Short in compressor?

[alancaddy]

Hi all, sorry for try another 'compressor tripping out' thread - I'll try to keep it brief. It's a Clarke compressor with 100 litre receiver, wired to a 16Amp mcb. Has been working ok for about 2 years since I got the compressor new. When I try to power on it trips the mcb and the rcd/rcbo (can't remember which it is) instantly. The motor moves a very tiny amount. I had found the garage roof leaking so the compressor has been getting dripped on, although a quick look inside the plastic covers for the main stop switch and the capacitor show no signs of moisture in there. I've tried the reset button with no joy.
Any ideas on what the fault might be, and if it is a short on the motor is it fixable or is a new motor needed? Cheers guys.

 

[alancaddy]

Thanks for that. I'm not convinced it's the oil yet but of course I am quite often wrong! I appear to have a short in the main on/off switch, between the switch body and each of the live and neutral terminals - only when the switch is in the on position. I say 'appear as my multimeter is not making a clear continuous beep like it normally does when indicating continuity, it's more like a continuous buzz and with a reading of about 0.5. Can anyone offer advice on this? If the switch is cheap enough and easy enough to replace should I try that first?

Should point out that it's not the 32amp breaker that's tripping it's the RCD. Compressor is a Clarke SE16C100.

 

[alancaddy]

Just to update this, the fault was caused by water getting into the motor. I've dried it out and it's now working ok.