Bongo Fury

Hello Bongoers!

I have just whipped out my fan motor using one of your mighty helpful factsheets!

Looking at the motor, the brushes have worn so much that there is almost no pre-tension, so the pads are literally barely touching the commutator.

I want to buy replacement brushes for this but have tried upwards of 20 shops in my local area, to no avail!

Does anyone know if there's a site I can order them from? My car is in it's dismantled state with no heaters and it's only getting colder... So i need to get some ASAP

Alternatively - does anyone know the exact spec of the part or maybe a part number? I was going to go down the route of asking vacuum cleaner / washing machine shops for spares, but I don't want to mess it up by buying the wrong part.

Many thanks,

Marcus

hi
your best bet would be to look on ebay and see who is breaking a bongo and get a replacement motor as i think if you manage to get replacement bushes it would prob be as expensave as a replacement fan

There are a few places on the web, is there enough left of the brushes themselves to take measurements from ?

They're 7mm square, the wire is about 2mm from the end & is 30mm long @ 1.5mm diameter wire, I reckon you want about 20mm of length for a new one (possibly less, didn't write that one down ), at least you can trim it if necessary, keep us informed if you find a supplier

Kirsty can you remember if end fixing for the wire would work ? If so these could be filed down.

Nope I'm pretty sure they were captive ends (if that makes sense) hence the measurement of 2mm from one end on one of the sides, in the middle. I've just checked the rear heater motor in case they are the same (just happened to have mine out ), but they are an oblong profile. I did hear a rumour that Bongobits were working on a way of getting the rear heater motor to fit in the front, I bet there're loads kicking about in scrappers as the rears never seem to go wrong

Yup I do know what you mean, there are a couple of adaption methods if seen / used myself in the past;
1. Drill a hole at the end of the slider cage and pass the wire thru the hole and then back to attachment point if there is room to do it and if it will allow the wire to feed in freely as it wears down, otherwise it can get hung up on the wire and lose contact with the commutator.
2. Extend the original slot with a narrower one by filing with a thin file so that the wire can be brought out further back, without losing spring pressure.
Just found an image of the brushes option 2 might be better, as it doesn't look like there is much room behind to drill a hole to bring the wire out thru the spring, but only go that route of you can't find the right or suitable brushes I think!

This company might also be worth a ring.

May I just say firstly that you guys are awesome - I posted this message yesterday, went away for 1 night and came back to 7 responses! ...Pictures and everything!

Cool, I think I'll try the links to the DC motor company. I think I'd rather replace the part than try and fix it. (the brushes i mean, not the whole fan)...

I'd already thought about putting a kind of shim between the spring and the pad to extend it's life. But that's just delaying the inevitable.

Heard a knocking sound under the bonnet today - turns out that removing the fan and all the plastic gubbins leaves the fuse box dangling around in the free space

I guess the brush supplier can sort out, but if not, I replaced the springs with a couple out of a cheap biro-type pen.

SD