T9.9 power tilt intermittent

[SouthernSailor]

Hi Folks

My power tilt motor is intermittent. Voltage is good from the relay. The tilt works fine for maybe 20 to 50 cycles then suddenly....nothing. The engine has about 200 hours on it.

I pulled the stator and found one brush was stuck and not making contact with the commutator. I pulled the brush cleaned it, and also cleaned the brush holder using electronic contact cleaner. That freed up the brush.

Got it all back together and it worked perfectly again...but after about 10 or 20 cycles up and down it stopped working again.

I suspect the brushes are sticking in the brush holders. Not sure how to fix that...obviously oil on the brushes will inhibit contact with the commutator so I can't lubricate them with oil.

Graphite maybe?

Or is there some other "trick" to keeping the brushes from sticking?

The springs seem fine and deliver tension, and the brushes are not worn (based on the specs in the manual). The commutator diameter measures within spec according to the manual.

I'd really like to lick this problem but am not sure how to proceed.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

THANKS!

[99yam40]

that little motor pulls a lot of current, maybe it is tripping the internal breaker if you are running it up and down that many times in a short time.

I am no help with an idea if the brushes are sticking.
Maybe time for a replacement motor

[SouthernSailor]

Thanks for the reply. I appreciate your feedback.

It's not the breaker that's causing it. It fails randomly. Last night it was dead, no tilt function at all. This morning I tried it again and it was still dead. Thermal breaker would have reset ages ago.

Then about 10 minutes later I started to pull the tilt assembly out (again). Once I got it out I tried it and it started working again. I put it right back in and it seems to work. All I did was pop the assembly out of the tilt mechanism..I never even got a chance to pull the stator off or anything.

I am concerned that it's going to fail when I really need it.

I strongly suspect that one of the brushes was stuck and came loose again. Whether it will stay free is anyone's guess. Rather than guess, I would like to clean it (again) with electronic spray cleaner, and then perhaps I can lubricate it with something that won't damage the brushes (like oil will) or interfere with the electrical connection. Graphite might work but I am hoping someone with knowledge as to what to do with this issue (stuck brushes) can provide a better solution.

I'd replace it if I could. But shipping costs to me would nearly equal the cost of the motor and it would take a long time to get to me. Such is the life of a live aboard sailor in remote places.

[99yam40]

the internal thermal overload breaker could be having a problem and not keeping a good connection.

T&T relay has to make and break both the + and - when going up and down.
I have heard about that not making good connections internally more than the brushes sticking in the past.

Hard to find a problem that does not stay around

Good luck

[SouthernSailor]

Interesting...I did not know that the thermal breakers in these power tile motors are sometimes problematic. I do know that overheating isn't directly the issue (based on the fact that it was still dead this morning).

You're SO right...fixing a problem that comes and goes can drive a fella bonkers. No matter how long it works, you have this nagging feeling that it's still gonna croak right when you need it the most.

I guess if I get an idea as to how to lube the brushes I'll give that a whirl, then if it still acts up it would possibly be the breaker, which can't be replaced.

I am hoping I can at least keep it going until I can get someone to bring me a new motor when they visit. Or even better, I learn what to lubricate the brushes with that will fix it for good.

[99yam40]

I did not say that the thermal inside had a history of failing , but did read about someone having that problem.

The relay that feeds power to the T&T motor has been more of a problem

They have contacts inside that may make on one side but not the other due to burning/oxidized metal contacts.

Just wanted to make sure when it is not working that you check to make sure
both the + and - are making it to the motor leads if this is a 2 wire motor

[SouthernSailor]

Hadn't heard that the tilt relay has had issues.

Mine is fine, delivering proper voltage with polarity changes when I push Up and Down. I even put a meter on it to make sure it wasn't intermittently delivering power. When the tilt motor stops working, there is power being delivered to the motor.

Now if ONLY I knew what to use to lubricate the brushes I'd be a happy camper.

[Yamamaha]

If you have a mulitmeter, you might consider pulling the armature housing and checking for current across the thermal switch when the problem occurs. I recently had a problem with my thermal switch - the prior owner replaced the brushed and appears to have bent the plate on the switch so it was not making contact properly.

Best of luck!

[FabricGATOR]

I guess if I get an idea as to how to lube the brushes I'll give that a whirl, then if it still acts up it would possibly be the breaker, which can't be replaced.

I wouldn't lube brushes, the same as one shouldn't use lube in lock cylinders. Any lubricant will attract and gunk up with the dust. They are graphite in nature and thus self lubricating.

Clean the brushes and the holders. If you really had to give it a shot of something, possibly dry silicon on the brush guides, but shouldn't need it.

[aussiemarkc]

Have you tried cleaning the commutator with the appropriate chalk to remove carbon build up?

[dorf]

For what it is worth...

I had a 50 HP that did the same thing.

Discovered that the power supply lug, to the battery, rubber insulation coating was not allowing the metal lug to make proper contact. I cut back the rubber insulation and all was well from then on.

Just my 2 cents--hope it helps !!!

[SouthernSailor]

Thank you all for the helpful suggestions.

[aussiemarkc]

Google- commutator cleaning chalk