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Cooling fan armature brush stuck

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  • Cooling fan armature brush stuck

    This is a new one for me and I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem with their cooling fan not running.

    I had not driven Nellie in a few weeks and with madness coming up I thought I had better get here ready for the trip on Friday.

    First thing i did was install a digital temperature gauge... and it was a good thing that I did. I had bought the gauge to put on my daughter-in-laws 2010 Subaru Outback because it had been running hot recently. But then she decided not to do it because she plans to replace it soon.
    So I already had it and decided to install it on Nellie.

    Since I had to take the radiator hose off, I decided to drain and flush the cooling system too. I also put new radiator hoses on her. After I got everything done I took here for a drive up to Lowes and by the time I got back I noticed that the original temperature gauge had not moved from its resting place, but the new gauge had gotten up to 210F by the time I got home. So I was thinking to myself how could installing a digital temperature gauge have cause these problems.

    To diagnose the fan problem, I pulled the wire off the fan control switch on the side of the thermostat but the fan did not start.. but I could hear the relay click when I pulled it off or put it on. I checked the cooling fan fuse and it was good, I checked the voltage at the wires that the fan connects to and it was good. Only thing it would be then was the cooling fan motor. I took the housing off the radiator and remove the motor from it. I took off the fan blade and the proceeded to bend back all the little tabs that hold the back plate of the motor on. I discovered the problem as soon as I got the back off. Don't see how it could have happened but one of the brushes was stuck in it's little tunnel and the spring was not pushing it out.
    I fiddled with the brush and the spring and it popped out. I put a little graphite in the tunnel and pushed it in and out to make sure it was sliding ok and then put the motor back together. Those little tabs are a pain.. Wish they had bolted the back on . I then used some wires to connect it to the battery and it started right away. It's all back together now and working fine.

    Don't know why this happened... the motor was dry and fairly clean inside.

    While I had everything apart I cleaned the fan motor, housing and blade and it looks like new now.

    Still have to solve the problem of my old temp gauge not working... but it's probably the sensor.. I'll pull it out of the head tomorrow and test it.

    I really like the new gauge... it's mounted on the dash just behind the turn signal.
    Last edited by 1990new; 09-30-2018, 07:00 PM.
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