I discovered the other day that I have some kind of ground problem on my radial arm saw. I was using my radial arm saw and unusally touched a metal grounded item next to it and felt the juice pass through my arms to the metal ground and kick the GFI out. I spoke to a friend who told me to check the plug on the radial arm to see if it is grounded. I checked the plug when I got home to find the ground pin of the plug is missing. I purchased the saw at a auction which came out of a old house which probably did not have grounded outlets which is probably why the pin is missing, I had not noticed it. I removed the altered orginal plug and put a 3 pin plug on with the green wire going to the ground pin. I turned the saw on without touching anything but the saw and it kicks out the GFI outlet again. Saw works fine when the plug is not grounded. I followed the green wire through the saw and it is screwed down to the metal inside the saw. Any ideas what to look for guys and gals?
Discussion Forum
Get It All!
UNLIMITED Membership is like taking a master class in woodworking for less than $10 a month.
Start Your Free TrialCategories
Discussion Forum
Digital Plans Library
Member exclusive! – Plans for everyone – from beginners to experts – right at your fingertips.
Highlights
-
Shape Your Skills
when you sign up for our emails
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. -
Shop Talk Live Podcast -
Our favorite articles and videos -
E-Learning Courses from Fine Woodworking
-
-
Replies
Check the switch
Assuming you replaced the plug and it is wired properly and cleanly, check to make sure the power switch is good. Obviously you have a short to ground somewhere. If you have an ohm meter, you can check continuity to start.
glad you have a GFI outlet
The reason a GFI outlet trips is if the current through the hot wire is not the same as the current through the neutral wire. So he is right that in the saw you have a short, most likely the neutral wire is touching the case. When you don't have a ground pin on the plug all the current has to flow back through the neutral pin. When you put on a ground pin, some current goes through the neutral pin and some through the ground pin. This imbalance between the current in the hot wire and the current in the neutral wire in the GFI outlet trips the device.
Forrest
Saw vs. Outlet
Although the problem is likely inside the saw, you might also want to check the outlet to be sure it is wired properly. Outlet checker plugs are inexpensive at your local home improvement store.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled