AlanT Posted November 3, 2019 Report Share Posted November 3, 2019 This topic has been prompted by wiper-brush kits becoming available on eBay for much lower prices than hitherto, £12 as against £25 or more. And I bought a DR2 from 1958 with the classic destroyed commutator, caused by running with worn-out brushes. A few years back I'd have to store a motor like this until a new armature turned up. Both DR2 and DR3A wiper-motors will run to destruction without carbon-brushes. This one was running OK, if a bit squeaky. Then I bought some commutators from the US and could fix them. But after shipping, import cost and VAT these worked out to cost around £10 each. Now I can get them on eBay from China for less than £3 including shipping. And very good parts they are too. The photos are largely self-explanatory I think. Except photo 3. I get the old commutator off by crushing in a vise. You can see that only a few thou of copper remains and if run a little longer this would all come apart. More or less anybody with a soldering iron could do this job and it would take only an hour or so. The last photo shows the front area of shaft where the bearing runs. Even after 60 years of hard life I cannot measure any wear here. They are usually like this. Whereas NOS ones in boxes are often rusty, even if advertised at £100 or more. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John Morrison Posted November 3, 2019 Report Share Posted November 3, 2019 Just what our club, and this forum is about , helping fellow TR owners, Great Alan, and thanks for posting. John. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AlanT Posted November 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2019 (edited) Thanks for that John. Sometimes you get 70-80 views and nobody says anything and then you wonder if you did right! The heater-fan motors are much the same I believe. These commutators are close but not exactly the same. The important thing is to have the same number of segments, which is 10. Next is size of the hole for the shaft, The ones I've been getting are just a bit tight. You will split them if you force them on. A little easing with a round file is all that is needed and then some Loctite. Note a DR2 has bigger shaft than a DR3A. So I've got two sizes to worry about. The outside diameter and the length don't matter too much. But you need to be careful the brushes don't hit the tags or fall off the end, basic stuff really. Note the position of the tag compared to the winding. This is not extremely critical and I just copy the factory ones by eye, but do pay attention to this because it affects commutation a bit and you might get sparking. For just a few quid and little time you can get home in the rain without a drama. Edited November 3, 2019 by AlanT Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dic Doretti Posted November 3, 2019 Report Share Posted November 3, 2019 And not just TRs, this is good for all my cars, Doretti, Austin Healey, Citroen Light 15 and Morris Minor. Great news. Cheers Richard Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AlanT Posted November 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2019 And for a Maserati Quatroporte 1961. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Waldi Posted November 4, 2019 Report Share Posted November 4, 2019 Hi Alan, your write ups are highly appreciated by me, it makes jobs otherwise perceived impossible worth a go. Many thanks, Waldi Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AlanT Posted November 4, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2019 Thanks for the reply, Waldi. To encourage anyone reading this it's quite easy to completely rewind one of these armatures. I do it quite often. They get burned out if the motor gets stalled. Common in the old days with ice on the screen. It's tedious but not very much skill required. Like much of this work the secret is attention to detail. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted November 4, 2019 Report Share Posted November 4, 2019 (edited) 28 minutes ago, AlanT said: Thanks for the reply, Waldi. To encourage anyone reading this it's quite easy to completely rewind one of these armatures. I do it quite often. They get burned out if the motor gets stalled. Common in the old days with ice on the screen. It's tedious but not very much skill required. Like much of this work the secret is attention to detail. Back in the 60`s we used to hand rewind slot-car electric motor armatures to make them go faster! Stuart. Edited November 4, 2019 by stuart Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BlueTR3A-5EKT Posted November 4, 2019 Report Share Posted November 4, 2019 53 minutes ago, AlanT said: Thanks for the reply, Waldi. To encourage anyone reading this it's quite easy to completely rewind one of these armatures. I do it quite often. They get burned out if the motor gets stalled. Common in the old days with ice on the screen. It's tedious but not very much skill required. Like much of this work the secret is attention to detail. Do you varnish and bake the windings after rewind to retain then from flinging out when run. or are the armatures too slow in rotation to warrant it? Peter W Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stillp Posted November 4, 2019 Report Share Posted November 4, 2019 1 hour ago, stuart said: Back in the 60`s we used to hand rewind slot-car electric motor armatures to make them go faster! Stuart. I did a lot of that! My local slot car club couldn't cope with my motors drawing 40A! Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AlanT Posted November 4, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2019 I impregnate them with Ultimeg 2000. Actually the wires won't fly out even if I didn't do this. As each winding finishes the wire passes to the next slot. Then another winding goes on top locking the end in place. Only the last two coils might escape. But they get trapped by the start end of the first winding appearing from the depths. Winding by hand I get a somewhat more even and tight packing than the machine did. The factory windings are a bit random. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stillp Posted November 4, 2019 Report Share Posted November 4, 2019 23 hours ago, AlanT said: And for a Maserati Quatroporte 1961. Is that your spare car Al? Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
iain Posted November 5, 2019 Report Share Posted November 5, 2019 Really useful stuff Alan, not sure its something I would tackle, but great to know how! Iain Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted November 5, 2019 Report Share Posted November 5, 2019 16 hours ago, stillp said: I did a lot of that! My local slot car club couldn't cope with my motors drawing 40A! Pete Hand controllers used to get really hot too! Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Waldi Posted November 5, 2019 Report Share Posted November 5, 2019 3 hours ago, iain said: Really useful stuff Alan, not sure its something I would tackle, but great to know how! Iain Worth an article in TRaction! But that is easy said, if you do not have to write that yourselves. Waldi Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lebro Posted November 5, 2019 Report Share Posted November 5, 2019 I thought he had ! Bob. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Waldi Posted November 5, 2019 Report Share Posted November 5, 2019 43 minutes ago, Lebro said: I thought he had ! Bob. If so I apologise and I must have had a senior moment.... Regards, Waldi Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stillp Posted November 5, 2019 Report Share Posted November 5, 2019 9 hours ago, stuart said: Hand controllers used to get really hot too! Stuart. Yes, I used to keep a squeezy bottle of cold water handy! Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Charlie D Posted November 5, 2019 Report Share Posted November 5, 2019 Alan T said: “And for a Maserati Quatroporte .” I bought one of those once in 1973. It was a 1960’s something… I bought it from a Tax Free dealer in Athens for $US 1000. You could buy all sorts of “Dodgy” exotica from the tax-free dealers for next to nothing back then. The pedals and the steering wheel were wired together with lead seals on them, because you were not allowed to drive them on the road until you had bought them. The dealers always found a way to slip the wires off them though, so you could take them around the block as a test drive. The wiper motor was the least of the problems. It only did 4 Miles Per Gallon in the city and 6 MPG on the open road. I always felt that if I broke the windscreen it would cost a year’s wages to replace it. I remember putting my foot down and suddenly finding I was doing 120 MPH. Sold it soon afterwards. Charlie. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Richardtr3a Posted November 6, 2019 Report Share Posted November 6, 2019 Alan made a first class repair of my 3A wiper rebuild and I know he got it right which might not happen if I tried it myself. Thanks Alan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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