# Campbell hausfeld air compressor wont start



## Steve12

I have a iron force campbell hausfeld 28gal 6.25HP air compressor that wont start. It was running fine last night and it was running when I left the garage to go back into the house. I heard it kick off when it got pumped up. I went back out about 45 minutes later to blow some dust off with the air nozzle. I noticed that it wasn't kicking back on. So I checked to see what the air pressure was and it was all the way down to 40psi. I know it should have kicked back on along ways befor that. So I turned the switch to off and turned it back to on and still nothing. So I reset the breaker and tried it again and nothing. So tried a couple different outlets and still nothing. Any ideas as to what the problem is here. I have heard a hissing sound that sounds like its coming from where the air hose hooks up to on the tank where the on and off switch is. I could hear it last night as well while I was trying to see what was wrong with this. I need my compressor this weekend so I would like to try to get it fixed. Its oiless and its vertical. Any help would be great


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## Jackofall1

Welcome Steve, to the best DIY'r site on the web.

I know you said that you reset breakers, did you test them for power?

Have you openned up the pressure switch to see if the contact are fried?

Mark


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## Steve12

I know the breaker is good because other stuff wirks on that breaker as well as the outlets. I did pop off the cover that the on and off switch sits on and I seen one little black thing that you could press on that makes some metal lever push down. I also seen 2 threaded rods with a spring around each one. Not sure what I am looking for or even looking at.


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## Jackofall1

Steve be careful looking under that cover, this is electrically hot, if the compressor is plugged in. The 2 spring things as you call them are the pressure switches, one is for on pressure and the other is for off. They should be connected to a set of electrical contacts, that will open and close based on pressure.

A picture may help us help you

Mark


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## Steve12

OK well I made sure it was unplugged when I pulled the cover off. I have no picture to send because I am at work. Not sure what or where these contacts are that these things are suppose to hit. I know if I push down on the little black button its pushes a metal lever down


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## Jackofall1

Steve12 said:


> OK well I made sure it was unplugged when I pulled the cover off. I have no picture to send because I am at work. Not sure what or where these contacts are that these things are suppose to hit. I know if I push down on the little black button its pushes a metal lever down


Well lets go through this later then, but do suspect that the pressure switch needs to be replaced. How old is this unit?

I say the switch over the capacitor start or motor because the breaker doesn't sound like it tripped.....correct?

Mark


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## Steve12

Jackofall1 said:


> Well lets go through this later then, but do suspect that the pressure switch needs to be replaced. How old is this unit?
> 
> I say the switch over the capacitor start or motor because the breaker doesn't sound like it tripped.....correct?
> 
> Mark


No it did'nt trip but it has tripped numerous times in the past. There is to much stuff running on that same breaker. It's a 15 amp braker I believe. And I have been doing a lot of porting work and the compressor cant keep up with the load I am using with the die grinder and it will continuosly run 4 ever cause of that and the motor gets super hot. But the breaker will trip quite a bit when that happens.


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## Jackofall1

Steve, have you check the motor thermal overload? It will be a buttong somewhere on the motor casing, usually a red button.

*EDIT - *I believe now after some research that the Thermal overload on your unit is automatic reset, so you can forget that one, so we are back to the pressure switch.

Mark


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## Steve12

Jackofall1 said:


> Steve, have you check the motor thermal overload? It will be a buttong somewhere on the motor casing, usually a red button.
> 
> Mark


Really didnt look for a button on the motor. All I did was pull the 2 covers off the capacitors and the cover off the pressure thingy on and off switch. I also pulled the cover off around the head. Dont recall seeing a red button anywhere though.


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## Steve12

Well Campbell Hausfeld tends to think the the motor is shot due to thermal overload since it has been tripping the breaker for awhile now. So i'm wondering if I gamble and order a new pressure switch or just go out and buy a new compressor and start all over.


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## Jackofall1

See my edit, the thermal overload is automatic reset.


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## DexterII

If you are comfortable in doing so, you could look at the pressure switch to determine which pairs of wires make contact, wire nut them together temporarily, essentially bypassing the pressure switch, in order to determine whether it is that or the motor.


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## Steve12

So how do I go about figuring out which pair of wires make contact? I dont have an issue doing that just want to make sure I get the right pair and dont burn my house down or something stupid


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## DexterII

When you look at it tonight, you will see that the black and white wires in your power cord are attached to a pair of brass scews, and that directly across from them is another pair of brass screws to which the leads to the motor are connected You simply want to connect the two power cord leads to the two motor leads, just as they are configured in the pressure switch. I would also drain the tank first, so that you are not trying to start it against any pressure.


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## DexterII

Oh... just remembered that you said 6-1/4 H.P. So is this 220 volt, and do you have a magnetic starter?


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## Steve12

DexterII said:


> Oh... just remembered that you said 6-1/4 H.P. So is this 220 volt, and do you have a magnetic starter?


 
No its 110V or at least thats what its been running off of.
Not sure what you mean by magnetic starter


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## Jackofall1

Steve12 said:


> Well Campbell Hausfeld tends to think the the motor is shot due to thermal overload since it has been tripping the breaker for awhile now. So i'm wondering if I gamble and order a new pressure switch or just go out and buy a new compressor and start all over.


Well the difference between the (2) is more money, personally I like to fix things, but if you have the cash and you are in need of a new compressor, and you really don't want to trouble-shoot the old one to determine whats wrong with it, then you could stop at the local compressor store on the way home and buy a new one. 

Otherwise, wait til you get home take a couple of pics of what you are looking at, and maybe between you and this forum you can get it fixed.

Mark


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## Steve12

Jackofall1 said:


> Well the difference between the (2) is more money, personally I like to fix things, but if you have the cash and you are in need of a new compressor, and you really don't want to trouble-shoot the old one to determine whats wrong with it, then you could stop at the local compressor store on the way home and buy a new one.
> 
> Otherwise, wait til you get home take a couple of pics of what you are looking at, and maybe between you and this forum you can get it fixed.
> 
> Mark


Well I will take a pic when I get home in a few hours then.


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## DexterII

Okay, if it's 110 volt, forget that I mentioned a magnetic starter, and my comment on bypassing the pressure switch stands. I will just add that you will probably need to loosen the cable clamp on the power cord, in order to have enough wire to make the temporary connection. Just be sure to make a sketch or take a picture, before you disconnect anything, so that you can put it back the way that you found it.


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## Jackofall1

Steve what size circuit are you wired for with this compressor? 

6.5 HP pulls 40 amps, You said a 15 amp breaker, I am wondering how this compressor has run as long as it has. You also mentioned the motor would really get hot, another indication that the voltage drop on the line feeding this thing was way high, resulting in a unit running on low voltage, resulting on alot of heat being created.

That all being said, I would not doubt that your compressor motor is fried.

That being said, you should have a larger circuit feeding this one once fixed or a new one.

Mark


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## DexterII

Mark, thank you. That's where I was heading, so after my last post I went to Campbell Hausfeld's website, but could not find what I was looking for. The problem, if you will, is that it seems like more than a few air compressor manufacturers rate their units differently than they used to. As an example, it used to be farily standard that anything 3 H.P. and up ran on 220 volt power, and should be run on a magnetic starter. Today though, they sell 5 H.P. units that you take home and plug in. And who ever heard of a 6-1/4 H.P. air compressor a few years back? Steve, none of this is to say that you do not have a good compressor; a lot of other things have changed over the years as well. Regardless, sorry for not picking up on this sooner, but I agree with Mark that you quite likely need more electrical service. I would take a look at the manual, if you have one, or see if you can locate one online. Also, if you can get a clear picture of the motor tag, you may want to post it here.


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## Steve12

Well I just bypassed the switch and direct wired the cord to the motor and plugged it in and it ran. So I huess that means my pressure switch is bad? I wont be able to get one until Monday if I have to go thru campbell hausfeld. Can I get one of these at grainger or something. If not can I use this thing hot wired like this?


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## Jackofall1

Don't recommend the hot wire method, but you should be able to get one at Grainger.

Mark

Edit - I would be looking at getting that wiring upgraded to, or you will eventually burn the compressor motor up.


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## Steve12

O.K. well I just talk to grainger and all they have is the one that is a *4 port*. Their is another one that is a *1 port*. Not sure which one I need. Here are the two item #'s if you want to look at graingers website. *3EYT8 *and *3EYT4*


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## DexterII

Steve, first of all, no, please do not run your air compressor with the pressure switch bypassed. What I suggested was meant only as a temporary arrangement, solely for the purpose of locating the problem, and it sounds like it did, so that is good, but let's leave it at that. As for which pressure switch, I just took a quick look at them, and they look about like what I expected, and either one should work. The only difference, I believe, is that the number of ports is just that; the number of threaded ports in the bottom of it. The common one between them is the one that threads onto your compressor tank, and in the case of the one with 4 ports, it has 3 additional ones to accomodate a gauge, regulator, etc. So, if any of those items thread into the base of your pressure switch, you will want the one with three ports, and can plug any that you don't use. Otherwise, you can get the one with one port. Sounds like you've got it figured out, so good luck, but don't ignore Mark's excellent advice on your circuit.


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## Jackofall1

Steve12 said:


> O.K. well I just talk to grainger and all they have is the one that is a *4 port*. Their is another one that is a *1 port*. Not sure which one I need. Here are the two item #'s if you want to look at graingers website. *3EYT8 *and *3EYT4*


 
Just disconnect your PS and take it with you to Grainger,,,,,,DON"T RUN THE COMPRESSOR WITHOUT IT!!!!!!!!!

Mark


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