Quoted from preore:Last night I noticed a squealing noise coming from my crane when moving. I don't see anything obviously rubbing. Any ideas? Could it be the motor going out? Is there anything that needs to be lubricated? Or even could be? I think the motor is sealed. If I need a new one, any suggestions on where to order from?
Thanks for any help you can provide.
I had this symptom with mine. The screeching noise was coming from the can motor that drives the crane assembly and no amount of lubrication helped (I know...sounds like a personal problem!). I used to be into electric RC planes and realized the crane motor was physically the same as some of those motors laying around. I carefully removed the pinion gear from the shaft of the old motor and attached it to the shaft of the new motor, then re-installed the new motor. Did a quick test before putting the whole assembly back in the machine and it worked with no screeching. BUT...in the machine the crane operated way too fast! I had not thought about the electrical specs of the new motor being different and hence the new motor was operating at many more RPMs than original given the same power! It took some tinkering, but I ended up adding some resistance to the motor circuit to slow it down. Works like a champ now!
Anyway, that is my experience with a screeching crane motor for what it is worth! I am not sure if you can order just the motor (it would be nice to know the specs if so) but I think you can still find the whole assembly that includes the motor (much more expensive than a $3 can motor!).