my telescope, celestron nexstar 80gt is blowing smoke from motor?

[Little B]

After using a dozen times i powered it up and the motor which controls the slewing etc started blowing smoke... Does it have a fuse or something i could have blown or is it going to be heaps harder to fix then i thought...

[scienceman]

it probably overheated. is this a battery operated motor? or is it plugged into the wall? if it is battery operated, then it probably wasn't a fuse... but if your plugging it into the wall, then it could be. maybe the adapter your using is giving too much electrical current. although i don't think this would have a fuse in it, and if it did there shouldn't be that much smoke... you might have left it on and it got overheated. unplug it, or take the batteries out, and give it some time to cool off. i doubt its broken, but it might have gotten overheated a bit. i could give you a definite answer if you told be WHAT its power source is.

[werafa]

the motor has overheated. this could be caused by a motor fault, by overworking the motor, or by low voltages. it is possible that the motor is salvageable, but what normally happens is that the heat burns the insulation on the windings, and creates bigger shorts, which make more heat etc.

if the unit is new, it is likely to be covered under warranty. if the unit is being used as designed, it seems unlikely that you are overworking it. low voltage also seems to be a not so common problem, (though it is the cause of one of my power tools burning out, and gluing itself solid).

if you can pull the motor out (without voiding any warranty), do so, and inspect the inside. smell it first. burnt electrics have a unique smell. if you can get inside it, see if it is a common type of motor, and look for part numbers etc to identify a replacement unit. if it is uncommon, your options are to rewind it, or adapt another motor into your unit.

it may be a type of motor called a stepper motor. if so, you may be able to locate second hand parts in old electrical equipment. do a search on stepper motors to see their identifying features, and how to set up the controlling electronics.