a question not related to macs

[falen5]

Hi Folks - sorry for this question but Im fixing the radiator fan on my car -i opened up the 12 volt DC motor to find there were 2 inductors going to the brushes that melted and disintegrated basically

2 copper coils with a carbon rod within them

I bypassed them , wiring from the +/- coming in , straight to the brushes and now the motor is working again.

what would their function have been

 

[falen5]

found it - " Inductors are used in 12V DC motors to suppress voltage spikes and harmonics, which can generate Radio Frequency Interference".

i dont use the radio so i should be good to go

 

[Arbee]

How old is the car? If it's a classic with no electronics besides the radio that's fine. If it's got computer modules and a CAN bus, the interference could potentially mess with all that stuff.

 

[dv-]

Depending on the car, a new radiator fan might not be very expensive. FWIW. Salvage yards FTW. Check out car-part.com.

 

[falen5]

Oh I should'nt have posted this - i was in the middle of trying to fix it and just had to know... no paitence

anyway - it turned out that some of the coil windings on the rotor had gone short - this overloaded the inducters and fried them - when i bypassed them and ran the motor it worked again ....... for a bit ...... then i noticed the 2 heavy wires i was holding , feeding the 12 volts was getting hotter and hotter , then the motor got slower and slower , as the motor housing got hotter and hotter as well ........... motor is cooked and for the bin

collecting a replacement from breakers tomorrow

thanks for your help folks - and i promise no more off topic posts