Rhino vx54 motor repair

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

I managed to acquire a broken Rhino vx54...now it's still broken but in bits .

Perhaps I should have asked for help a couple hours ago.

Having disassembled and expected every piece I've concluded that the motor expired when the main shaft seal failed.

Question is...is it worth me trying to fix it?

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Opening the motor produced a fair bit of water...these motors run off a 12v supply. Think I'll test the coils as they may have been fried...if not then maybe I can fix it.

The motor itself is very simple inside...the prop attaches to the shaft shown in the pic. My thinking is that the voltage is low (but the current is high - 50A perhaps). Hopefully when it went there was a fuse somewhere in the supply side that blew...which may have saved the main windings.

Anyone on here worked on there?

 

[voipio]

Does the motor spindle turn, albeit with magnetic "notching"? If it does, there's half a chance it might work.

Magnetic components generally don't mix well with water, so this may be a skip job.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Motor didn't turn unfortunately ....I managed to disassemble the motor but it didn't come apart easily. The (sintered?) bronze bush was very tight on the shaft and I managed to crack in when I was removing it. Previous owner said it was working last season so maybe got stuck during winter storage.

I think my next step is test the windings....if they seem OK I might clean and reassemble and then do a dry test to see if it'll operate. If it operates then might be worth buying the service kit etc.

If the coils are burned out then I reckon it's a skip job....would make a nice little restoration project for me thought (like I haven't got enough projects!).

I'll have to source a replacement for the bearing that I broke...but I have enough left of the original for a dry test I reckon.

 

[voipio]

Go for it. I've always thought these electric outboards were a bit dodgy as, once the shaft seal starts to leak, it's bug*ered. A minature sump pump, for use in case the shaft seal went, plus a water sensor in the motor compartment, with a warning light on the top, would be handy.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

A minature sump pump, for use in case the shaft seal went, plus a water sensor in the motor compartment, with a warning light on the top, would be handy.

I had exactly the same thought myself...the motor bit is very simple. Even the speed selector is just a bunch of extra windings in the case. I'm hoping it had a fuse fitted which might have saved the windings.

The water was very rusty...hopefully enough to short across the power pickup...can only give it a try I guess.

I'll look into adding a sump sensor if I can get it working.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Just in case anyone out there is having sleepless nights worrying about my motor rebuild....

I managed to get all the crud cleaned out of it...resoldered one wire that had fallen off the commutator ring (I might have knocked that off!).

Decided to do a "dry" test run with the broken bush that I have....seems to run fine.

So to do a restoration I think I'll need a replacement bush and a seal kit....unfortunately the latter are around £40...a new motor is around £200 so basically as with most things in this modern world it's just not worth the effort to fix it .

If I hadn't broken the brass bush I'd probably have given it a go I reckon.

 

[badabec]

If you spend the £40 you will have saved £160, which you can then spend on more tools.
Go on, £40 isn't even a meal for two in any pub around here.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

£40 isn't even a meal for two in any pub around here.

You aren't wrong there...my mates had a steak each and a bottle of wine in the pub at the weekend....£60!

I'll have a look to see if I can get the sintered brass bush somewhere...if I can I might go ahead and do the repair.

I was quite impressed that a motor full of brown water came back to life...they are super simple so really if the windings survive then I guess they can be saved.

 

[badabec]

Sintered bronze bush? Try this lot

BUH - Starter Bushing

The page shows all the sizes available, but you will have to phone or email. The page is under construction.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Sintered bronze bush? Try this lot

Cheers I'll take a look