Berlingo Brushes

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ChrisB
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Berlingo Brushes

Postby ChrisB » Sat Apr 21, 2007 10:46 pm

This is something that needs to be documented and looked at next I think, once I've checked those then I'll just have the normal brakes and steering left and they seem to be fine currently.

ChrisB
I reject reality and substitute my own !!!!!!

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ChrisB
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Postby ChrisB » Wed Aug 29, 2007 9:31 pm

Looks like this is going to happen quite soon :shock:

Mine have decided to expire :roll:

Interestingly on Monday I noticed the van make a couple of coughs, almost like a misfire but its REALLY REALLY gentle and unless your REALLY listening out for the vans normal running feeling I doubt you would notice it.

Anyhow after Rob had a similar issue with his I thought it was time to inspect the brushes, on investigation they where well past there wear marks so I've decided to take her off the road while I await for new ones to arrive as I dont want to damage the comm or the brush holders.

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ChrisB
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Postby ChrisB » Sun Sep 02, 2007 3:45 pm

Right well yesterday it was Bazil Brush day :lol:

So bunged the van on a set of ramps and first off removed the traction fuses from the pack by the 12v aux batt and then removed the inspection cover

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Removing the plastic over reveals this...........

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Next job can be to remove the first brush or remove the two cables that attach to the brush ring, I removed the bolts from these like so...

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Now you can either undo the brush cable connection or withdraw the brush, I pulled the spring back and pulled the brush out, it actually pretty much fell out.

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Undo the bolt that holds the brush cable and you will then have the old brush in you hand.
A quick check to see what the brush holder looks like, mine seemed fine and apart from some carbon dust which I wiped out using a bit of cloth it seemed fine.

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A quick compare of old and new :shock:

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Yep they where totally trollied :shock: and I think it was only my gentle driving that had saved any worse wear on the comutator.

Right time to reverse the proceedure with the new one

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And there we go one new brush installed 8) only another 3 to go :roll:

Right now heres the sneaky bit, you need to rotate the brush ring to get to the other brushes, there are two bolts that are securing the ring and you just need to release these, no need to take them out, in fact I couldnt take mine out as they have circlips to stop you but if yours havent then dont take them out as you'll never get them back without major work !!!

The are here ( its the little bolt hidden in the webbing of the gear casing)

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and here ( the one with the blue paint and opersite the other one )

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Loosen these by about one or two turns and then the brush ring should be able to rotate freely, there may be some crud that needs to be wiped away but it should then rotate so you can get to the other brushes in turn and cary out the change.
You might find it will be easier to rotate the ring in one direction compared to the other due to the two large cables you disconnected, I dont think it matters which way you go I just went for the easist :wink:

Once you have changed all the brushes then re-time the ring by putting the dimpled bit in line with hole, heres a pic of the dimple and hole on the ring, I put a small screw driver in the hole and then rotated the ring until it fell in the hole and then re-tighened the ring securing bolts.

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You can see the dimple is about to go underneath the hole in the casting in that pic.
Dont over tighten the ring securing bolts as it is only plastic. Once thats secure then re-attach the two cables and jobs a good'n.

Becareful when un-doing or tightening any of the bolts in there as they are all on brass and so wont take much stick and the last thing you want to do is strip them :shock:

Re-attach the cover, replace the fuses, back it off the ramps and jobs done

Now its a REALLY good idea to run in the new brushes before giving the van any stick, you could even jack the van up if you wanted to be REALLY gentle on them and run the motor with the wheels off the ground for a few miles. After which I'd suggest that you take it real easy for a good few charges and not exceed the green bit of the eco meter ( not that I do that much anyway :oops: ) before giving the van some welly.
The last thing you want to do is expect the new brushes to be able to follow the contour of the comutator with 400A going through them, it would proberbly result in lots of sparks and damage to the Com :cry:

Lastly make a note of the milage so you know when its time to change them next.

I would suggest whole heartedly check your brushes !!! its real easy and could save you a lot of grief in the long run.

Lastly heres a pic of a very sad lot of brushes

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These all should have been changed AGES ago :oops:

ChrisB
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ChrisB
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Postby ChrisB » Mon Sep 03, 2007 9:58 pm

As a after thought to the above is the carbon build up thats happening inside the motor, well brushes wear down and the carbon has to go somewhere dosnt it :?

Now this carbon "dust" is going to be conductive isnt it, so it really needs to be removed or if it builds up to much it may well cause a flash over :shock: and the result could well be controller distruction or motor damage :shock: both of which I'm not keen.

So the plan is with the spare motor I have is to see how it all comes apart with the idea of looking at giving it a dam good clean out.

Mines done about 25K and the carbon build up I feel is bearable, dont think I'll leave it for the next brush change mind you and on that occaision I'll have to pull the motor, strip it and clean out all the carbon dust at that time. I hope to have got the spare one out and cleaned up and found out why the feild windings have gone poof by then, it may well be just down to carbon build up causing a insulation issue ?? wont know for sure until I get it out and inspect it.

ChrisB
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qdos
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Postby qdos » Mon Sep 03, 2007 10:43 pm

I don't have a Blingo but this is a super write up with the piccies. we could do with more like this

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Flying John
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Postby Flying John » Tue Sep 11, 2007 2:03 pm

Nice one Chris - said it was easy :wink:
I see your old brushes were 1998 vintage - they have done well.

Mine has coughed a couple of time too. Even tho previous owner said Citroen had changed the brushes - so I guess I should inspect again.

The only WARNING I would give is if you buy brushes make absolutely sure the dimensions are correct as if you get a stuck brush whilst the motor is spinning it will arc and big field voltages may result if there is an arcing or part open circuit armature current path and ... poof.... bang goes controller.
Be wary of dimensions given on a hand drawing on the Berlingo enthusiasts site http://www.rmsconsult.co.uk/berlingo/tech.htm THESE DIMENSIONS ARE NOT WHOLLY CORRECT only by 0.5mm but its enough !

John
Last edited by Flying John on Wed Dec 05, 2007 1:04 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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rmsconsult
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Postby rmsconsult » Tue Sep 11, 2007 2:33 pm

Mine are getting near to the marked line, so could do with replacing soon, when I find a set.
Thanks for the write-up & pics Chris :)

John, as the "enthusiast" with the hand drawn pics, let me know which dimension is wrong and I'll change it!

Cheers,
Robin.

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Flying John
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Postby Flying John » Tue Sep 25, 2007 11:19 am

Mine too will soon need replacing and I was planning to go to Schunk UK again - unless any other peeps have a better place.



The dimension on the drawings available http://www.rmsconsult.co.uk/berlingo/tech.htm

Was the 25.4 - I think this is 25mm from memory but will measure with a vernier and repost

UPDATE - YES it should be 25mm not 25.4mm
Last edited by Flying John on Wed Mar 19, 2008 1:32 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Flying John
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Postby Flying John » Tue Oct 02, 2007 6:35 am

Sadly Schunk now have a minimum order value so I cannot buy one set of Brushes from them. If I cannot find another supplier - is there anyone out there that would be interested in a set of 4 Blingo brushes.
John
I spose I can always keep the spare set for stock !
Last edited by Flying John on Wed Mar 19, 2008 1:32 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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ChrisB
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Postby ChrisB » Wed Oct 17, 2007 8:57 pm

Gota say they have the look and feel of the original ones "except" they are not grooved to aid running in, so I would make sure you take your time when running these brushes in and avoid the yellow and red areas of the eco meter for a few hundered miles just to safe guard the motor com :wink:

ChrisB
I reject reality and substitute my own !!!!!!


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