[Noisebridge-discuss] Elevator repair

[jim]

    maybe next trip to the j-box, bring a rag and 
see if cleaning contacts helps--who knows, maybe 
there's a bug caught there (we can call it Grace). 


On Tue, 2011-02-01 at 06:12 -0800, Jake wrote:
> Okay so Monday night, Rachel and I climbed through the hatch in the 
> cieling of the elevator, just like in the movies, and stood on top of the 
> thing to figure out why it doesn't let itself be called when it's there.
> 
> I was right that there is a switch activated when the elevator is at the 
> top of its travel, but that's like a foot higher than our floor and is not 
> being triggered.  The button that is being triggered is the same kind 
> however, and is in a metal junction box and its arm has a roller bearing 
> on it and is very serious like you would expect.
> 
> http://spaz.org/~jake/pix/elevator.jpg
> 
> My theory now is that inside that junction box is either one Dual-Pole 
> microswitch (two sets of contacts) or two separate microswitches, and one 
> of them is failing intermittently.
> 
> One of them makes the elevator stop at our floor, and is working.  The 
> other tells the system the elevator has arrived and is ready to go and is 
> not making contact all the time.  Apparently this also happens on the 
> second floor.
> 
> I say the solution is to open either the safety switchbox above and 
> examine the microswitches inside, and order two or three of them, or do 
> the same to the actual switchbox that stops our elevator which presumably 
> has the same switches in it anyway.
> 
> When we open the switchbox below it, whether to examine it or to put in 
> the new switches (buttons technically) we will do so by moving the 
> elevator down from our floor, hit STOP after a couple of feet, and then 
> climb out the ceiling hole to access the switchbox of our floor by 
> standing on top of the elevator again.  Because we can't access the 
> switchbox while the elevator is properly stopped on our floor.
> 
> There is a mechanism to prevent opening the internal gate of the elevator 
> when not on a proper floor but it doesn't work, and if it did we could 
> easily bypass it by tugging a cable on top of the elevator while opening 
> the gate, so that elevator repairpersons could take a break and get a 
> kombucha while not finished fixing the elevator, while it's 2 feet low.
> 
> Note that when i say switches, i am talking about momentary switches also 
> known as buttons, most likely "micro switches" made of Bakelite with a 
> lever arm and a clicky noise, but we won't know until we open one of the 
> boxes.  I should have done that Monday night (the topmost box) and taken 
> pictures so that someone could go to the elevator parts store.  Whatever.
> 
> Someone should make an elevator repair wiki and put these posts on it.
> 
> -jake
> 
> > Wait you debugged the elevator?  Let's fix it then!  Having it actually
> > work properly would be the best solution.  I'll be happy to be the one
> > to Do it if you can show me this microswitch of which you speak.
> 
> i am just mentally picturing the problem.  The elevator comes to our
> floor, which is the top floor, and there's a button "A" on the rail to
> keep it from going too far.  There is another button "B" which tells the
> system that it's on the third floor, and is ready to be called to another
> floor because it's done moving around.  The button "A" is being triggered
> before button "B" and the elevator stops moving before it really "arrives"
> at the third floor.
> 
> When one goes in there and presses the 3 button again, the button bypasses
> the stop switch for long enough to run the motor enough to bump it up a
> quarter-inch until it presses button "B" telling the system it's arrived
> at the third floor and everything is okay.
> 
> It might not be as simple as adjustment however, because it could be that
> the capacitor or diode protecting the buttons' contacts from the inductive
> kick of the relay it triggers has failed to protect the button contacts,
> and the button needs to be replaced.  Only an elevator-repairfolk will
> have the exact correct replacement button, and really know how to adjust
> it.
> 
> As much as I would be okay with getting covered in grease and mouse-shit
> trying to find both buttons and adjusting them, and hoping that the
> problem is only adjustment (which is slightly unlikely) i think it's
> probably better to have the repair made by the professional.  However if
> the landlord/property owner flat-out says that they'd rather us try to fix
> it first, we should go for it.
> 
> But at this point, with the elevators' behavior properly sussed out (the
> note on the door is excellent) it should be easy for a repairperson to do
> the job without wasting too much time.
> 
> -jake
> 
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