C08
Well-known member
My outboard engine power tilt motor (a small 12v dc motor drives a hydraulic pump) has started to intermittently fail to work. It is not the solenoids or wiring and is now removed where I can "hot wire it" to test it. This involves just connecting to a 12v battery directly and the motor should then drive up or down depending on which way the leads are connected. Sometimes it works sometimes not. The unit is only 4 years old. On stripping down the motor the commutator looked black and shiny but soon cleaned up, there is no visible wear and the segments are undercut ok. There was some carbon dust in the housing. Checking the commutator to ground with a multimeter does not reveal anything amiss.
In the normal course of events I would just replace the motor brushes which are one small plain brush and one with a small thermal breaker in the base fitting but the money I have been quoted is insane by any measure, even boat part standards,
So my questions are :-
How sensitive to length of the brushes are DC motors (these units are made by SHOWA, Japan and I have failed so far to ascertain the length of the new brushes.
Does the appearance of the commutator suggest worn brushes i.e. should it look shiny and coppery if the brushes are making proper contact.
An other thoughts about DC motors welcomed!
In the normal course of events I would just replace the motor brushes which are one small plain brush and one with a small thermal breaker in the base fitting but the money I have been quoted is insane by any measure, even boat part standards,
So my questions are :-
How sensitive to length of the brushes are DC motors (these units are made by SHOWA, Japan and I have failed so far to ascertain the length of the new brushes.
Does the appearance of the commutator suggest worn brushes i.e. should it look shiny and coppery if the brushes are making proper contact.
An other thoughts about DC motors welcomed!