[Noisebridge-discuss] Elevator repair

[Griffin Boyce]

There's quite a lot of dust buildup there. I wonder if it would be worth it
to wear a mask and try to blow some of that excess out. I wonder if there
could be a problem with overheating or contact issues due to this.

~Griffin

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



Be the change you want to see in the world.
~Mahatma Gandhi
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