Getting back to the motor. didn't mean to blow off TF's question, but I keep diverting myself from one project to another.
I have yet to find a motor of that age that doesn't need some work. fortunately most of them are simple electrically. There is almost always wiring that needs new insulation. Here are a few examples. On the left is the 152 motor that started this conversation.
The pendulum reverse unit has the flaking rubber insulation that is typical of these units. The headlight tab shows the a wire after I stripped the insulation.
It and those stripped wires next to it are from a 253 that I'm stripping to sell for parts. The 253 motor will have a complete set of original wires. On the right is a 153 motor. Obviously it's been rewired. I'll replace that colored wire with black that looks more like the original.
For replacing insulation, I use these fabric sleeves that I buy from Dr. tinker. It's easy to slip them over the old wire, as I'm doing in the photo.
When I'm doing a restoration, I try to use only original parts, and that includes the wire.
Another typical problem is a break in the wire connecting the field to the brush holder. Here you can see that I've used a new piece of wire for the brush connection (looks new but it is black). After soldering, I'll cover it with a small piece of electrical tape. The second photo shows that same wire where I had to unwind it a bit from the field to strip and get an end that would hold solder and have a good mechanical attachment.
On most motors, I will take off the brush holder to check brushes and armature. On this one, the armature looks pretty good, but I'll polish the brushes to be sure that the carbon buildup isn't slowing down the motor.
And that pretty much sums up what is needed to get the motors running. Dealing with the reverse switch or pendulum reverse units is a story for another time
Malcolm Laughlin
