# HSS928 Electric Chute Teardown



## jeffNB (Nov 5, 2015)

A few members of the forum are considering purchasing the parts to add OEM-style electric chutes to their previous-generation HS machines. Today, I took pictures to document the teardown of my electric chute on my new HSS928. It has only two hours on it. 

It is a balmy day, perfect for snowblower work. My machine is stored in an unheated garage, so it makes no difference whether the work is done outside or inside. 









The plastic housing is fastened with six special bolts. The entire teardown is completed with 10MM sockets and wrenches. The right side bolts are circled. 
Two of the mounting bolts fasten directly into the arguer housing and have their threads exposed on the other side of the auger housing. Those will be given a liberal coat of Never-Seize during re-assembly. 









Here is a view of the left side. 









Here is a closeup view of the special bolts with the shoulder. 









Here is the electric chute mechanism exposed after cover removal. The two power window motors can be seen. The wiring harness exiting to the other side of the auger housing is for the auger protection system switch. Note how the chute ring gear is laden with snow and ice after a couple of uses. As it is impossible to prevent snow buildup in this area I will be coating the area heavily with Fluid Film or 20W-50 oil. The trick will be to provide an easy release for the ice when it does form. 









Here is a closeup of the chute ring gear and two of the chute rotation motor bracket bolts (10MM head). There are three fasteners for the chute motor rotation bracket. The third fastener is a 10MM nut. 









Here is the bottom side of the chute rotation motor bracket after removal. Once the three fasteners are removed and the motor electrical connector disconnected, it can be removed. Two of the rightmost fasteners have elongated holes so that the bracket can be adjusted for proper mesh between the driving gear and the chute ring gear. The motor is fastened to the bracket with three 8mm head bolts. 









The motors are made by Mitsuba. This supplier is often seen on Honda/Acura vehicle components. 









Once the chute angle motor and bracket is removed, the chute deflection motor and bracket can be removed. Three 10mm head flanged nuts are securing it. 









Here is a view of the chute deflection tip cable routing and connection. 









Here is the underside of the deflector motor bracket. The end of the cable is located to a plastic pulley. 









Here is a view of the chassis with the motor mechanisms removed. The mounting bosses will be the most difficult to to retrofit. They are welded to the auger and impeller housings. 









Here is another view of the mounting bosses. 









The motor electrical connection is a sealed, automotive-style connector. The connector has provisions for six terminals (two large and four small), but only the two larger ones are used. 










I did some electrical measurements of the voltage and current supplied to the motors. The open circuit voltage is about 25 Volts DC at full engine RPM. There is about a volt or two AC component in the voltage. The open-circuit 25 volts is not surprising for an un-regulated supply, generated with coils and magnets. I suspect that it would settle down to a nominal 12~14 volts when loaded. I didn't want to pierce the wire insulation, nor did I have anything to backprobe the connector to measure the loaded voltage. 

The current draw for the rotation motor is 5 amps during normal use and 15 amps when stalled at the rotation limit. 

Here is a photo of the motor with the magnet housing removed. This the Achilles heel of the Honda electric chute system - water ingress to the electric motor. I replaced on of these a few years ago on my father's HS and the inside of the motor was one big, green corroded mess. It is for that reason that I have a spare motor on order. 









Luckily, Honda uses a formed rubber seal for the magnet housing. I cannot remember if this was used on the previous-generation HS machines. 









Seen on other photos is a short piece of vacuum line that extends the power window motor vent port. I am not sure if they are venting the motor or the motor gearcase area. Maybe they are at the same atmospheric pressure with no seal between the two. When I first saw the vent hose, I thought it could be used to drip oil into is to lubricate the gear case, but one does not want to get oil on the brushes or commutator. 

Here is a close-up of what I believe is an internal automatic-resetting circuit breaker inside the motor. The screwdriver is pointing to it. 









The those considering replacing or retrofitting their power window motors with something from an automotive junkyard or an aftermarket part, the bolt center spacing is 50MM. Canadian retailer Princess Auto always has surplus power window motors in their surplus section. I will be checking to see if they are close to the OEM Honda motor. 









Another photo to show the motor dimensions. The output shaft of the motor is not perfectly centred in a line between the two mounting holes. 









The pitch of the driving gear is about 7MM. The gear looks like it is a bronze or brass gear. It is not as it is magnetic. Probably cadmium plated. 









That is the end of the teardown. Since there is not a flake of precipitation forecast for the balance of January, I will leave it disassembled in case somebody wants a different photo or measurement taken.

Jeff


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## bwdbrn1 (Nov 24, 2010)

Thanks for doing this. I know a lot of members have been anxious to see the inside of the set up.

BTW, the quality of your photos is excellent, so I deleted your test thread.


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## Cardo111 (Feb 16, 2015)

Excellent thread, I don't own this very nice machine but appreciate the inside look at the chute system along with all the detail and great photos.


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## mikeinri (Mar 16, 2015)

Wow, that is outstanding! Thank you so much! 

It's sort of amazing to me to see some of the ideas here, Honda certainly a different approach than I would have expected. Hopefully those tight tolerances (freeze/thaw of snow and ice) and proximity of electronics to water don't cause issues.

I have a few questions...

Are the two motors the same (draw, etc.) as one another?

Are there any limit switches?

Can you test the motors, with a meter connected, to figure out how they are stopping at the end of travel? Bonus points for video of this, LOL.. 

How thick is that chute motor gear?

Can you take the deflector motor assembly apart so we can see how the cable is terminated behind that pulley?

Can you show us the guts of the joystick controls?

Thanks again!

Mike


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## jeffNB (Nov 5, 2015)

mikeinri said:


> Are the two motors the same (draw, etc.) as one another?


The motors are identical with the same part number listed in the Honda parts literature. 



mikeinri said:


> Are there any limit switches?
> 
> Can you test the motors, with a meter connected, to figure out how they are stopping at the end of travel? Bonus points for video of this, LOL..


There are no limit switches. At the end of the travel, the motors stall and draw 15 amps. If the joystick control is enganged while the motor is the stalled position, I assume the internal circuit breaker will eventually open to protect the motor windings. 

Most car power window systems don't have limit switches, either. The auto up/down process is accomplished by current-sampling the electrical supply to the motor. When the current spikes, the motor is de-energized. 



mikeinri said:


> How thick is that chute motor gear?


The gear is 5mm thick. 



mikeinri said:


> Can you take the deflector motor assembly apart so we can see how the cable is terminated behind that pulley?


See the photo below. The black gear has a deep groove in which the cable is located. I have highlighted the cable path in yellow. The cable is terminated in with a barrel-type end. To remove the cable, loosen the cable nut and swing the cable 180 degrees and the cable termination will slide up and clear of the black gear. 














mikeinri said:


> Can you show us the guts of the joystick controls?


I will take some pictures of that area on the weekend. By the time I get home from work, it is dark. Not good for picture-taking. 

Jeff


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

_*Jeff*_,
What camera are you using?, the quality of the pictures is amazing.


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## jeffNB (Nov 5, 2015)

hsblowersfan said:


> _*Jeff*_,
> What camera are you using?, the quality of the pictures is amazing.


I am using an older Nikon D40 digital SLR. All photos were taken using available light. I hate using a flash and avoid it whenever possible. 

Jeff


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## jeffNB (Nov 5, 2015)

As promised, here is a photo of the joystick control. 

It is mounted to the plastic control panel with three 8mm head bolts. There are two connectors pictured. The larger one in the foreground is the connector for the joystick control. The smaller on in the background is the connector for the hour meter/auger protection circuit.


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## mikeinri (Mar 16, 2015)

Cool, thanks for the additional information, Jeff!

Mike


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## S_trangeBrew (Jan 12, 2016)

Looks well made. I'm really enjoying the joystick controls on my HSS1332ATD. Hopefully I never have to open it up.

Didn't know they put the Auger protection on the 928 in Canada. The American version doesn't get it.


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## Fishstick487 (Aug 11, 2015)

Are owners of new HSS models happy with the speed of the electric chute control? I've seen a couple You-tube videos of the chute in action and it seems pretty slow. I'm imagining trying to change chute direction if the winds change? Manual systems seem to be much faster. Is the chute speed seem ok, or is it irritatingly slow? Any opinions?


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## jeffNB (Nov 5, 2015)

Fishstick487 said:


> Are owners of new HSS models happy with the speed of the electric chute control?


It could be faster. It is really slow when the engine is operated at a speed less than the maximum-governed speed of 3,600 RPM. In the summer, I am going to investigate the possibility of powering the motors from the battery. That way, the chute motor speed should be the same regardless of engine speed. 

Jeff


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## [email protected] (Nov 21, 2011)

jeffNB said:


> It is really slow when the engine is operated at a speed less than the maximum-governed speed of 3,600 RPM.


Headed off topic from the OP, but...

For top performance from both the propulsion drive and auger/fan, always keep the throttle set to FAST, and if needed, measure/adjust to confirm the engine is @ 3,600. Anything less and you're robbing the auger, impeller, and transmission of horsepower. 

Can anyone tell me a fair reason to turn the throttle down from FAST to mid-point or all the way SLOW when operating the snow blower? Perhaps if you need to step away for a moment to clear the path...?


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## mikeinri (Mar 16, 2015)

I'm really glad you asked that question, I've wondered the same thing after reading some threads here. Seems there are quite a few people who believe you get more torque at lower engine RPMs, and that you'll use less gas doing the same job. Does that make sense to anyone else?

Mike


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## mobiledynamics (Nov 21, 2014)

During operating, I always have them WFO - wide f'en open


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## SnowG (Dec 5, 2014)

mobiledynamics said:


> During operating, I always have them WFO - wide f'en open


+1 

WOT - Wide Open Throttle.

I'm no engineer but I know there's a horsepower curve and a torque curve, and assume the engineers who designed the machine to have a governor chose the right engine speed for that setting.


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## SnowG (Dec 5, 2014)

Fishstick487 said:


> Are owners of new HSS models happy with the speed of the electric chute control? I've seen a couple You-tube videos of the chute in action and it seems pretty slow. I'm imagining trying to change chute direction if the winds change? Manual systems seem to be much faster. Is the chute speed seem ok, or is it irritatingly slow? Any opinions?


I tried an HSS1332 in the dealer lot and thought it was slower than I'd like. The mod I did on my HS928 (using the 190 RPM power seat motor as described in another thread http://www.snowblowerforum.com/foru...0393-retrofit-powered-chute-older-models.html ) is a better speed, IMHO. 

The HSS is still w-a-a-a-y better than the manual crank, but I think there's room for optimization with different gearing.


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## mikeinri (Mar 16, 2015)

I saw a video of someone reviewing an HSS1132, and it looked like the chute rotation was fast enough. Not as fast as the recent home-builts, but not terribly slow. And, as mentioned above, MUCH better than the manual crank!!!

Mike


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## jrom (Jan 10, 2014)

For what I call regular snow blowing, like straight line clearing, the speed is just fine. 

Where I'm having a bit of trouble adjusting to is at the EOD where I can now spin around on a dime, but changing chute directions can't keep up with the spin around speed. At junctions and "Y's" is also a bit too slow for me. 

While I don't like bending down to crank the chute on my 828, I am pretty fast with it. Quite a bit faster than the new one.


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## Optical_Man (Oct 26, 2015)

Fishstick487 said:


> Are owners of new HSS models happy with the speed of the electric chute control?


The chute rotation speed is fine with me. Any faster would make it difficult to accurately point.

What I'd really like is a mod or button that I can quickly hit to toggle between 2 different memory settings. That way I wouldn't have to stop every time I turn the machine around to match the chute with the wind direction.


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## jeffNB (Nov 5, 2015)

[email protected] said:


> Can anyone tell me a fair reason to turn the throttle down from FAST to mid-point or all the way SLOW when operating the snow blower?


I do it all the time. Been doin' it for twenty years with my old HS. Here's why:

*Noise*
If I am up early in the morning, making the driveway passable for our morning commute, I will run the governor at a lower speed. The neighbours work odd shifts and I don't like to make more noise than necessary. When the snow accumulation is only a few inches, full governor speed is not necessary. 

*Trajectory*
I live in an urban area with a 65' lot width. Last winter, the snow was piled up on the lawn to a height higher than me. When doing the walkway next to this bank, I had to adjust the chute deflector to its maximum height to clear the bank. If the governor was at full speed, the output of the blower would arc and land on the neighbour's driveway. 

In the same season, at times, the EOD was a pile of 2" ice meteorites. To deposit the output on my front lawn safely, I needed to reduce the governor speed, otherwise it would take out the windows of my house or the cars parked next door. Many years ago, I was accused when a passing-by Dodge Caravan's rear window exploded when I was doing the EOD. 

If the job demands full horsepower and therefore full RPM, that's where I operate the governor. It would be a different story for me if I lived in suburbia or the country and wasn't concerned about where the output landed. 

I have a 280 horsepower engine in the Acura that sits in the driveway. It only produces 280 horsepower if I _need_ it. I don't commute with the tach pinned on the redline. 

Besides, if the machine was intended top operate at full governed speed at all times, then Honda would have utilized a fixed speed governor as used on the HS720. 

Jeff


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## db9938 (Nov 17, 2013)

jeffNB said:


> I do it all the time. Been doin' it for twenty years with my old HS. Here's why:
> 
> *Noise*
> If I am up early in the morning, making the driveway passable for our morning commute, I will run the governor at a lower speed. The neighbours work odd shifts and I don't like to make more noise than necessary. When the snow accumulation is only a few inches, full governor speed is not necessary.
> ...


Off topic: it looks like you are boring a tunnel in limestone with that picture.


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

_*jeffNB*_,

Sound like you need a very tall chute with triple chute deflector to place the snow where you want it while using the blower at WOT.

I (like most people) use all my OPE at WOT when operating them. 

I undestand the noise factor, but if you are cleaning snow, I would expect that the neighbors should undestand (plus Honda engines are not that noisy).

For not throwing snow to far, that is what the deflector is for (except if over a tall bank)

Should a manufacturer come out with a variable impeller speed for this purpose, so that the engine could be use at WOT and achieve a variable trhowing distance. Just thought of it. :smiley-confused009:


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## jeffNB (Nov 5, 2015)

db9938 said:


> Off topic: it looks like you are boring a tunnel in limestone with that picture.


It was brutal that night. The walkway was drifted in with super dense snow. The snow had to be knocked down with a shovel and then blown. 

That was the same location same conditions where I broke three teeth inside the right transmission. 

Here is a pic going in the opposite direction. 









Here is a pic from last winter documenting the efforts to uncover a mini split heatpump. The snow was so dense, not even plastic nor metal snow shovels would touch it. We had to use a spade.


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## db9938 (Nov 17, 2013)

Your parts breakdown was pretty brave for a new machine. Interestingly, I noticed some bosses that were tapped on my 622, that had my spidey senses thinking that they might be there for an electric rotator. Your measurements of the motor mounts have now given me another reason to go out to the garage, and take a look under the cover for a potential mod...... This place always leads me down that dark path, the garage.


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## jrom (Jan 10, 2014)

db9938 said:


> ... This place always leads me down that dark path, the garage.


Great quote.


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## repaso (Jan 6, 2021)

Fishstick487 said:


> Are owners of new HSS models happy with the speed of the electric chute control? I've seen a couple You-tube videos of the chute in action and it seems pretty slow. I'm imagining trying to change chute direction if the winds change? Manual systems seem to be much faster. Is the chute speed seem ok, or is it irritatingly slow? Any opinions?


It is extremely slow. Irritating to say the least. Toro and Ariens have a much better design. They are manual and super fast.


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## Johnny G1 (Jan 28, 2020)

Being an owner of a HSS928 with 15 hrs on it, I would say they are slow and wondered about hooking them to the battery???


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