. For example has any of the gears or belts, their mountings or moving parts become damaged or broken?
The next thing we can look at is the spindle itself. Now these will have a lot of stresses placed upon them through not only centrifugal force, but also the resistance placed upon it and the parts connecting to the spindle. If mixing something with a thick and heavy consistency then this could cause something to become broken. For example the spindle could snap off from where it connects to the motor; which could well explain why the motor sounds like it is spinning but there is no movement in the spindle arm itself.
Another explanation is that the motor has partailly burned out due to high operational demands, and associated stresses emplaced on it through wear and tear. Now although the motor is appearing to still spin, is there enough power in it to move the spindle arm? This we will not know until all other investigations have been completed, and this is only so due to time of investigation, potential cost and difficulty.
Another possibility, although not as common, is an electrical fault. Now I would say this is because there has been a great deal of heat that been generated near to a supply or return source that in turn has damaged wiring or motor windings. Evidence of this would be burning smells, physically noticable signs; and rubber bushes from motors are very distinctive when they have suffered heat related and burning out issues either electrically or mechanically. Bushes for the record are insode a motor and is what regulates poles and assists in the way the motor turns. Windings are made of copper wire like stuff, and are wrapped round an iron core and when electricity is put through them it will work with the bushes and make the motor spin. Both windings and bushes mainly suffer mechanically and we will look at this a bit later on.
So what do we do?
Good question I hear you ask,and hear is a very very logical answer to as mentioned, a good question.
First remove the unit from the mains electricity supply, and allow it to cool down if there is any funny or strange smells.
Once this has been done, remove the outer shell casing (made of plastic or metal) and take great care to note the position of all screws and fixings. (A digital camera or camera phone to help you remember is a good way). Also take time to remove the casing properly, you do not want to break anything.
Once you can see all of the major parts completely, you will be looking for physical wear and tear, any broken parts, evidence of broken wiring, spindles, or anything that appears to be missing or dislodged. If you find something, take time to confirm it, and when certain; it is likely that you will not only have found the issue, but also what you can do about rectifying the fault.
Ok, but I cannot find a fault; so what now?
This then makes me point a big index finger at the motor, what we mentioned above. Now physically stripping one of thee retched things down is not easy at best of times; and you may need specialist tools, and you riskdamaging or misaligning bearings or something critical. Even if you successfully dismantle, and re-build a motor, getting hold of the spare parts in order to carry out the overhaul is something quite different. Well it going to be more expensive generally than the motor is worth, it is not guarranteed to work, and you already will haave possibly jeapordized any warranty with the company you brought the parts from. So in this cse, I would be on the shout for a new motor as apposed to fixing/ overhauling it yourself. You may be able to get a reconditioned one at a cheaper cost, and if you send the supplier your broken motor, they may do a near complete exchange but at a small cost, so its worth looking into this option.
Overall I reckon this is however a mechanical fault as apposed to an electrical one, but once you have inspected your device, put it back together and see if you still think it is your original suspicions. Investigate thoroughly one step at a time and then move methodically to another theory one at a time; to avoid confusion.
Still you cannot beat changing the fuses anyway, and always read the user manual before attempting any of this. Also please be aware of what electricity is and how it behaves. Overall though, I think your chances on this are good, and you do have the internet, so you might be ableto even find the repair manual and a source for spares/ repairs.
I hope this is the fixya for you and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Answers & Comments
I had to read this through a few times before it dawned on me what the problem may be.. I think you are right in saying the motor is "Going" but I am wondering if it is OK, you see what you are describing sounds like the bearing on the front of the Motor is binding, this in turn, causes the motor to stall out, and this quickly cooks the motor. Now this happens due to it (the Bearing & Motor Shaft) getting hot, As an aside here that also explains why it runs out of "Round" too, as it "Wobbles" in the bad bearing. Now if there are grease points, then maybe that may help. I wouldn't wonder though if the damage may have already been done? Anyway I hope that helps you
Dear runnetta,
Ok, so there are two things that you have confirmed; firstly that the unit is not actually putting out any movement to the beater, and secondly, that the motor sounds like it is still mixing.
Now there are a number of possibilities to this and I will try to explain this in full but without to much technical mumbo jumbo.
Ok, lets look at the motor firstly. We need to find out if this thing powers the mixer spindle (the bit that connects to the mixer head) by direct drive (straight from the motor) or wether it has any connecting parts, like a rubber belt or gears (some do to control the adjustable speed settings). If it doesn't have direct drive, then we need to ascertain if any of these connecting components are at fault. For example has any of the gears or belts, their mountings or moving parts become damaged or broken?
The next thing we can look at is the spindle itself. Now these will have a lot of stresses placed upon them through not only centrifugal force, but also the resistance placed upon it and the parts connecting to the spindle. If mixing something with a thick and heavy consistency then this could cause something to become broken. For example the spindle could snap off from where it connects to the motor; which could well explain why the motor sounds like it is spinning but there is no movement in the spindle arm itself.
Another explanation is that the motor has partailly burned out due to high operational demands, and associated stresses emplaced on it through wear and tear. Now although the motor is appearing to still spin, is there enough power in it to move the spindle arm? This we will not know until all other investigations have been completed, and this is only so due to time of investigation, potential cost and difficulty.
Another possibility, although not as common, is an electrical fault. Now I would say this is because there has been a great deal of heat that been generated near to a supply or return source that in turn has damaged wiring or motor windings. Evidence of this would be burning smells, physically noticable signs; and rubber bushes from motors are very distinctive when they have suffered heat related and burning out issues either electrically or mechanically. Bushes for the record are insode a motor and is what regulates poles and assists in the way the motor turns. Windings are made of copper wire like stuff, and are wrapped round an iron core and when electricity is put through them it will work with the bushes and make the motor spin. Both windings and bushes mainly suffer mechanically and we will look at this a bit later on.
So what do we do?
Good question I hear you ask,and hear is a very very logical answer to as mentioned, a good question.
First remove the unit from the mains electricity supply, and allow it to cool down if there is any funny or strange smells.
Once this has been done, remove the outer shell casing (made of plastic or metal) and take great care to note the position of all screws and fixings. (A digital camera or camera phone to help you remember is a good way). Also take time to remove the casing properly, you do not want to break anything.
Once you can see all of the major parts completely, you will be looking for physical wear and tear, any broken parts, evidence of broken wiring, spindles, or anything that appears to be missing or dislodged. If you find something, take time to confirm it, and when certain; it is likely that you will not only have found the issue, but also what you can do about rectifying the fault.
Ok, but I cannot find a fault; so what now?
This then makes me point a big index finger at the motor, what we mentioned above. Now physically stripping one of thee retched things down is not easy at best of times; and you may need specialist tools, and you riskdamaging or misaligning bearings or something critical. Even if you successfully dismantle, and re-build a motor, getting hold of the spare parts in order to carry out the overhaul is something quite different. Well it going to be more expensive generally than the motor is worth, it is not guarranteed to work, and you already will haave possibly jeapordized any warranty with the company you brought the parts from. So in this cse, I would be on the shout for a new motor as apposed to fixing/ overhauling it yourself. You may be able to get a reconditioned one at a cheaper cost, and if you send the supplier your broken motor, they may do a near complete exchange but at a small cost, so its worth looking into this option.
Overall I reckon this is however a mechanical fault as apposed to an electrical one, but once you have inspected your device, put it back together and see if you still think it is your original suspicions. Investigate thoroughly one step at a time and then move methodically to another theory one at a time; to avoid confusion.
Still you cannot beat changing the fuses anyway, and always read the user manual before attempting any of this. Also please be aware of what electricity is and how it behaves. Overall though, I think your chances on this are good, and you do have the internet, so you might be ableto even find the repair manual and a source for spares/ repairs.
I hope this is the fixya for you and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Yours sincerely
Oz