# GE Motor wiring help needed 5-wire 1/4HP



## CueballRosendaul (Jul 16, 2012)

I bought a used GE 1/4 HP 1725 RPM motor and need some help figuring out the wiring. I bought the motor from the Michigan State University Surplus store for $20. It came out of some laboratory and looks to be barely used. Unfortunately, under the plate, the wires are not connected to the terminal plate, they are just "in there" and are not labeled. The five wires inside are Red, Green, Black, Yellow, Blue, and Tan (yes tan, there is no white wire, and it's not just a dirty or discolored white wire, it's tan). The motor has a capacitor start, so two of the wires go up there (green and tan). I would like to put a 110V plug on it with a single pole switch in the hot leg.

The model # is 5KC35KG 329. I can't seem to find any simple answers online. I looked at the motor of my saw and drill press, but they're both from the 1950's and are absolutely no help.

I do have a couple pics if they would help.

Matt


----------



## Dal300 (Aug 4, 2011)

I did a quick search and found a couple of entries but you'll need to drop that last 3 digits.

If nothing else you can go to the GE website and ask for help, not a sure fire way.

Another way would be to take it to your local auto electric place and have them tell you how to do it.


----------



## MrUnix (May 18, 2012)

Trying to find info on GE motors is like trying to find a diamond ring buried somewhere on a 10 mile long beach! The problem with asking GE is that they have sold off or split out most of their small motor divisions and you wind up getting people pointing you to other places that then point you somewhere else and on and on (ask me how I know!) If you know about motors, then you can throw a ohm meter on them and determine which wires are the primary windings, which wires are the start windings, etc.. They are not really all that complicated but you have to have a basic idea of what you are looking for. You can probably get some good info over at the OWWM site since they frequently run across motors with some pretty bad wiring (and there are a couple of really smart motor gurus there as well). Usually they can figure it out with a few pictures and a good description. The suggestion of taking it to a local shop is good as well, provided you have one in the area.. we had a really good shop here that unfortunately went out of business a couple years ago after the father passed away and the son ran it into the ground. Auto electric places MAY be able to help, but they typically only deal with starters and alternators. Good luck!

Cheers,
Brad


----------



## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

Does the name plate say 115/ 230 volt? Or, reversible?


----------



## Loren (May 30, 2008)

My unscientific method is to use a 2 prong plug and cord I have with
an alligator clip on each wire. I'd attach one to the black wire
and touch the other wires with the other, listening for a sound. 
Once you've determined which wire make the motor go, unplug
the cord, put the clips on the two you want to test first, and
plug it in. If you want you can plug it into a power strip with
a switch on it and then you have a switch to flip on and off
which testing.

I know this sounds crazy but I've done it on several motors and
never burned one up or had a problem. It's probably technically
unsafe, but it has told me what I wanted to know many times
with no trouble.

Be careful and wear rubber soled shoes and don't let live wires
touch, etc.


----------



## CueballRosendaul (Jul 16, 2012)

Got the motor figured out. I took it to a guy that teaches an electric motor class at the community college. In case anyone runs into this. Here's what I learned:

The wiring was goofy because they had it wired to run reverse or forward through a switch (like a garage door motor, up and down).

Motor: 5KC35KG GE 1/4 HP 1725 RPM
Wiring to run CCW using the starter capacitor and 115 V
Blue & Black together for one leg of the power
Green & Yellow together for the other leg of power
Tan wire, capped off, not needed.

Since it's an AC motor, it doesn't matter which of the two legs goes to black or white when wired to power. Runs super quiet. He asked me how much I paid for it; when I told him $20, he said the pulley is worth $20 that's a $200 motor!










This will be used for an upcoming surprise machine.


----------



## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

Glad you got it. With that many leads, I thought it had to be either reversible or dual voltasge ;-) Did he say it was instantly reversible?


----------



## CueballRosendaul (Jul 16, 2012)

yes, it was wired to be instantly reversed. I think they had too much motor for the application they were using it in, which is perhaps why they removed it. This motor was meant for continuous running applications. Runs dead quiet and vibration free. You have to put your hand on it to see if its running because it doesn't make a sound. I'm sure it'll make more noise when I get it hooked up to the machine I'm building.


----------

