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How to clean an electric stock motor Cleaning your electric motor is important to give maximum performance as it keeps everything working smoothly, and will help prevent overheating. The basic things you will need are:
2. Unscrew the endbell (there should be two screws with washers) and carefully remove from the can. Then you can take the washer off the top of the armature, which can be cleaned later. 3. Pull out the armature, but make sure you don't lose the small washer/s from the bottom. TIP: Work on a light coloured surface so that all motor parts can be easily found. Otherwise, work on a white (old) towel for the same reason. Also, as you take the motor apart, place the washers in the order that they were placed on the armature. This way you don't have to remember which washer goes where. 4. Now the lock ring can be removed. This is the metal ring that sits at the top of the inside of the can. Just turn the ring until the small notches are inline, and then remove it from the can. 5. Now thoroughly clean the can by removing all fluff and dirt using the brush. Make sure you get all dirt of the bushing at the bottom of the can. 6. Follow step 5 but with the endbell, making sure there is no dirt on the bushing. 7. Spray a small amount of motor cleaner onto a cotton bud and clean the bushing until it becomes clean and shiny. Make sure you also clean the other side on the outside of the can. If there id too much motor cleaner around the bottom of the can, wipe it dry with a dry cotton bud. DO NOT spray motor cleaner directly into the can/enbell as this can attract fluff and make the motor perform worse than before. Keeping the bushings clean will increase the performance and help the motor to run smoothly. 8. Ever wondered why your car suddenly stops while racing, and nothing seems loose or unconnected? Well it's a possibility that one of the brushes has become stuck in the brush hood (where the brushes sit). To prevent this just spray some motor cleaner onto another cotton bud, and wipe it around the inside of the brush hoods. Make sure you wipe all the corners and sides with the cotton bud so that there is no dirt or fluff inside them at all. This will help the brushes to move inside the brush hoods smoothly. Use this process on both the positive and negative brush hoods. 9. Use a fresh, sprayed cotton bud to wipe all the sides of the actual brushes as well. Then, use it to wipe the face of the brush to make it as clean as possible. You will never get all the copper off the face of the brush, but you will be able to make it cleaner resulting in longer lasting brushes and a cooler run of your motor. Do this on both brushes, or just replace them with new ones if your armature is getting skimmed. Always replace the brushes with new ones if you are having your armature skimmed If you use old ones with a freshly skimmed armature, the brushes will not last as long and the motor may overheat. 10. Skip this step if armature has been skimmed. Spray some motor cleaner onto an old rag or cloth, and wipe it around the copper part of the armature. This is the part where the brushes make contact, and there should be small grooves indicating that the armature has not been skimmed. You can remove any fluff from the armature by using a brush. 11. Now you can start to put the motor back together again. Start by putting the lock ring back into the top of the motor. Make sure the cutouts are lined up and turn clockwise as far as it will go. At this point you can check that you have put the lock ring in the right way around by just holding the endbell above the can in the correct place, and checking that the holes in the lock ring and endbell line up. If they are completely different, remove the lock ring, turn it over and follow the beginning of step 11 again. 12. Now you can hold the small washers that are from the bottom of the armature in your fingers, and give them a quick blast of motor cleaner. This should clean up any dirt or grit from them. 13. Do the same for the fibre washer that belongs at the top of the armature. 14. Now you can slide all the washers onto the armature (top and bottom), making sure you have put the right ones in the right places. 15. Now carefully slide the armature into the can, making sure the washers at the bottom do not slide off. Then the endbell can be placed onto the top of the can. Make sure that the endbell is correctly lined up with the can, and you can start to replace the endbell screws that hold the motor together. Give the bottom of the armature a quick spin with your fingers, making sure that there is nothing stopping the armature from spinning. There should be some friction from the magnets inside the can. 16. Now you can add some bushing oil to the two bushings from the outside of the motor. Make sure that you only put a very tiny amount on both bushings, as too much can attract fluff. Now give the armature another spin with your fingers. 17. Now the brushes can be re-inserted into the brush hoods. If you are using new brushes, they can be soldered or screwed in at this stage. The springs are sometimes colour coded, so if they are make sure you attach them onto the correct side of the endbell. 18. Now the motor has been finished, just attach to pinion gear and you are ready to use it.! Written by Matt Pocknell, 2004 |
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