The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay 6V heater motor repair

I never know where to draw the line on my expertise, probably because I have none.

I was cleaning the exterior of the heater motor and decided to pull the housing bolts so I could clean the housing better. When I pulled the bolts they had tons of dirt and debris on the shaft so I decided to open the motor housing to see in. There was tons of residue from the brushes that accumulated over time so I opened the housing all the way, which was where I might have gone wrong.

When I pulled the motor from one end the brushes popped out (I remember making this mistake in High School 30 years ago with another motor). See photos below. So I have three questions:

1. Do these brushes look to be in good shape or should I replace them while I have the housing opened?

2. What is the trick to pull the brushes back so I can get the motor shaft / armature back in place?

3. Should I just find a local repair shop and have them do this for me?

Heater motor pictures

1 - I'd replace them while you have it open, they're about 50% or less
2 - picture here shows the trick, good luck
3 - if you have an old time auto electric shop close, they'd likely have the brushes on the shelf and could do the job quickly

Bill

Many thanks. This forum continues to be an incredible resource for me. I wonder what I did with my time before I purchased this truck...

If you are like me, you probably watched too much TV, but didn't cuss as much.

Those brushes are just about played out. As stated it's best to replace them while you have it apart.
My 6v motor was froze up when I started working on getting some heat. I broke the heater down and tore into the motor. I was lucky in that my brushes were hardly wore, I guess they didn't run the heater much back in the day,
The shaft at the commutator end was a little rusted and burred where it inserted into the bushing. I shined both ends up w/some emery cloth and put a small dab of grease in both bushings.
I also shined up the commutator a little w/emery cloth and cleaned everything up.
That freed it up and got it working again.

Good luck
Dave

My local motor repair shops don't think they can find replacement brushes for this motor. Does anyone have a source that might sell these brushes?

Heater motor brushes

They look real close in size to some older alternator brushes.
Might contact one of these suppliers for sizes.
Good luck
Dave

Find another motor supplier Bob, I ran into the same thing. Had
to wait for them to restock the bin cuz they hadn't used any
for a long time. Those are pretty much standard size brushes
for most fractional motors. Most people just replace the motor
now days but the brushes are available, they just might have to
order them for you.
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/114233239

DG

Thanks Bill (Red58). Old trick works like a charm

Coat hanger brush spreader