Mount Drive Motor Spare for Celestron Astro-Fi 5"

[Multiverse]

Trying to locate a replacement 12V motor/encoder for the mount for a Celestron SCT Astro-Fi 5". Have tried the Celestron website spare parts section but not listed & Jaycar doesn't seem to offer this type. Motor has no manufacturer markings, much Googling unfortunately hasn't helped.

I have attached photos, anyone have the name of the maker or supplier that Celestron uses?

Thanks.

[Multiverse]

Is it the case that people just send the mount off to Celestron to do the job? Obviously I would like to avoid this as the job is simple to DIY.

[RyanJones]

This motor/encoder looks the same as the Nexstar 4 mount motors. Is it the RA or Dec motor ? I have a mount here that I can pull apart to check numbers for you if you can give me the numbers on yours ? If it is the same motor, I know Celestron have the Nexstar ones on their spares page. PM if you like ? I'm happy to have a look for you.

[Multiverse]

Hi Ryan, it was the Dec motor but it is now the RA drive motor (have now swapped the motors over) - it wouldn't give the torque anymore to drive Dec but drives RA ok. I may have previously overloaded the OTA with accessories (star-sense camera etc) that I have since removed. The telescope operates perfectly now but don't know how long this motor will now last (was noisy when run alone on workbench). As mentioned, can't see any numbers on motors unfortunately. Thanks for your offer, if you could get a close-up photo of yours it would be appreciated.

Grant

[RyanJones]

I'll pull the mount apart tomorrow for you and take some pics for you for comparison. I'm not sure how your setup is clutched or what bearings or bearing surfaces it uses but I was constantly modifying mine to make it smoother. I found that once it became a little loose on the bearing surface for the RA , the screws that actually hold the motor protrude slightly and bind on the surface underneath putting excessive load on the rotation on that axis. Might be worth a look. Watch this space for pics tomorrow.....

[RyanJones]

Looks the same to me Grant.

This pic from the top side shows the wiring looks the same too apart from the fact mine has a suppressor around it.

[RyanJones]

I took another one showing the motor mount spacing too for you to compare. It appears to be about 42mm

[Multiverse]

Thanks for taking the time Ryan, great info there.
Looks the same alright, funny how no part number stamped on them though.
The only motor I could find that was close is in link below, but complete motor/gearbox assembly & wiring different too.
https://www.celestron.com/products/motor-assy-azmra-for-the-nexstar-45se-series-only

Do you have link to motor you mentioned earlier?
Cheers, Grant

[RyanJones]

I don't have the link I'm sorry but I see what you mean about the one listed being quite different. I think when I looked I either saw that and thought an integrated motor and aluminium gearbox would be a good upgrade or I found one elsewhere on the net. Might have even been eBay. I'll do a bit of research and see if I can trigger some memory cells. Good thing is now you have another model to search for as well.

To be honest, my search was purely because I was about to MoU t nearly 5.5kg on it and if I broke it I wanted to know I could replace it lol

[Multiverse]

All good Ryan.
Aquired what I needed when I dropped in at Bintel Sydney, whole assembly but that's ok. They said it the same motor/assembly as what's used in Nexstar SLT?
It just threw me that I couldn't find what I wanted on Celestron website.
Thanks again, Grant

[RyanJones]

Glad you got to the bottom of it Grant.

You're welcome :)

[Multiverse]

Just an update to let beginners like me know how easy the job is.
I've fitted new components, motor/gearbox come as complete assembly.
Just needed to use my existing housing piece for the output gear to sit in - see photo. Telescope tested, all running very smoothly now.
Moral of the story is have your OTA balanced & don't exceed your mount's loading specs with too many accessory bolt-on's!