My treadmill has a problem. Can someone help?.

I bought this treadmill from a garage sale for $20.00 they showed me it worked and everything, when I brought it home, and started walking on it, it would slow down for a sec, then go back to normal. It would do this about every 5 seconds. Does anyone have any idea would the problem could be?, or anyone know about how much a exercise shop would charge to come out and figure out the problem?, thanks in advance..

it aint some crazy seetings is it?

no I checked that. It doesnt do it at the exact same time. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

It's one of two things - the motor or the controller board. My guess would be the motor because the boards usually don't go out. When the motors go they still have enough juice to start the treadmill but put any weight on them and they'll slow to a crawl. They really put small horsepower motors in the inexpensive treadmills and they don't last very long. I fixed a friend's treadmill with the exact problem by going to the treadmill company web site and ordering a new motor. You can test to see if it's the motor by starting the treadmill but not walking on it - if it maintains a constant speed without the load but slows down when you get on it, it's the motor. Unfortunately the motors are expensive. Good luck.
Joel

thanks joel, I will give it a try /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Or it could be the tension on the belt.The belt that you walk on.If it's too tight or too loose,it'll do that as well.For $20 though,it's probably the motor.

well I tried what he said. It did it when I was walking on it, and then went normal once I got off. I guess the motor is on its last leg. How much (estimate) would it be for a new motor?, and is it fairly easy to replace?.

Ok if it slowed down while walkig and went normal when you got off then the tension on the belt tight or loose.

how would I tighten the belt?.

Coach has a very good point, you should check the belt - it's worth a try. The motor is usually mounted on a pivot bolt and there is another bolt that holds the motor in place after you've made tension adjustments. Just loosen the adjustment bolt and pull the motor in the proper direction to take up any slack and re-tighten the adjustment bolt. The motors aren't too difficult to replace just be sure to note the proper location of the color-coded wire connections from the motor to the controller board. Also... sometimes the motor shaft will have a press-fit pulley on it. Most replacement motors don't come with the pulley, it's a separate item. The pulley is sometimes impossible to remove from the old motor so before you order a new motor check to see if you can remove the old pulley first - if not, you'll have to order a new pulley at the same time as the new motor.

I fixed one that would simply quit when you got on it by finding a loose connection between the motor & board, although I dont remember the specifics. So check those. There's a surplus place in Nebraska? that has the motor cheap sometimes, the url is
http://www.surpluscenter.com/