How to Rewind 3 Pole DC Motors - Rebuilding Model Train Motors

[@CreativeRails]

This is one of the best videos I've seen in a long time! Great job! And thanks for the lesson. I've never even thought of re-building a motor.

[@SMTMainline]

I appreciate your comment Ben, thanks for the support!

[@jakehash5633]

Thanks for posting videos of resorting these locos they have encouraged me to restore more loco

[@arjnsdca]

I don’t know if you’re interested, but there’s a KZbin channel called Mr Electricity that rewinds motors, although they are larger, same principle. He has a winding machine that somehow counts for him. I’m amazed how talented you are. Where were you when my car alternator went out!

[@tommurphy4307]

thats a 3-phase generator- you dont want to get involved with that as far as servicing the core.

[@kenamosjr.bo_51]

Nice job, wouldn't have known it was your first rewind if you hadn't said. Keep up great work, it's good to see fixing old engines- shows modeling can be done with little money and a little work.

[@harlanmarcos2735]

I dont mean to be off topic but does any of you know of a method to get back into an instagram account..? I somehow lost my password. I would appreciate any tips you can give me.

[@trevorjasiah2142]

@Harlan Marcos Instablaster ;)

[@harlanmarcos2735]

@Trevor Jasiah thanks so much for your reply. I got to the site on google and Im in the hacking process now. Seems to take a while so I will get back to you later with my results.

[@harlanmarcos2735]

@Trevor Jasiah it worked and I finally got access to my account again. I'm so happy:D Thank you so much you really help me out !

[@trevorjasiah2142]

@Harlan Marcos happy to help :)

[@sergioarroyoguerrero5434]

Rebuilding locomotives motors. Great job my friend. 3 poles motor, DC locomotive. N scale motors for repair and rebuilding.

[@captainbill12]

Nice video. I believe Micromark sells magnets designed to replace the stock magnets.

[@tonygardner9896]

I wasn't too sure as to how the wire should be wound, but this explains everything. Well done and thanks.

[@samdean5465]

I used to rewind slot car motors back in the day. We used a heavier gauge of wire and a lot less turns, then epoxied and baked in the oven at a low temp. A note of caution, disassembling the old open frame motors with the magnet on the end, can cause loss of magnetism. However the good news is that they sell rare earth magnets that will take the place of the old one, making the motor better than ever!

[@tommurphy4307]

the good news is that most motors can be replaced. i rewound a sekisui 5-pole square motor for a club member years ago- i would not do it again.

[@davidztog9011]

Thanks for another helpful video Harrison. I don't have any locos that need to be rewound, but now I know how and can give it a try if need be. You were a little surprised that it worked?!?! 😲 CONFIDENCE, Harrison, CONFIDENCE!!! Let it warm up a bit, and it'll most likely run smoother and faster, after all you did just tear it apart. I bought a set that hadn't run in years. It wasn't running very good when I put it on my layout, but I ran it forward and reverse for a bit, and now it runs perfectly fine even with a consist. It's a Life-Like diesel (Susquehanna Line). The wheels are very dirty, so I can see it running even better once I clean them. How are the wheels on your CP Rail diesel? We know the dirty track is also an issue.

[@dirtydanstrains1414]

I am so glad you made this video it will help me fix so many more locos

[@Petemonster62]

You are ahead of me SMT! I have yet to attempt rewinding an armature. I would agree the main things are: to wind all coils in the same direction around the poles; & wind the same number of turns around each pole. The N scale boxcar that is laying on its side & missing a truck - you replace the missing truck with a K-D coupler & truck assembly for a " conversion car " to couple together a train of cars with both Rapido & K-D couplers!

[@nathandelay]

That’s very awesome Harrison you did an awesome job as well and you gave awesome advice of how to take care of locomotives in a better way I have an very awesome day Harrison.

[@flaplaya]

Brings back memories.. My dad handed down a green tool box full of slot car and train motor stuff. Rewinding used to be extremely common... Man the memories .

[@rayhuntermusic]

Well done!!! It’s like watching a doctor perform surgery. Pretty cool!!!

[@erict.8190]

Good job smt good info on how to rewind a moter

[@tommurphy4307]

a 3-pole conventional core type...

[@alcopower5710]

One of your best videos. Thanks for sharing

[@camdenforster88]

Your video quality is way better

[@stevennardone2770]

I race ho scale slot cars... Video was great and at 50 I STILL learned from your video. Thank you keep it up... I'd like to see what tips for me to use for my hobby.. thank you

[@stevennardone2770]

Nevermind I see you did.... But, stretching the brush springs it helps the arm run stronger... Thank you

[@reganmdonovan]

Great tutorial SMT

[@West_Cascade_Rail]

Please to more of these videos! Maintenance, rebuilds, loco keep up etc.

[@josephtsexton4751]

I think that you will find if you measure out the wire to approximately 6 and 1/2 ft at 36 gauge you'll get exactly what you're looking for without having to do all the counting. You do yourself a favor by using some super glue on those coils to keep them from unwinding.

[@kylewolfe305]

Very cool! I like these new locomotive restoration videos. Good info!

[@aidan_rickard_v8303]

Helpful video SMT thanks for all the advice also can you do a video on your vintage trix 3-rail as I have some too.

[@ralphgreenwood5857]

Harrison, You did good job on that! I have an old trix f-7 to mess with-Wish me luck!!

[@tommurphy4307]

i use the bachmann early-style spectrum motors in those units. you'll have to pull off the flywheels and shorten the shafts, modify the trix rear motor bracket, and drill out the couplings to fit, but it makes a fantastic runner out of them. the motors are still available from the b'mann parts house- i just ordered a pile of them at 20% discount so they were about $11.65 apiece.

[@highgatehandyman6479]

Hey great vid mate. I have some lonestar trebl0lecric from my dad when i was young. And now my nephew wants to know. So this is valiable as it was vintage when i got it in the 80s.

[@garethwinslade7201]

Thanks for the great tutorial.

[@GreatBowlsAfire]

Bro . This is amazing. 👍 You are SOOOOOO taking me next level 😮 You rock! THANK YOU! Wooooowoooooo! 🚂🚂🚂🚂🚂🚂🚂🚂🚂💯👍👊

[@SMTMainline]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Dannydevito05]

Thank you for the info I fix my old B and O loco

[@cbgadget4740]

Very interesting video Harrison, congratulations on a task not many hobby folks would not attempt. I knew about motor rewinding back in the 60’s slot car craze. Only read about it as there was mostly written articles. The slot car folks rewound motors to increase rpm. Don’t remember if it was less or more turns but the results were dragster type cars that were incredibly quick. Thanks for sharing 👍👍👍😎😎😎 Cary

[@SMTMainline]

Thanks for your comment. Yes, people racing slot cars seem to do rewinds to increase the speed by putting less turns on each coil - You would loose torque but I guess if you did it just a little you would gain extra speed.

[@tommurphy4307]

the wire gauge affects performance as well.

[@monsterdemolitionman1235]

hey smt I'm looking for a shell and truck for my locomotive

[@northerncountryrailroad8939]

Cool I might need to do this on one of my locomotives

[@MikeThomasRailRoadOverhaul]

Fantastic job

[@milou7300a]

Hi I was in that line motor rewinder, You musthave the right gage of wire, end the number of turn, keep enougt place friendly Jacques

[@saxmusicmail]

If the loco runs backwards after your rebuilt you (a) wound the poles in the reverse direction from when new, (b) turned the case (and magnets) around. Mark the endbell and case so you know you put it back the way it was. Worst case, swap motor wires.

[@Commentsofthemonth]

Good good youngster you are an electrician

[@SMTMainline]

I'm just a guy to likes to fix things up. I wouldn't mind becoming an electrician though.

[@stevennardone2770]

Also, if you stretch the motor brush springs... Not a lot... It helps the arm stronger..

[@Brianrockrailfan]

great video SMT Mainline :)

[@twotone3070]

Nice work. What I can never understand is why people thumbs down, if they don't like it, click off, you're just trying to help people out, what are they saying, don't help me?

[@SMTMainline]

Who knows. Dislikes are not very helpful because if I don't know what the problem is, I also don't know what I should be trying to fix....

[@tommurphy4307]

@@SMTMainline you don't need to fix anything, harrison- we love you just the way you are! there are always going to be haters.

[@MyChaz2]

Another great video!!

[@mikeandre9903]

Hey what's up love your videos has anyone ever told you you look like Elvis Presley👍👍

[@tommurphy4307]

HARRISON IS IN THE HOUSE

[@alanwbelcher]

Great job! Thanks for showing us how.

[@williamrathwell766]

Thanks for your videos they're a big help.

[@robertcrewdson8611]

Great video; as Magnet wire is insulated did you have to strip the ends to solder it?

[@coreypage2851]

Very good SMT

[@saxmusicmail]

Chuck the motor shaft in a drill, spin it, and hold a piece of 400 grit silicon carbide paper against the commutator to remove crud and polish. After scrap out any crud between segments with an X-acto blade. Make sure the shaft is clean and shiny, and lube the bearings. I like Singer Sewing Machine Oil for this.

[@tommurphy4307]

you clean the gaps with something soft like harrison's tooth picks.

[@hudson8865]

Thank you.

[@Kris-qy7hh]

I have an old HO scale Spectrum 44 tonner, in which both of its motors went bad. I’ll probably try this sometime and give an update!

[@garyjohnson4608]

Years ago, I used to run slot cars a lot. There is a company called Parma that still produces motors for them. T hese are very similar to the motors you are working with here. They might have some information you might find useful.

[@tommurphy4307]

it looks like a mabuchi motor- prolly not worth rewinding.

[@MikeFairclough]

Great job on the video! Have you happened to try rewinding a Triang X04 motor? I'm just wondering if the process is similar to this one?

[@larrymccarty8453]

Could you please let me know what size magnet wire you’re using .Thanks and keep up the good work

[@GreatBowlsAfire]

Looks like 36 the vid

[@milou7300a]

Hi well you got a kind of job, it is too little for,me, I rewinded bigger motor with my father, he was working for CN Company, repairing pullmun and rewinder motor on the old deux montagnes train, but for rewinding little like that ??? now they make it with machine, but still, I fixe my miniatures motors in my hobby, You are god and tuff , very nice, thank's, I admire You, friendly Jacques, Laval Pc Canada

[@antonbruce1241]

Wow...rewinding a three-pole motor? You've got guts. Me...I'm too lazy. I would retrofit the thing to use a newer can motor.

[@jakehash5633]

When are you going to make a video of putting the alco decoder from the cn b unit in the other alco

[@SMTMainline]

I will do it eventually although it will be a tricky one since I want to be extra precise with it.

[@herbgarris4066]

Very helpful

best way to bend those tabs out is straight down. put the motor flat on a work surface

[@buffalomainline1678]

Will this help if you have gotten oil on the commutator an I have a situation that my motor works but won’t spin when you start giving it power you have to spin the armature over for it to start spinning will this help

[@SMTMainline]

try putting a few drops of alcohol on the commutator then run the motor for 30 seconds and then take an alcohol soaked q-tip and clean the commutator manually.

[@buffalomainline1678]

@@SMTMainline thanks so much I will try it

[@tommurphy4307]

the guys in my club usually put MORE oil in there- because MORE is BETTER- right? if you don't want to tear it apart you could soak it with conducting lubricant and then blow the excess out with GENTLE air pressure- worth a try.

[@carldean5987]

That had to been very frustrating to do all that, can u do a video on a ho pancake motor rewire?????

[@kensbackshop6399]

Pretty cool scrumpt,,by the time your 20 you will be working at NASA building rockets

[@tommurphy4307]

on mars making space junk usable again!

[@centeguahan3760]

_"for you Americans"_ 😏 great video bud. -the _Americans_

[@michaeldonohue1267]

Good job, well done

[@MattKonsol]

nice! I should try that out someday!

[@larrymccarty8453]

What size wire do you use

[@MMRails]

At the end it sounds like you even surprised yourself. “It works? I mean.. it works! Of course!” :) Very neat. Speaking of fixing locos. A friend of mine just bought a MASH loco that he might have burned out. Think you could look at it? He’s not an experienced modeller like you and I, so he’s a bit nervous to open it up.

[@SMTMainline]

Thanks for your comment Mark. I'm sure I could fix your friend's M*A*S*H loco, shouldn't be too hard -Harrison

[@eugenewebber535]

The brushes are always 180° apart, whereas the poles are always an odd number meaning one pole is under a brush at a time, causing the next pole to be magnetically attracted to the brush forcing the armature, (with the poles attached,) to move forward, and this process alternates back and forth causing the motor to spin/ run.

[@tommurphy4307]

beyond that- the offset is used to minimize arcing

[@tombackes9557]

Is a turn one complete wrap around a coil? So would 60 turns be 60 wraps per coil. If so in this case would a 3 pole armature have 180 wraps?

[@saxmusicmail]

For slot car motors, while we wound with fewer turns (reduces back EMF) and larger gauge wire (more current) to increase RPMs, that is not necessary for model railroad loco motors. The limit of loco power is not motor RPM or torque... the pulling power of a model loco is determined by weight of the loco, and therefore traction. Don't change that. Count the turns as they come off, use the same gauge wire and wind the same number of turns back on. Epoxy keeps the winding on the armature. But also solder to the commutator tabs with silver solder, not 60-40. Silver solder is higher temp. Stay-brite works well for this. Now for the important part... a hot motor is caused by weak magnets. Weak magnets results in having to feed more voltage and current to the motor for the desired output, and this heats it up. After rewinding and assembling the motor, send it off to a slot car shop to have the magnets zapped. I use Proslot. They have very reasonable prices and fast turnaround. I work on a lot of locos, and send in motors (even new ones) 5 to 10 at a time. If a motor has been bouncing around in a drawer for a few years, get the magnets zapped. You don't have to remove the flywheels or worm gears, but do have to remove from any motor mounts.

[@tombackes9557]

Thank you so much for the video. I will try this on my slot car arms. Do the wires need to be SCRAPED where they are soldered to the commutator tabs? Aren't the wires coated with something?

[@saxmusicmail]

@@tombackes9557 Yes, this is called "enameled wire". It has a clear coating. It must be scraped off where you solder it.

[@charlesklein7232]

clockwise or counter clockwise. in you case its looks counter clockwise for direction. HOW DOES THE SIZE OF THE WIRE MAKE A DIFFERENCE? and if you did one at 50 turns and anther at 51 would it make a difference? how accurate does it have to be? do the wires have to be "lapped" around each sequentially or do you just wind them any way around them? difficult to explain the question?

[@frankiemakinster2830]

Good job.

[@reconphil]

If you check out Ronald Dodd's channel he has a magnetizer specifically for model trains. That would complete the rebuild of a motor like this one.

[@tommurphy4307]

if theyre older magnets they need to be replaced with rare-earth magnets.

[@the_bongox9403]

Will you do another giveaway?

[@SMTMainline]

Yes, I actually already bought the item for it, there just hasn't been much time to do it.

[@michellecloydannetanada1994]

keep it up bro👍👍👍👍

[@prerupa]

could I wind the armature in a star configuration ?

[@SMTMainline]

On a 5 pole the coils overlap but on a 3 pole they are one after the other.

[@ROBERTN-ut2il]

I'd put the small parts in a container - old pill bottle, dad's old ash tray, a cleaned jar of baby food, etc - so they don't roll away and get eaten by the dog

[@zacharyneuman4179]

Is this the same process for AC motors? I have an American Flyer track maintenence car which i suspect is burned out (basically the same as an American Flyer slot car motor).

[@SMTMainline]

It's a similar idea but keep in mind they have a coil outside the motor instead of a permanent earth magnet.

[@zacharyneuman4179]

@SMTMainline Field coil looks good but the armature looks burned. These were basically Flyer's slot car motors on rails and they burned up pretty easy.

[@monsterdemolitionman1235]

hey smt can you help me find a shell and truck

[@dcliprivate]

What gauge wire did you use?

[@GreatBowlsAfire]

It looks like 36 on the spool 🤔🧐👍

[@noimnotarobotcanubeleiveit7024]

please do mote rewind videos for rewinds because everything is always indian

[@West_Cascade_Rail]

I have an old Athearn belt drive that I put new bands on, and it keeps short circuiting itself and won’t run. Could the motor be the problem?

[@SMTMainline]

It's probably the wires, are they missing their insulation washers?

[@tommurphy4307]

somebody probably cleaned between the sectors of the motor with a metal blade...

[@dickthiccem8888]

I need to know why the copper effects the electromagnetic poles of motor that way i can fully wrap my head around it

[@tommurphy4307]

copper is a good, conductive metal that is comparably cheap- that's all.

[@jonas2431]

You should get the remagnitizer

[@tommurphy4307]

along with a new, spiffy soldering iron, right?

[@rubytuesday3834]

Ok , let's start off by stripping all the wire off the armature . Ok k good. Now understand I'm going to advise demonstrate, and recommend methods of motor performance that I'll recommend. #1. Let's start off by skewing the blank armature. This is done so as to mitigate the cogging or start stop aspect of brushed motors. Next ,vtake and advance the timing by twisting the commentator a few degreetowards the direction you've decided to so as to be sure you are as fit as possible. Now, after this setuo

[@crazypete3759]

Dont worry about converting to imperial measurements. There are 195 countries in the world and only 3 of them dont use the metric system. They are Myanmar, Liberia and the USA. 3/195 = 1.54% of all the countries in the world dont use metric! Its only slightly better if you go by population. Total combined population of all three countries is 388.97 million out of a world population of 7.9 Billion. It would be around 4.9% of the world population doesnt use metric.

[@tommurphy4307]

not true- in the nissan dealers where i've worked, metric measures are used all the time. in the propeller shop where i work inspecting parts and assembling props- its never used. depends on the maker's service bulletins/publications. when i went to school in the 60's and 70's- we were taught both- as well as the popular conversion equivalents- like 25.4mm or 2.2kg.

[@raymeilak7702]

I have tried many times, and i follow the same instructions and i can never get them to work, i just can't find out what I'm doing wrong.

[@SMTMainline]

Did you wind all the coils around the same way? It won't work if they're wound backwards.

[@garymacrae5778]

I’m in Toronto and want to hire you for a small job /) how can I reach you ?

[@SMTMainline]

[e-mail]

[@christineanderson6750]

I did not know ho motors were that small

[@tommurphy4307]

N scalers think they are luxuriously huge!

[@BennyCFD]

So.... Short of mechanical damage why would would you need To rewind the motor. I've had a lot of RC cars with tons of hours on them and they still work great

[@noman4087]

He wound

[@antresia.9723]

I rewind a dc motor and it spins for 1 sec then stop then it repeat it self I look at the other 3 poles rotor I had to macth the other one. I don't understand did I do wrong I just wish I have a Friend that knows how to rewind dc Motors. I don't know how to rewind it it's hard and I tried. I'm not rewinding dc motors again it's really hard, I just leave it like that.

[@tommurphy4307]

I'M WITH YOU- BRO!

[@TRRailfan]

5 km of wire?? Now I just imagine someone walking 5 km and leaving this super long tiny wire behind them

[@johnvaluk1401]

You really need to put away grandpas solder gun and get a good small tip iron.

[@tommurphy4307]

you are about the 100th commenter to say that....

[@johnvaluk1401]

@@tommurphy4307 ok

[@sergioarroyoguerrero5434]

I need a motor for a smurf locomotive in N scale, Con Cord made in Japan. Don't work the motor.

[@robgrune3284]

this is one area where the benefit is not worth the bother. new motors are more powerful and consume less energy, and are low cost. replacing winds is a last resort when a new motor and mount cannot be found.

[@VileStorms]

I'd hate to rewind something so tiny, I did an old 3 phase coal furnace blower motor back in the "old days" of 2013 at my grandfathers motor shop

[@SMTMainline]

You must have had a lot of patience to do something like that.

[@VileStorms]

@@SMTMainline its actually not that bad, the wire was big and i had machinery to help me make the windings quickly. I also had my grandfather who had done the trade for 50+ years to help me along. Now that I think of it I'm actually sure that it was a single phase AC motor since I had to make a start winding for it. 3 phase motors don't have start windings

[@tommurphy4307]

pretty much all furnace blowers are 3-phase

[@VileStorms]

@@tommurphy4307 Not residential ones

where is 3 kilometers equal to 3 miles ..to us yanks? lolol

[@ArmandoRodriguez-qy2hu]

Just buy new arbitchors ive wound these as a professionally and they have to be tested if not they could start a fire.

[@tommurphy4307]

...but in HO scale its just a small fire.....

[@rrrailservicehoscalemodelr4734]

Thanks for the instructions; very informative.