OTHER What happened to my motor?

Ectron1

Active SatelliteGuys Member
Sep 26, 2021
17
18
Indiana
Howdy,

I was out in the yard and noticed my dish turned almost full lock to the west. I pressed the manual button and it moved a couple degrees then stopped, now its completely unresponsive. The light is showing orange, reset does nothing. I've tried a different receiver but still no response.

IMG-7282.jpg
 

primestar31

SatelliteGuys Master
Lifetime Supporter
Mar 15, 2005
13,567
14,029
Beta Omicron Delta III
Howdy,

I was out in the yard and noticed my dish turned almost full lock to the west. I pressed the manual button and it moved a couple degrees then stopped, now its completely unresponsive. The light is showing orange, reset does nothing. I've tried a different receiver but still no response.

View attachment 161435
Are there East and West buttons right ON the motor? If so, try those to see if you can get it to move.
 

Ectron1

Active SatelliteGuys Member
Sep 26, 2021
17
18
Indiana
Are there East and West buttons right ON the motor? If so, try those to see if you can get it to move.
It only has one button. A single press turns it west and 2 quick presses moves it east, It does neither. I'm not sure what phenomenon occurred to make it embark on its own mission, but its completely non responsive now.
Can I apply 18 vdc to the coax and power it that way or will that mess it up worse than it already is?
 

Titanium

AI6US
Lifetime Supporter
May 23, 2013
7,650
9,065
Meadow Vista, Northern California
Measure the DC power at the motor on the coax coming from your STB. Horizontal polarity voltage? Vertical polarity voltage? Measure under load if possible.

Disconnect the coax at the motor that loops through to the LNBF? Does the motor move with the manual button with LNBF coax disconnected?

Clean all coax connections with DeoxIT, apply a cap of dielectric grease and retighten. Often a corroded fitting can cause problems with motors and movement.

Does the motor LED blink when a motor move instruction (DiSEqC) is sent from the STB?

12 - 19Vdc can be inserted directly to the motor STB port. Disconnect the STB. Positive polarity to the center stinger and negative to the shield.
 

Ectron1

Active SatelliteGuys Member
Sep 26, 2021
17
18
Indiana
I tried most of the above suggestions, but still no response from the motor. I took it inside and tried powering it on the bench and its dead. The light is orange not green and it does blink when i hit the manual button just no movement. I may take it apart at some point and investigate further.
I've been contemplating removing it and changing over to multiple lnb's anyway, so I guess this is the straw that broke the camels back lol
 

Ectron1

Active SatelliteGuys Member
Sep 26, 2021
17
18
Indiana
Sometimes the relays on the motor printboard get "stuck". Tapping on them releases that (temporarily). So maybe you can check that.

greetz,
A33

I figured I'd give an update. Recently I had some time and took apart the motor to check it out, and sure enough the contacts on the eastbound relay were toast. I ordered a new pair from Digikey and its working like new again. Something i noticed though is with the motor removed the gear lash was set so tight it was difficult to turn even with a screw driver, possibly what caused such a load on the contacts? I eased the gear lash up a bit, so hopefully these relays will last a little longer than the originals.