RC Car Motor Brush Maintenance

The brushes are the lifeline of the motor and with use they get worn and burnt. If you don't clean and change your brushes often your motor will perform poorly and will have a much lower then expected lifetime.

Brushes are easy to clean and change, are inexpensive and can triple (or more) the life of your motor. Here are you a few tips on brushes, how to clean them and how to change them.

The motor brush is held into the motor by the brush spring. It is easy to remove the spring by unhooking it from the tab on the brush hood and then removing it from the spring post. Be careful that you do not lose the spring as it can fly off when removed and you will need to use it again when you are done cleaning or replacing the brush. Here you can see that the end brush spring has been removed from the spring tab. You can just use your finger to remove the end of the spring from the tab.

The brush spring is now removed from the hood and the brush easily slides out. It is best to completely remove the brush spring from the motor and put it in a safe place so you do not lose it.

The brushes are attached to the brush hood by two different methods. On most stock motors, the brush is equipped with an eyelet and this is held in place by a brush hood screw. Just remove this screw and you can completely remove the brush from the motor.

On high performance or team motors, the brushes are soldered to the brush hood. You will need to use a soldering iron to remove and replace brushes that are attached this way. If you are not racing in competition, you can replace a soldered on brush with a brush that has an eyelet to make subsequent brush changes easier and it will make little or difference in the speed of your motor.

Used brushes are shorter and show signs of burning along the edges. If the brush is not blue it can be cleaned and reused. A brush serrator can be used to cut the factory serrations back into the brush. Promatch Racing sells a great brush serration bit and brush alignment tool. Use can also use a fiberglass cleaning sticks to clean brushes. They are inexpensive and do a great job. Just use the end of the stick on the face of the brush to clean off the glaze and any deposits. There will be a "matte" finish on the brush with the glazing removed. The brush is now ready to be used again. Reinstall them and get to racing.