Powrtouch mover repair

This post is only going to be useful to you if you have a reasonable amount of mechanical ability, basic electrics and the appropriated sockets, allan keys and other kit. You will also need plenty of cleaning cloths together with cleaning fluid and a tub of general purpose grease.

I have a series 4 mover on our van. It is a brilliant piece of kit but has just suffered a horrible event.

I was moving the van on site getting ready to leave. There was a dip in the hard standing of the sort that had never bothered the mover before. However, it seemed to get stuck, there were some intermittent jerks then an awful grinding, crunching noise. That side of the mover stopped working although I could hear the motor turning.

Reverting back to the old way, I got the van hitched up and we came home. I served a proper apprenticeship, which reveals my age, so after reviewing Powrtouch's very helpful website, I set about taking the mover apart.

Cutting to the chase, I found that there is a coupling between the electric motor and the primary (worm and wheel) gearbox. The coupling, which is made of aluminium with a rubber type shock absorber, had broken up.

I called Powrtouch and explained the situation - I needed a new coupling. No deal! You must buy the whole assembly at the very reasonable price (!) of £150. However, it was sort of hinted that golf buggies use the same kind of connector between motor and gearbox. I declined the offer of buying a new assembly and did a tinternet search for golf buggy couplings.I found one and bought it for a fiver on the chance that it would fit. It did - perfectly.

The next issue was to discover why the original had broken. From the conversation I had with Powrtouch, I got the impression that this happens not infrequently so it was important to discover the reason and prevent a repetition. The very simple answer is pure, old fashioned dirt. The bearings of the roller that contacts the tyre had become almost seized up with the ingress of years of dust and grit. When it was dismantled from the whole assembly, it was difficult to turn, I gave the bearings a good washing of lubricant which transformed it into a form of spinning top. I also noticed that there was quite a lot of small grit in the teeth of the secondary gears which wouldn't have helped. The combination of the two were obviously too much for my coupling.

So how does all of this help you? Get a tin of WD40 with a little straw thing that fits. Run the motor mover forwards and backwards (without actually engaging it to the wheel) whilst spraying at the ends of the roller. The idea is to flush out accumulated dirt and grit from the very simple bearings. Of course, be somewhat careful not to get WD40 on your tyre as it doesn't help their well-being or longevity.

Dismantling the mover is neither as simple or as clean as the Powrmover site suggests, but Percy Veerence and some agility is a big help if you call on his services. Remember lots of grease on the sliders when you reassemble!

I hope this helps someone. (Oh, if you think that I am wrong or want to talk about warranties, T and Cs or other negative comments, please keep them to yourself. The result will not help your self esteem.)