What could cause a starting capacitor to fail in Dayton 5k554c 1/3 / 1/6 HP dual phase attic fan motor?

SOURCE: Whole house attic fan

a simple capacitor tester will tell if the capacitor is bad. turn off power, label wires and where they go and test cap after discharging it . to discharge simply connect the terminals together once its been removed( you can use an insulated screwdriver to connect them and discharge any stored voltage) and then touch meter leads to each set of terminals and read the microfared output. the setting on the meter is usually labeled uf. or you can take it to the electric motor shop and let them test it. it has a rating value labeled on the side. usually it has to be within 10 percent of the rated value or its bad . if the cap checks good then the start winding in the motor is probably bad or weak, then a new motor is called for, it is usually not worth the time wait and trouble of getting it rewound etc. take the old motor out and label and measure exactly how and where it was mounted. label and make diagrams. saves a lot of time reassembling exact as it came out. turn off the power , check it with a meter to be sure , short it with a screwdriver to be sure the meter works ,and then treat it as if it was still hot as much as possible when you work on it.

SOURCE: wiring diagram for electricmotor with capacitor

I do not have a diagram for you, but depending on the motor, I can tell you a couple of things. 1. All capacitors are wired in series with the start winding. Most multi-speed motors, that require capacitors, have two brown leads, along with the motor winding leads. If this is the scenario, then just connect line power to neutral and the speed you wish to use, and connect the two brown leads, one to each side of the capacitor. Hope this helps.

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SOURCE: I bought a replacement Dayton electric condenser

The tan/white wire can be insulated/capped and not used. Use and ohmmeter to take a resistance reading between the tan/white wire and L1 & L2. There will be no resistance between the tan/white wire and one of the others. This will be the common wire. Connect it to one side of the contactor. Connect the tan wire to the fan terminal on the contactor and the other wire to the common terminal on the capacitor (that is if you have a 3 terminal capacitor, if you have a 2 terminal capacitor connect tan to one side and the other wire to the other). Then connect the other side of the contactor to the common terminal on the capacitor (on a 2 terminal capacitor connect the contactor to the side that doesn't have the tan wire on it).

Android Man

• 278 Answers
• Posted on Feb 16, 2011

SOURCE: put dayton split phase 1/2

look carefully at the label!!!. there is a diagram on how to reverse the rotation.