Stuck Motor Unstuck, Now I need advice on Replacement

[RickO]

I've owned my 2007 Precedent 4X12 since 2011 when I had a local dealer rebuild a fleet cart to my liking. I live on a golf course in Arizona. I'm retired and golf is all I use the cart for. I fixed it up with fancy paint, seats and 10" wheels but other than that, putting a high speed magnet on it is all I've done to it.

I have been running a top speed of about 19 mph since I put in the magnet and that disabled my regen as well. I've been very happy with the performance until a couple of months ago when it began to slow and lurch before getting back up to around 14 mph. Reading threads here led me to believe it could be brushes. Even if that wasn't the cause of the problem, I thought I would tear open the motor, replace the brushes and clean it up good. I had also replaced the battery cables with new 4 ga since a couple of them were pretty corroded. Actually replacing the battery cables helped the performance a bit but there was still clearly something wrong.

You can probably guess what I ran into when I tried to remove the motor. It spun freely but wouldn't "just slide off the spline". Thanks to you guys, I read prior threads on this and quickly came to the conclusion that I would have to pull the rear end and use the bounce it on concrete method. That worked quite well but when I opened up the motor I was actually really surprised it had operated at all. See the photos below but two of the four brushes were completely stuck in the retracted position. I'm not familiar with the names of the other parts but you'll see from the photos that it looks like a war was fought inside those cases. There seems to be evidence of arcing and a lot of wear and gouges in the commutator(?)

I want to replace the motor. I'm not partial to new or rebuilt. I don't really need more speed but I sure wouldn't turn down a few more mph. I just don't want to have to spend big bucks to go just a little bit faster. I've read a lot about the PQ Bandit and it sounds good, but as near as I can tell, I would have to be without my cart for weeks while they rebuilt my motor... and that's a deal breaker.

So, regarding replacement motors and vendors... any observations, recommendations, advice, etc?

Thanks in advance!
RickO

[RickO]

A few more photos since I seemed to be limited on the OP

[Fairtax4me]

Email Scotty at Carts Unlimited. He can get you set up with a new motor probably in just a couple days.

https://www.buggiesgonewild.com/site-sponsors.php

As far as fixing that motor, I wouldn't hesitate to take it to a motor shop to have the comm re-finished.
Not uncommon to find a stuck brush, and the inside of that motor looks pretty normal. Depending how deep the grooves are in the comm it could probably be cut and put back in and be fine, but I would check with a motor shop to be sure. I'd certainly install new brushes if I were to repair it.

[RickO]

Thanks so much. I'll send Scotty a note.

I guess I just didn't know what to expect when opening a motor after 16 years of use.

Thanks again!

[Volt_Ampere]

I've seen much worse! With a good cleaning and new brushes you could be back in business for very little $$. Worth a try. The commutator should be either resurfaced or at least hit with fine sandpaper to smooth it out some. If you have a local motor shop, they could clean it up for you and it would be just fine.

[CP241]

I’d agree with volt ampere. I’d take it to an alternator or pump shop, have the commutator bars refinished, throw a set of new brushes in it and be done. If you were happy with the performance before it would be equal to or better than it was before.

[Volt_Ampere]

Put some "Never Seize" on the spline before installing the motor and it will not get stuck on there like it was.

[RickO]

Wow. You guys are great. I've already ordered the anti seize Loctite. I'm blown away that what looks to be a war zone inside my motor might be salvageable. I'm near Phoenix so there are a number of electrical motor shops near me and I'll check them out Tuesday.

[CP241]

Most of the black sooty stuff is a normal byproduct of brushes and other moving parts wearing. and if you blow it out with an air compressor will look brand new.

Do it outside………………

[Volt_Ampere]

Any motor with lots of miles on it will have lots of brush dust inside. It will clean up nicely.
I got my brushes for my Yamaha cart from Amazon. They may have them for your motor too.