Hello All,
I’ve owned this 2007 R&T Cruiser for a month now and have pretty much gone through it trying to learn it and fix a few things. One biggie that started yesterday while the grandkids were driving it around the property was an electrical smell which I traced back to the drive motor. I could have cooked bacon on it. So I put it up for the day to cool off. This morning I drove it about 1/2 mile on flat pavement. It’s lost 5 mph and the motor was starting to feel warmer than usual. Note: All trojan batteries and cables are brand new. Does anybody have any ideas of what can cause this?
Notes:
[li]Sometimes the cart doesn’t move when the throttle is pressed. By either rockin the cart or rolling the cart slightly it will being moving again.
[/li][*]Sometimes when attempting to go at slow speeds there’s a lot of clicking sounds back by the motor. I don’t know if this is normal or not.
What Dave said. RT GEAR has motors but you have to buy thru a dealer. Cartz Partz may have your motor but expensive.
I would NOT try to run the cart in it’s present condition. You need to take the motor down. If your extreemly lucky you have stuck brushes other than that every thing is downhill.
If you continue to run it you stand a good chance of frying the controller. A fried controller makes a bad motor a walk in the park.
Thanks all…
I put the cart up on jack stands, popped the brush covers off and powered up the motor. It looked like a welding machine arc on the rear brush. So I figured a stuck brush based on your advice.
I dropped the rear axle and removed the motor. one brush surely wasn’t moving as freely as the others and it was also shorter. All four had about 3/4" of wear left. So now I’m in a dilemma…1) new brushes, 2) new motor, 3) clean brushes and reinstall or 4) have the motor inspected and/or rebuilt. There’s a good bit of carbon inside the motor and the armature is almost smooth where the brushes make contact (not sure if it’s supposed to be like that or not).
I found the source of the shuttering noise the motor made when I applied throttle from a dead stop. It’s the armature rattling. It seems to spin perfectly in a vertical position on the bench but when I moved the open end that has the gear attached side to side it makes the same sound the I hear from the drivers seat.
The more I type about it the more I think I’d better find a new motor (unless you guys have any more suggestions).
Hopefully I haven’t fried the controller!!! Regardless…it’s still fun to dive into it and try to fix it.
Rodney…Any chance I can bring it to you? I’m in Baton Rouge and travel to Pensacola occasionally on business. I could definitely swing by Gulf Shores and get it to you to check out. Want to see some motor pics first though?
Sounds like the ‘Old Boat’ know his stuff…retired from electric motor rewinding biz, and he is right. DC Motors require frequent PM. Should have good service if you monitor the commutation end. I picked up a 2006 Ruff and Tuff, I live close to where they were made in Winnsboro SC, and you post got me to thinking I need to pull the covers and inspect. Any decent electric motor repair shop can provide brushes for you. Also try to keep the comm end wiped out off carbon dust. Good chance that aided in your welding issue.
