I just wanted to post a reply to an old thread as this helped me fix the squeaking noise in my fantastic vent 3350 motor.
https://www.irv2.com/forums/f103/fan...ml#post4698270
Quote:
Originally Posted by dugbot
I know this is an old thread, but squeaks know no time limit!
In 2015 I bought the top of the line Fantastic Vent 7350 with variable speed, remote, etc. and had a squeak issue at low speed soon after. This is in a home made teardrop so trying to sleep under it was a problem. I contacted the supplier and they sent a whole new assembly, which worked for the rest of the season, but then slowly started squeaking again. I finally had time to look at it this year (and had the old assembly to test) and after a fiddling with lubricating the lower bearing (without disassembly) with no luck, took a new approach. Reading earlier comments from rjkovach I looked at disassembling, but these low profile 8017A-03 motors seem to be pressed together and very difficult to pull apart, so instead I removed the rubber grommet around the wires and gained a small view port to the brushes, which it turns out are the source of the noise.
To do this without damage, I first pushed the wires into the motor 1/4" or so and then with a small flat screw driver, pried out one corner of the rubber. It's fatter inside, so it took a fair bit of prying, all the while being careful not to put stress/pull the wires as they seem to be directly connected to the brushes without further anchor. Once the rubber grommet was just out I pushed the wire further through (don't pull the rubber, push the wires), until I could see the armature.
With some spin testing I was able to determine the brushes were the most likely source of the noise. My plan then was to spray a very small amount of lubricant on the armature and see if that helped. I used good'ol WD40 and sprayed the absolute least amount I could through the thin red tube inserted at an angle directly at the armature. The amount would barley get the end of your finger wet. DO NOT use graphite as that is conductive!! Immediately all hints of the squeak were gone. I then pushed the rubber down to be flush with the outside of the housing, but did not re-insert the rubber as I think this may need to be repeated every season or so... too soon to tell.
This was done on my old assembly, so I then went out and repeated the process on my teardrop. After prying the rubber grommet out, I turned the fan on 10%, could hear the squeak, which also became louder/quieter by wiggling the wires, and then sprayed the tiny amount of WD40 at the armature while it was still running and immediately the squeak was gone.
So, success! But no guarantee, just my solution with some risk of damaging the motor if not careful. As a bonus, don't need to unscrew anything, just need access from the top.
There is a risk of gunk/dirt buildup with time, and if you don't put the grommet back in, and the wires got pulled somehow, that could toast the motor, but I'll take those risks for a good night's sleep!!!
Hope this helps someone else,
Doug
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This bloke is an absolute legend !!!
I have a fan-tastic vent 3350 that is a few years old. The squeaking was driving me nuts. I pulled out the rubber grommet around the two wires (this tore as it is quite old). I was then able to spray in some white lithium grease using the thin straw that was on my spray bottle.
This immediately improved the noise. I then connected it to power, while it was just in my hand and not in the mounting bracket. Then I turned on power to the motor and moved it around so that the grease could work it's way into everything.
Another two sprays of grease and it's like new again.
I have put some silicone around the wires to protect them from water ingress.
I will agree with previous comments that this may not be a permanent solution, but I suspect that with regular service I can probably get a few more years of life out of this motor.
Before I had a loud squeak at the lowest setting, 10%. Now the motor is completely silent at 25% and only starts to make a whisper quiet noise at 40%.
If you are about to replace your motor, try this first !!
Linear Mode
