My blower motor recently stopped working. When I took it out, I found the brushes to be quite worn. I also noticed the part that the brushes ride on (commutator?) is grooved. I don't think this is normal, and I dont want to install new brushes if they will wear quickly.

I took the motor to a bunch of local shops and they all tell me to go somewhere else. Should I get a used motor ($$$) or is there hope?

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1976 BMW 2002- 100k
1995 BMW 325i 175k
1984 Mercedes Benz 300D Turbo Diesel- 270,000 mi

1981 Mercedes Benz 240D- Estimated 300,000+ mi Returned to the earth

Get the brush kit and install them. You will have a working blower.
Well worth the $30 or so.

Regarding the grooves. I just rebuilt mine, it had grooves, it works so far.

There are many, many posts on this exact subject.
If you have the tools and time you can open the motor and take out the armature
and take off the grooves. Using a lathe would be best (I think).

__________________
80 300D 340K Owned 30 yrs
83 300SD 440K Owned 9 yrs - Daily Driver 150mi/day
02 Z71 Suburban 117,000
15 Toyota Prius 2600 miles
00 Harley Sportster 24k
09 Yamaha R6
03 Ninja 250

the brushes wear into the commutator. my dad used to rebuild generators ... long time ago.
anyway, he would chuch the sucker up in a lathe and file the rest even with the groove, then file the insulator lines out with a hacksaw blade...
I would just put in new brushes and go.
John

Ok, looks like I will just get new brushes. I may try to reduce the grooves a bit while im waiting for the brushes. I was just afraid the grooves would eat up new brushes.

In old posts some suggested getting AC (120V) brushes from Ace Hardware, but no one around here carries brushes, even Ace. I guess I'll have to use the windows for awhile.

__________________
1976 BMW 2002- 100k
1995 BMW 325i 175k
1984 Mercedes Benz 300D Turbo Diesel- 270,000 mi

1981 Mercedes Benz 240D- Estimated 300,000+ mi Returned to the earth

www.**************.com has the brushes, that is where I got mine.

I went to a vacuum cleaner shop and picked up a couple sets of brushes for $1.50. A little and work on a sanding block and viola - good to go.

$29.00 for $3.00 worth of brushes! Ouch.......

__________________
Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

The little book that came with the brushes help me get the blower out and repair it. That was before I found this site.

You are probably talking about AC brushes. DC brushes are made to handle more current. The stock brushes have copper in them to handle the higher amps. I'm not sure about the price differences though.

I'm suprised I can't find any AC brushes to use until I can order brushes from **************.com. You guys make it sound like they're everywhere

__________________
1976 BMW 2002- 100k
1995 BMW 325i 175k
1984 Mercedes Benz 300D Turbo Diesel- 270,000 mi

1981 Mercedes Benz 240D- Estimated 300,000+ mi Returned to the earth

Any older machine shop can true that armature for you or anyone with a metal cutting lathe. The current carry capacity of the a/c brushes should be just fine if you do not have to sand down the brushes excessively in cross sectional area. A vaccum cleaner motor does take a lot of current with a very fast armature turn rate as well. Your blower motor is not even in the same league. Those brushes will be laying back.

I'll have to take a look at one of the local vacume cleaner shops.

So is it generally accepted that a grooved armature is OK?

Happy Easter to those who celebrate it!

__________________
1976 BMW 2002- 100k
1995 BMW 325i 175k
1984 Mercedes Benz 300D Turbo Diesel- 270,000 mi

1981 Mercedes Benz 240D- Estimated 300,000+ mi Returned to the earth

It depends where you live and if all your local services are mercinary by nature. The brushes will wear to conform with the commutator over time. But a nice clean even surface does help and is better. Here I would just chuck it into my lathe and turn it. Or if I did not own a lathe it could be perhaps be chucked up in a drill press and cleaned up carefully with a file while it rotated. But really that is not the best way. Just cannot believe in a lot of areas how much of your blood they want for even simple jobs that take perhaps five minutes. I still would ask around by phone what someone would charge or if you could find a trade school in your area that would cut the armature for nothing perhaps. All people are not excessivly greedy by nature but in certain areas it is hard to find otherwise sometimes. Yes I am aware also that people have to make a living. It seems carried to extremes in the last while though. My employees where always instructed to be helpful with customers as it was the best customer relationship developer there was and nobody in my operational area could put a dent in our operations. We were bulletproof by just being thoughtful, fair, and honest.

I just had my blower stop working this week, there were no warning sign's like it quiting here and there before hand.Could this also be bad brushes or is it most likely something else?

From a previous post;
Worn brushes in the fan motor can cause mysterious symptoms. After dismantling/checking/resoldering most under-dash components to no remedy, I pulled the blower. It seemed to run fine on the bench, but was still intermittent in the car. Replaced the brushes with some I picked up at the vacuum cleaner repair shop for a buck each (sandpaper to fit) and everything worked geat. - Jacob

When I replaced the brushes in my blower motor I didn't have access to a lathe and the commutator was grooved and blackened. I cut a long strip of 320 grit sandpaper the same width as the brushes, and slipped it between one of the old brushes and the commutator before disassembly. By holding on to the strip and turning the motor by hand, I was able to clean up the commutator quite a bit. I cleaned the area thoroughly with some electronics cleaner, and lubricated the bearing with transmission oil (as recommended by the new brush supplier. There may be a downside to doing this, but it worked for me. I did hear a faint whine and had a little vibration at higher speeds until the new brushes were broken in, but I just avoided the higher speed settings for a few days. The motor is smooth and quiet now.