nutone bathroom exhaust fans? quit running?

Question

inside the motor there is a very small electrical piece. it may be a capacitor?it is only 1/4" x 3/8"? it is in series with the motor winding? there is no mfd nos. on the device. the name "elsen" is printed on the little piece. the motor ran when i jumpered it out???/ thank you in advance.

Answer 1

It may be a fuse, because your motor ran when you jumpered it out. I doubt that your motor would run if it were a capacitor that you jumpered. Either way, it may be time to replace the motor. Home Depot has a very limited selection of replacement Nutone motors. You may have more luck with the source below. I have bought several items from this company, and their service has been outstanding.

You didn't say what model exhaust fan you have, so I couldn't identify the exact replacement. Start searching under exhaust fans, and hopefully you'll fit the right fan or power unit.

Answer 2

Nutone Bathroom Exhaust Fan

Answer 3

It sounds as if it's a heat sensor. If and when the unit gets too hot, it will shut off. If you bypass it then the unit will work.
It's similar to sensors in Hi-Hat lights, if they get too hot it shuts off for a few minutes. In your case, it may have gone bad all together.
Call your local electrical supplier and see if can they get you a replacement.If it's seperate from the motor, then it shouldn't be more than a few bucks, and it's definately the safest way to operate the motor. If indeed it's a part of the motor unit itself, then you may want to take a look at replacing the entire motor unit. They're usually pretty cheap in Home Depot.
Often times the motor accumulates lint and this creates a drag (load) on the motor. This will eventually burn it out.
That's why the lint should be removed (cleaned out) from the motors one in a while.

Good luck.

Answer 4

you should be able to order a new motor from this website . www.mwh.com it is a division of home depot. Just replace the motor and you will be back in business.