BUD stopped moving

[rjc3895]

I've been reading several posts about reed switches, and I think this might be my problem. I'll try to send some pics to help identify this beast of a BUD. It's an old HH motor and it weighs a ton. The manufacturer was Janiel Corp. The motor model number is Janiel 180 I think. Anyway, winter was brutal on the dish and it was out of alignment. I was moving the dish east and west all day with no problems, but then the GBOX gave me an E-2 error when trying to move the dish west. I could still move the dish east. I went out and removed the cover to the gears and reed switch. Everything seemed to be connected, so I replaced the cover and went back inside, but now I get the E-2 error when I try to move the dish east or west.

I read in another post that I can test the motor by hooking it up to a car battery or a battery charger. I have a battery charger. Do I just use the alligator clips and clip it to the motor?

Also, if the reed switch is bad, I noticed a replacement switch being sold by Skyvision that looks similar to the one inside the gear box. It looks like the JGS older style reed switch. (C-band and 4DTV Satellite TV Systems, MPEG-2 and DISH Network at Skyvision).

I'll try to get photos tomorrow, but any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. I really want to save the BUD. I'm sure my neighbors are hoping I can't fix it because it's quite loud when moving.

 

[stogie5150]

There's a LOT cheaper places to get reeds than skyvision.....get the number off yours, plug it into google, and behold! LOL

If the Gbox isn't receiving counts, it won't allow you to move the dish, that is correct.

Yes, I have used a battery charger to move my dishes, put it on the 10 amp setting, unhook the motor wires FIRST, don't wanna blow up the Gbox...LOL...

That will tell you if the motor still works.

I had the same problem on my Paraclipse, no counts but motor still moved, but after a lightening storm. Put a new reed switch on it solved the problem.

There is a way to check the reed switch with a multimeter, but I am not sure about the procedure, maybe someone will come along and tell us....

 

[darkhart]

I checked my reed before installing on my BirdView. Hooked a multimeter to both leads, then set the multimeter to continuity. It showed no continuity. Passing a magnet in front of the switch shows continuity or a pulse. I am using some older reeds that I have here.

 

[B.J.]

Is the dish now stuck down at it's limit close to the horizon? If so, I doubt that it is the reed switch. The fact that you say that it makes a lot of noise, plus the age makes me think that the motor just isn't able to "lift" the dish, but it WAS able to run it down toward the horizon, until it came to it's limit. I assume this is a mount where the big gears are exposed, and if so, they tend to get rusty or dirty, and it takes more power to move the dish. Basically, if you could move it one direction, but not the other, then the reed switch was working.
Mine will do this occasionally, although mainly when it gets real cold. I get stuck down near my west horizon, and can move west, but not east. To see if this is the case, have someone run the VBOX while you're pushing on the dish in the direction it's supposed to move, and see if you can help it move. If it's able to move with help, then I'd recommend doing a thourough cleaning and lubrication of the gears.
My mount also seems to have a few rough spots on the gears, and sometimes it gets stuck other places, but usually if it gets stuck, I just run it back in the opposite direction a few clicks, then it will get past the rough spot.
Anyway, I doubt it's the reed switch. I would have thought that you'd have been getting all sorts of repeatability issues where you'd have to re-sync all the time if the reed was starting to go bad. I wouldn't think that a reed would fail so suddenly and only in one direction at first.
I agree re SkyVision being WAY overpriced on their switches, however I bought one from them a couple years ago just because I was too lazy to look for one. However the switch didn't solve my problems.

 

[rjc3895]

Thanks for the replies.

I'll clean the gears, check for any possible obstructions, and then attempt to move the dish using the battery charger trick. I also will bring the GBOX out to the receiver to make sure I don't have a problem with the cable. I'd hate to do all of this work just to discover it was a bad connection between the BUD and the GBOX.

 

[rjc3895]

Thanks for everyone's help. I hooked up a 10 Amp 6/12V battery charger, selected 12V, and had enough juice to move the dish (very slowly). So the motor was fine. Next I checked the reed switch. Right away I noticed one wire had broken off from the splice connector. I fixed this and had movement in one direction. I decided to remove the other splice connector and rewire it as well. That did the trick. The reed switch wires are brittle, so my guess is that the wire broke off inside the splice connector.

I plan to look for a new reed switch just to have one on standby in case the wire breaks again.

RJC