G29 Motor question

[Sean5545]

Is all that carbon in the motor normal operation or is that a sign of failing? Is there a procedure for cleaning them out? I was going to do a controller and motor upgrade in the future but for now I’m hoping my brake job did not get a whole lot more expensive LOL.

[sho305]

That can be normal for a motor run a long time that actually does work, meaning its over say 1hp. But i've never had an electric cart motor apart. What I have done before is get a big can of electrical cleaner or (electric) motor cleaner (like the crc stuff). I spray it wet and use a soft brush or whatever will get in there some without affecting anything, brush it around to loosen up the dust/gunk. Spray it again and let it flow out. Repeat. That stuff is not supposed to hurt any wiring in a motor. I'd use gloves or plastic bag/etc though its very hard on the skin, and do it in a very ventilated area like outside. It usually cleans all that stuff right out kind of like brake cleaner, its similar. And if you blow it out you get a ton of nasty dust, I don't like doing that and then its still not that clean.

You always get carbon from brushes if it has those.

[Sean5545]

Do you disassemble the motor to clean it or just get what you can get with it staying together?

[Volt_Ampere]

I completely disassembled mine. It's easy to do. First remove the case by removing the four bolts going in from the brush / commutator end. Then remove the armature from the case end bell by removing the speed sensor and the two bolts that hold the armature bearing in. Then you can clean everything up and I would replace the brushes while you are at it. You can get them from Amazon. The brush dust will be everywhere. I took mine out in the middle of my yard and blew it out with my air compressor. Wear a mask! Then you will probably want to clean up the commutator bars with some sandpaper. When you reassemble it, you can pull the springs that hold the brushes out and hook them above the brush holder while inserting the armature back in the bell. Then you can put the springs in place to push the brushes against the commutator. Carefully turn things over and install the bolts that hold the armature bearing in place. Then install the case over the armature.
When working be careful not to damage the speed sensor magnet that is on the end of the armature shaft.