Cooling fan inop, motor brushes sticking.

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Apr 27, 2010
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2012 Nissan Versa. Took the motor apart and see the brushes are stuck.

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If I jiggle a brush it will pop out. What can I clean them up with to prevent sticking?

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Looks like they have plenty of life left in them.
 
Good on you! Most people would just order a new one. You could use CRC electrical contact cleaner to clean it with. You might also need to scrape any littleburrs or high spots off the sides of the carbon brushes so they fit loose enough to move freely in the housings.
 
Without seeing how long the brushes are originally its hard to say if they have plenty of life in them. As they all "stuck" at around the same point I suspect some sort of safety mechanism may be employed in the brush holder to prevent commutator damage.
I would see if you can find some new brushes and possibly springs, try an electric motor shop.
 
It's a Nissan Versa I can't imagine a new fan assembly is expensive and/or hard to come by? The cooling fan is an important component and can leave you stranded on a hot day...
 
It's a Nissan Versa I can't imagine a new fan assembly is expensive and/or hard to come by? The cooling fan is an important component and can leave you stranded on a hot day...
My son just recently went through this with his 96 Corolla. He used alligator test clips with wires to run direct power to the cooling fan motor from the battery. The motor didn't work so he replaced the whole fan/motor/shroud with a new one and all is well again. Believe it or not, just the motor was the same price as the whole assembly.
 
I had this happen on an hvac blower motor. Twice.

The second.time.it happened 2 months after the first, i reduced the dimensions of the brushes slightly with 800 grit sandpaper. Almost 2 years later all is well.
 
I'd need to see the commutator in the housing to make a guess as to whether the brushes are too far worn to be worth trying to reuse, but otherwise you can lightly sand off any roughness on the brushes, and use a cotton swap with metal cleaner (brasso, etc) to clean out the brass holders. I'd also run the swab with metal cleaner, several times along the slot that the wire slides through, to not only clean but also polish it.

Remember that metal polish will continue to make black residue if you continue to polish brass, so don't skimp on doing a good job but you are not trying to keep cleaning till a swab with metal polish on it comes out clean because it never will.

After doing this, use a couple clean, dry swabs to get off remaining residue.

You might also stretch a "little" more tension into the springs in case they've been weakened by heat. If the motor bearings are sintered bushings, add light oil while it's open, to the *felt* reservoir cavities if it has them or to the shaft if not. Do not oil the brush holders.
 
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After cleaning and burnishing and stretching the springs a little, I would recommend no lubrication. Grease or oil will just catch grit and eventually lock up again.
 
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