Brushes on BT3000 motor brushes don't look like parts diagram!

[glebert]

Hi, I'm Greg, I'm new around here..

Long story short, my BT3000 died on me the other day, after I'd had a small jam up. No humming, sparking, anything, just nothing. I verified the switch was working. Testing across the motor leads I found it was an open. I opened up the small cover on the back of the motor and found I had continuity to the brush holders. I took the brushes out and found that one of them was worn down 1/2" more than the other, and it maybe wasn't even coming out past the holder.

When I look at the parts manual for the BT3000, though, it has a different sort of brush assembly than mine has. In the manual there are two brush "ports" on either side of the armature that have covers that turn out and the brushes slide down in. On mine there is a cover overs the back end of the armature shaft. Under the cover there are two brass looking rectangular assemblies pointing radially away from the shaft that are held down with non-conducting tabs . When you take the tab off the rectacular assemblies can be popped up like wings. You can lift them out and the brushes and their springs are inside.

I'd like to get some replacement brushes and see if this fixes my problem, but don't trust that the standard replacement part is going to be the right one since the motor assembly looks so much different than the diagram. Anyone know what kind of brushes I need. I guess if necessary I could take some pictures and also measure the brush dimensions.

Thanks in advance for any help.
Greg

[All Thumbs]

Many hardware stores carry brushes you may be able to adapt. You can file them (outside dimensions) to fit.

[mpc]

Greg - is your saw one of the early BT3000s? There were several different motors used during the BT3000/3100 production life. The earliest BT3000s had a 13 amp motor, later ones had a 15 amp motor. I think the 13 amp models use the brush setup you described: a rear cover/cap and then brushes. Look at the serial number plate on your saw for the amperage, and the production date code. The date code is a four-digit code which is the date of manufacture. 9915 would be 1999 week 15 for example... you may need the production date when ordering parts.

As was stated previously, motor brushes are rarely super-custom built parts - Ryobi and others get them from suppliers most likely - so you should be able to find similar/compatible ones at decently stocked hardware stores. Ace Hardware often has a very good selection in the plastic or metal drawer racks of motor parts.

mpc

[glebert]

I didn't have much luck at the hardware store, all of the brushes there were smaller than from my saw. I took one of the brush assemblies into work and showed it to one of my guru techs, a very mechanically handy guy. He had a great idea. There is actually a lot of carbon left on my brushes, it just doesn't extend far enough past the brass guide. He took the brush and spring out and stretched out one loop of the spring. This essentially extended the brush out about 1/4". I put the brushes back in the motor and now I get a short when I ohm across the motor leads. I haven't had time to put the saw back together to spin it yet, but it is looking good.

I forgot to check the production date or the amperage of the saw.