Noisy Motor

cdressel

I have a 1986 Club Car. The motor seems to "whine" very loudly when running. I've also heard many other older Club Cars that sound very similar. Is this inherent in the beast, or is there something I can do to quiet the noise?

I've replaced the Guide Ring on a 1997 Club Car and that quieted the thing right down. But, the diagrams for a 1986 don't show a Guide Ring. Is there one there any way? http://www.golfcartpartsdirect.com/ecom-catshow/20.html

Thanks for your advice.

Chuck

BGW

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cheapjeep2

Whine is caused by the brush position on the commutator. The brushes could be worn, suggest you replace them or have them re-cut.

Colbyntx

Send it off to plumquick and have it rebuilt!

OLD MEC

Are you sure its motor whine rather than a differential whine? Has the differential been checked or better yet had the 30 weight motor oil replaced and drainings checked for metal flacks or broken parts? Many times the 30 weight oil breaks down after many years of not being replaced so I try to check yearly and change every 3 years.

cdressel

I just don't have the money for a new/rebuilt motor right now.

Old Mec, I guess I have no idea where the whine is coming from. I just assumed it was from the motor. I'll drain and refill the differential and see what happens.

Thanks for your help.

Chuck

OLD MEC

REMEMBER YOU ARE DOING THE FOLLOWING AT YOUR OWN RISK You can confirm where sound is coming from but it requires 2 people and a good set of car jack stands and jack able to support 1000 lbs MINIMUM. Jack up cart on solid, flat, smooth surface first under front suspension and place jack stands under round pipe going across frame from side to side as near outside as possible. Then jack differential up and place jack stands as near as possible to inside of spring mounts under differentail shaft tubes.
Then while one person operates throttle ( AT SLOW SPEED ONLY HIGH SPEED ROTATION CAN CAUSE MOTOR TO EXPLODE SO BE VERY CAREFUL ) place a wooden yard stick against first motor at each end and then differential near motor and then lower housing while other end of yard stick is placed just below your ear to pick up sounds ( OLD MEC TRICK ) OR A DOCTORS TYPE STETHASCOPE WORKS ALSO.
Yes there will be sounds that are normal as gears are moving and yes one wheel will rotate while other side will not ( is normal). The whine should be obvious and should vary by motor speed somewhat.

cdressel

Hi Old Mec,

I just got back inside from draining and refilling the differential. I was more than a little surprised that I drained 80/90W gear oil out of it. I could tell by the viscosity and the odor. I could see no obvious signs of metal particles or dirt but did see a little moisture in the oil, as it looked slightly "milky".

I put 30W oil back in and ran it a little. I could perceive no change in the noise (whine) level. Interesting, I noted that I had a whine at about half-speed forward but no whine what-so-ever in reverse.

Any way, I'll get the thing jacked up and see if I can identify the source of the whine, per your suggestion.

Thanks
Chuck

OLD MEC

Some people use 80-90 gear oil to cut sound of worn bearings-gears in older carts? Its kinda like in the old days when people put sawdust and graphite in with gear oil to sell an old car? NO really the difference in weight is very little BUT GEAR OILS HAVE OTHER PRODUCTS INCLUDED THAT COULD POSSIBLY do damage to newer seals, bushings, etc??

cdressel

Well, I got the cart jacked up and with a little help tried to figure out where the "whiny" noise was coming from. No luck. I guess it's so noisy I can't distinguish what's causing the most noise!

I did determine that there is a whine almost as soon as the cart starts moving forward. Then it gets loudest at about half-speed forward and never seems to increase in loudness any more. If I back off the accelerator pedal, the noise immediately stops. There is no noise at all in reverse.

Yes, I guess I'm confused but it looks more and more like the problem is originating in the motor. Doesn't it?

I changed the old differential oil from 80-90W to the specified 30W but it made no difference in noise level.

Thanks for your help.

Chuck

OLD MEC

Sounds like next step would be to pull motor and have it rebuilt ( outboard bearing, new brushes, armature turned, etc ) as sound seems to be coming only while differential is under load? If that does not solve problem then its worn bearings in differential allowing ring and pinion noise and requires a complete tear down and rebuild job?