Motor Clean or...

[DanGoneWild]

My cart has been a work in progress for the last year or so. Im pretty satisfied that everything Ive installed is working properly. By everything, I mean I have pretty much replaced everything except the motor. Its been quite a chore because some of the parts i installed ended up being bad parts. Feel all thats behind me now tho. Anyway, now my focus is the motor because I feel my speed still isnt what it should be so Im pulling the motor this weekend. Now I dont know much about electric motors themselves but by my research, it doesnt look that difficult to clean it and replace the brushes if necessary. Figured I'd replace them anyway since they are not that expensive and the motor is over 20 years old. That said it was probably parked for 10 years so it only has about 10-12 years usage. I'll buy a new motor if I have to because Im all in now, but saving some money at this point will help. My question for the board is have any of you done a simple motor clean and add brushes and it resulted in increase performance? Did it increase top speed? Or would I be wasting time and effort? Thanks.

[Volt_Ampere]

That depends on the condition of your motor and brushes. It's a good idea to do what you suggest but it may not yield improved performance. But it will give you peace of mind and probably much better reliability. Brushes do wear out and commutators get pitted and worn.

[DanGoneWild]

Originally Posted by Volt_Ampere

That depends on the condition of your motor and brushes. It's a good idea to do what you suggest but it may not yield improved performance. But it will give you peace of mind and probably much better reliability. Brushes do wear out and commutators get pitted and worn.

Thanks for the response Volt_Ampere. Its a little frustrating to have what I have in the cart now and only getting 14mph no matter what I set the controller to. Speed limit or no speed limit... etc. Im not asking for the moon. I think 19-22mph should be reasonable for what I have. Good point on a peace of mind. This whole thing has been a learning experience. I'll look at it as an extension of that. Thanks again.

[Volt_Ampere]

Since you have an Alltrax, I would hook it up to a laptop and log a full throttle run. That may tell you why you are so limited in speed. I would expect that you could get 19mph out of that setup if you have good batteries and optimum setup on the Alltrax.

[adrianp89]

I am curious as well. I have a 2001 TXT Series cart that I moved to 48v and 23" tires. Lucky to 17-18mph, mostly holds at 16mph. Factory motor in probably same condition as yours.

[crash12888]

What size cables are you running? New batteries and have they been properly charged?
Brushes are easy to replace but along with replacing them you will need to also polish or surface your commutator as well

[DanGoneWild]

Originally Posted by Volt_Ampere

Since you have an Alltrax, I would hook it up to a laptop and log a full throttle run. That may tell you why you are so limited in speed. I would expect that you could get 19mph out of that setup if you have good batteries and optimum setup on the Alltrax.

I have the cart up in the air and the motor disconnected at this point. Ive tried pretty much every setting imaginable on the Alltrax to date with no luck. In fact done it several times chasing my tail with bad readings as it turned out one of the defected parts I bought was the controller. To Alltrax's credit they replaced it.
Batteries are good. I'll go ahead with the cleaning and run the log right after and before I decide to buy a new motor if it comes to that.

[DanGoneWild]

Originally Posted by crash12888

What size cables are you running? New batteries and have they been properly charged?
Brushes are easy to replace but along with replacing them you will need to also polish or surface your commutator as well

Complete set of expensive 2 gauge cables. Batteries are two years old and hold a charge well. Thanks for the cleaning tips Crash.

[Jblack]

I have a stock 2001 36V series cart. Only upgrades are a HD F&R switch and 2ga cables throughout. I took my motor (G.E. thin case 4hp) apart and cleaned it up with a can of electrical cleaner and lightly sanded the commutator. With 18" tires and 6 year old batteries I'm getting 16-18mph on flat ground.

[DanGoneWild]

Originally Posted by Jblack

I have a stock 2001 36V series cart. Only upgrades are a HD F&R switch and 2ga cables throughout. I took my motor (G.E. thin case 4hp) apart and cleaned it up with a can of electrical cleaner and lightly sanded the commutator. With 18" tires and 6 year old batteries I'm getting 16-18mph on flat ground.

That's encouraging since we have much of the same but with a newer controller and batteries.