Winding insulation resistance

If the motor is not put into operation immediately upon

arrival, it is important to protect it against external
factors like moisture, high temperature and impurities
in order to avoid damage to the insulation. Before the
motor is put into operation after a long period of
storage, you have to measure the winding insulation
resistance.
A general rule-of-thumb is 10 Megohm or more.
Insulation resistance value Insulation level
2. Measurement
Minimum insulation resistance of the winding to ground
is measured with 500 V DC. The winding temperature
should be 25°C ± 15°C.
Maximum insulation resistance should be measured
with 500 V DC with the windings at a operating
temperature of 80 – 120°C depending on the motor
type and efficiency.

2 Megohm or less Bad

2-5 Megohm Critical 3. Checking

5-10 Megohm Abnormal If the insulation resistance of a new, cleaned or repaired

motor that has been stored for some time is less
10-50 Megohm Good then 10 Mohm, the reason might be that the windings
are humid and need to be dried.
50-100 Megohm Very good If the motor has been operating for a long period of
time, the minimum insulation resistance may drop to a
100 Megohm or more Excellent
critical level. As long as the measured value does not fall
The measurement of insulation resistance is carried out below the calculated value of minimum insulation
by means of a megohmmeter – high resistance range resistance, the motor can continue to run.
ohmmeter. This is how the test works: DC voltage of 500
or 1000 V is applied between the windings and the However, if it drops below this limit, the motor has to
be stopped immediately, in order to avoid that people
ground of the motor.
get hurt due to the high leakage voltage

Now, three points are worth mentioning in this

The results obtained from IR Test are not intended to be
connection: Insulation resistance, Measurement and
Checking. useful in finding localized defects in the insulation as in
a true HIPOT test, but rather give information on the
quality of the bulk material used as the insulation.

Even when not required by the end customer, many

1. Insulation resistance wire and cable manufacturers use the insulation
resistance test to track their insulation manufacturing
The minimum insulation resistance of new, cleaned or
processes, and spot developing problems before
repaired windings with respect to ground is 10 Megohm
process variables drift outside of allowed limits.
or more.

The minimum insulation resistance, R, is calculated by

multiplying the rated voltage Un, with the constant
factor 0.5 Megohm/kV. Selection of IR Testers (Megger):

Insulation testers with test voltage of 500, 1000, 2500

For example: If the rated voltage is 690 V = 0.69 kV, the
minimum insulation resistance is: 0.69 kV x 0.5 and 5000 V are available. The recommended ratings of
the insulation testers are given below:
Megohm/kV = 0.35 Megohm
Voltage Level IR Tester

650V 500V DC
Precaution while Meggering

1.1KV 1KV DC Before Meggering:

3.3KV 2.5KV DC Make sure that all connections in the test circuit are
tight. Test the megger before use, whether it
66Kv and Above 5KV DC gives INFINITY value when not connected, and ZERO
when the two terminals are connected together and the
handle is rotated.

Test Voltage for Meggering: During Meggering:

When AC Voltage is used, The Rule of Thumb is:
Test Voltage (A.C) = (2X Name Plate Voltage) +1000.
When DC Voltage is used (Most used in All Megger)
Test Voltage (D.C) = (2X Name Plate Voltage).
Equipment / Cable Rating DC Test Voltage
24V To 50V 50V To 100V
Make sure when testing for earth, that the far end of
the conductor is not touching, otherwise the test will
show faulty insulation when such is not actually the
case.
Make sure that the earth used when testing for earth
and open circuits is a good one otherwise the test will
give wrong information. Spare conductors should not be
meggered when other working conductors of the same
cable are connected to the respective circuits.

50V To 100V 100V To 250V

After completion of cable Meggering:
100V To 240V 250V To 500V
Ensure that all conductors have been reconnected
properly.
440V To 550V 500V To 1000V
Test the functions of Points, Tracks & Signals connected
2400V 1000V To 2500V through the cable for their correct response.

4100V 1000V To 5000V In case of signals, aspect should be verified personally.

In case of points, verify positions at site. Check whether

any polarity of any feed taken through the cable has got
Measurement Range of Megger: earthed inadvertently.

Test voltage Measurement Range Safety Requirements for Meggering:

All equipment under test MUST be disconnected and

250V DC 0MΩ to 250GΩ
isolated.

500V DC 0MΩ to 500GΩ Equipment should be discharged (shunted or shorted

out) for at least as long as the test voltage was applied
1KV DC 0MΩ to 1TΩ in order to be absolutely safe for the person conducting
the test.
2.5KV DC 0MΩ to 2.5TΩ
Never use Megger in an explosive atmosphere.
5KV DC 0MΩ to 5TΩ Make sure all switches are blocked out and cable ends
marked properly for safety.
Cable ends to be isolated shall be disconnected from
the supply and protected from contact to supply, or
ground, or accidental contact.
Erection of safety barriers with warning signs, and an
open communication channel between testing
personnel.
Do not megger when humidity is more than 70 %.
Good Insulation: Megger reading increases first then
remain constant.
Bad Insulation: Megger reading increases first and then
decreases.
Expected IR value gets on Temp. 20 to 30 decree
centigrade.
If above temperature reduces by 10 degree centigrade,
IR values will increased by two times.
If above temperature increased by 70 degree centigrade
IR values decreases by 700 times.
How to use Megger
Meggers is equipped with three connection Line
Terminal (L), Earth Terminal (E) and Guard Terminal (G).
Megger connections
Resistance is measured between the Line and Earth
terminals, where current will travel through coil 1. The
“Guard” terminal is provided for special testing
situations where one resistance must be isolated from
another. Let’s us check one situation where the
insulation resistance is to be tested in a two-wire cable.
To measure insulation resistance from a conductor to
the outside of the cable, we need to connect the “Line”
lead of the megger to one of the conductors and
connect the “Earth” lead of the megger to a wire
wrapped around the sheath of the cable.
Megger configuration
In this configuration the Megger should read the
resistance between one conductor and the outside
sheath.
We want to measure Resistance between Conductor- 2
to sheaths but actually megger measure resistance in
parallel with the series combination of conductor-to-
conductor resistance (Rc1-c2) and the first conductor to
the sheath (Rc1-s).
If we don’t care about this fact, we can proceed with
the test as configured. If we desire to measure only the
resistance between the second conductor and the
sheath (Rc2-s), then we need to use the megger’s
“Guard” terminal.
Megger – Connecting guard terminal
Connecting the “Guard” terminal to the first conductor
places the two conductors at almost equal potential.
With little or no voltage between them, the insulation
resistance is nearly infinite, and thus there will be no
current between the two conductors. Consequently, the
Megger’s resistance indication will be based exclusively
on the current through the second conductor’s
insulation, through the cable sheath, and to the wire
wrapped around, not the current leaking through the
first conductor’s insulation.
The guard terminal (if fitted) acts as a shunt to remove
the connected element from the measurement. In other
words, it allows you to be selective in evaluating certain
specific components in a large piece of electrical
equipment. For example consider a two core cable with
a sheath.

As the diagram below shows there are three resistances

to be considered.

Meggering wiring

If we measure between core B and sheath without a

connection to the guard terminal some current will pass
from B to A and from A to the sheath. Our
measurement would be low. By connecting the guard
terminal to A the two cable cores will be at very nearly
the same potential and thus the shunting effect is
eliminated.

RTOTAL = ( RL x 2RL ) / ( RL + 2RL ) = 2RL2 /

3RL => RTOTAL = 2/3 RL

From the above formula we see that if the coil

resistance is 20 Ohms, the resistance that the
ohmmeter will measure will be 2/3 x 20, or 0.66 x
20 = 13.3 Ohms

Once again, it is obvious that the coils can be

measured either directly into the motor's electrical
box, or on the motor protection in the electrical
cabinet. Just make sure that there is absolutely no
power in the cabinet.

In short

 You must find the same resistance between the

three leads that power is applied to the motor.
 There must be absolutely no connection (infinite
resistance) between the leads and the ground
 The measured resistance must be 2/3 the
resistance of the coils.