iFixit

Removing the speed sensor.

• Aptly named, the speed sensor monitors the speed of the spinning shaft. Should things get out of hand, the sensor will shut off the motor.

The speed sensor uses inductive pickup to tell the control circuitry how fast the shaft is spinning. Inductive pickup is triggered by ferrous metal passing by in close proximity, causing a current to be induced in the pickup. This is really the same effect used by an electric guitar to pick up the string vibrations.

Blendtec informed us that the Total Blender includes what they call a "hammer-fire" system. The main microprocessor will trigger this system if it detects that the blade stopped spinning. The processor will send a series of strong electric pulses with the intent to free the blades from the obstruction. If that fails, it will shut off the motor to prevent any damage.

Remove two Phillips screws (of the four holding together the entire device) from the brush/slip ring housing.

These puppies didn't come out without a fight.

No wonder why -- they're over 3" long! Containing the inertia of the rotor spinning at 28,000 rpm is kind of important.

Remove the single nut from the fan end of the shaft.

A 3/8" Allen wrench conveniently fits into the splines at the other end of the shaft, making the nut removal a snap.

After removing the nut, the fan simply lifts off the shaft.

Use a flat blade screwdriver to 'walk' each of the two brass brush housings away from the motor shaft.

After the brass brush housings are separated from their housing, the brush spade connectors simply slide out.

Removing the brush/slip ring housing exposes the support ball bearings at the tail of the motor shaft.

The brass brush housing is connected to the pure carbon brush with a braided copper wire.

The carbon brushes normally wear out before the rest of the motor.

Lifting the stator out of the Blendtec.

The weld connecting the stack of metal plates creating the frame of the stator is just plain beautiful.

Tracing the small black wire to the bottom of the stator and peeling back the tape reveals...

A thermistor!

The thermistor is used to monitor the temperature of the windings to avoid meltdown.

• We're told that the motor temperature has to reach a maximum of 130 degrees Celsius (266 degrees Fahrenheit) before being shut off!