The wife kill my dish actuator

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Chewie

Chewie

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
Jan 12, 2009
352
199
California
Hello Guys
My wife was working on the yard today and and digging on the ground with the shovel and hit the actuator wire, now when I try to move the dish to another satellite it just clicks one time and moves a step and the ASC1 displays
Reach W/E LIMITS
limit switch? sensor?
Motor blocked ?
Is this means the actuator sensor shorted out?, I check the wires and I noticed the wire plastic insulation was cut but the wire was not.
Any ideas will be appreciated.
Regards.
Tunder
 
This means the ASC1 is not getting a return signal from the actuator.
This could be one of two things.
The sensor wire is cut somewhere. So the ASC1 is not seeing that the actuator is moving. Is the actuator moving when you bump it this way?
If so it is what I said.
Second it could be that a motor wire was cut, so the actuator really is not moving.
....or I suppose it could be both.
Time to check that cut again, if using standard TVRO cable the sensor wires are a much smaller gauge and easier to get cut in a situation like this, where everything looks fine from the naked eye.
 
Thanks guys
Got a good wife she does not complaint about my FTA habit, regarding the cable, I am using sprinkler wire, have a long extra piece of the same wire, I will swap it in the morning, hopefully this is the problem .
Regards.
Tunder
 
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Well, I replaced the cable from the ASC1 to the actuator and still the same thing same messages, I replaced the ASC1 with my other ASC1 and no change, so, therefore I think the sensor on the actuator got fried, If any member has any ideas or suggestion, please let me know.
I have another actuator that came with this dish is a 18" VonWeise It moves but don't know if the sensor is any good, I will bench test it before it goes up.
I wonder if this actuator can move the dish from 139w to 72W since is only a 18" actuator.
Regards.
Tunder
 
Take a battery out by the dish and hook up your multimeter to the sensor terminals. Analog multimeter may work better, as some digital ones, don't react quick enough to show if sensor if making and breaking contact as the magnets go by. Then you will know two things. 1.) that motor is working 2.) whether or not sensor is ok (provided motor is working)

If it is the sensor, they are usually just reed switches. Pretty inexpensive by themselves. I don't recall what name brand your actuator is, but they all work on same principal. I have temporarily taped just the reed switch itself in place, so if you have to get a bit creative, you can. I didn't trust the tape for long, but it worked for the short time I had it in. Do a search on flea bay for reed switch and you will get MANY items to look at. Just be sure what size will fit your needs. Here is a thread on replacement of the switch in a Venture actuator: http://www.satelliteguys.us/xen/threads/super-sensor-ii-repair.359937/

Good luck getting it tracked down and repaired.
 
Cutting/nicking the distribution wiring will not cause the actuator motor or sensor to fail. I would do some more testing.

Disconnect the wiring from the actuator. Connect a 12v battery to the actuator motor M1M2 terminals. Does the motor run? If so, use a multi-tester to test across the actuator S1/S2 terminals while the motor is running. Are there open/close cycles viewed in the resistance mode? If so, the reed switch is probably working fine.

Another way to test the reed switch is to put a flashlight bulb and battery in series across the actuator S1/S2 terminals. Does the bulb flash on/off?

If the meter or the bulb shows not open/close cycles (either open circuit or closed circuit) the reed switch is faulty.

Hope you have good weather to play outside for an hour or two!
 
Hello Guys
Thanks for the advice, I have a Venture Actuator, the motor does run east and west, I ohm out the sensor and with no power to the actuator it reads closed, when The motor is moving it always reads closed, it never opens and closes.
bpalone - it looks like my actuator has the same sensor as yours, I will call Venture and see if they have the whole sensor package, I don't have an analog meter just the digital.
Ohm out the cable and is ok.
Regards
Tunder
 
Tunder said:
Hello Guys
Thanks for the advice, I have a Venture Actuator, the motor does run east and west, I ohm out the sensor and with no power to the actuator it reads closed, when The motor is moving it always reads closed, it never opens and closes.
bpalone - it looks like my actuator has the same sensor as yours, I will call Venture and see if they have the whole sensor package, I don't have an analog meter just the digital.
Ohm out the cable and is ok.
Regards
Tunder
Click to expand...

It has been my experience that most digital read out multimeters do not respond quick enough to read the pulse voltage on motor arms. I always use an analog meter to check magnetic reed switches. I have a Fluke analog meter that works great for these problems.
 
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Another method to test the reed switch, is to remove it from the actuator. You will have the magnet wheel off to get this done. Use alligator clips to connect your leads to the reed switch and move the magnet wheel, or another magnet, close to the switch and away from the switch. If it is working, you will see an open circuit at one of the positions of the magnet (close-far), but not at both.

Have seen them become sticky. If a normally open switch, it will be slow returning to open. Usually, they just hang one way or the other.
 
Yikes no big deal here, take a paper clip pull it straight bend it into a big u then remote the wires to the sensor screw one end of the u to one post of the sensor then touch the other screw on and off, while you also have some one move the ACC either right or left if the dish moves and you see the counter change numbers its a sensor issue if it don't move its a motor issue time to spend a few bucks so i can fix it for you buy this, LOL its better then my $200 fuke i own since 1985

Amazon product ASIN B00R2C57CA

Your trying repair a car without any tools you can even get $5.00 ones if you have a meter let me know glad to play repairman without shoulder pain the offer is good for anyone who is a paying member here

You can email me directly diamondsatellite@snet.net

Gary Diamond
 
Hello Guys
I am lucky guy today, I checked another actuator that I have and found out that it had the same reed sensor as the Venture actuator, bench tested the older actuator I was able to see the reed switch opening and closing using my digital fluke meter and setting it to lowest range for the Ohms, took the switch off and installed it on the Venture actuator and the problem was corrected.
I thank you all for your comments and suggestions.
Regards.
Tunder.
 
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Tunder said:
Hello Guys
I am lucky guy today, I checked another actuator that I have and found out that it had the same reed sensor as the Venture actuator, bench tested the older actuator I was able to see the reed switch opening and closing using my digital fluke meter and setting it to lowest range for the Ohms, took the switch off and installed it on the Venture actuator and the problem was corrected.
I thank you all for your comments and suggestions.
Regards.
Tunder.
Click to expand...
CUTTING THE CABLE never killed a reed sw, but lightning does
 
As with any switch, over current can potentially cause the contacts to weld together, the bad switch was always reading shorted.
 
Tunder said:
As with any switch, over current can potentially cause the contacts to weld together, the bad switch was always reading shorted.
Click to expand...
REPLACED 100s of reed shorted sws in every case it was due to lightning but I never saw lightning kill the motor once I did a fiberglass dish for a handy guy who said he would run the cable in the wall behind his TV I only grounded the feed well when I ran the wire it touched the root of a tree near by the dish, that got hit by lightning burned the receiver , pushed out the guys wall, and it also went into the root of the tree, tied to the tree, was a steel dog run cable, it killed the dog on that cable, sh*t happens have many more freak things happen with lightning even I was hit by ball lightning at 18 months old, which left me a mute until 5 years old, was even told i'm now dyslexic from that
 
Garyd said:
Yikes no big deal here, take a paper clip pull it straight bend it into a big u then remote the wires to the sensor screw one end of the u to one post of the sensor then touch the other screw on and off, while you also have some one move the ACC either right or left if the dish moves and you see the counter change numbers its a sensor issue if it don't move its a motor issue time to spend a few bucks so i can fix it for you buy this, LOL its better then my $200 fuke i own since 1985

Amazon product ASIN B00R2C57CA

Your trying repair a car without any tools you can even get $5.00 ones if you have a meter let me know glad to play repairman without shoulder pain the offer is good for anyone who is a paying member here

You can email me directly diamondsatellite@snet.net

Gary Diamond
Click to expand...

I wish $200 was all I had in my Fluke. :) This one will do everything but the dishes. I'm old, my meter is old, and I still think old. I can upgrade my computer, but not my brain. No RAM available for that antique. :deadhorse
 
I once found a Fluke meter in a bag of leaves someone had put out to be picked up by the city. One lucky day. Also have one that my wife bought me for a Christmas present.
 
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