Vacume motor brushes

[drhookmec]

The vacuum motor on my Phoenix/S is shooting sparks out by the brushes.

I tried cleaning it made no difference, Going to try some new brushes and see if that helps.

Is there a way to tell if the armature it self is bad and causing the sparks?

[Grit]

if you completely disassemble it you should be able to look at the rotor and see if it's worn down (usually gets flat and shiny where the brushes rub). It's most likely worn brushes that are causing the sparking; but as long as the rotor is still spinning straight it should be fine. you can probably get it looked at by a local electric motor shop for no more than 20 bucks. start by changing the brushes before you send it off though.

[drhookmec]

Thanks Grit.
New brushes did the trick, But here's a tip to anyone replacing brushes on these motors
or swapping brushes from another motor.
You will need to run the motor at half voltage for 30min to allow the brushes to fully seat into position and minimize arching.
I did this by wiring together 2 similar motors in series and letting them run on the bench for 30min.

After i ran the new brushes at half power for 30min i then applied full power to that motor and no sparks.

Tim