Minivator / Handicare 1000

[seanchadwick2k3]

Hi

I recently purchased a second hand Stair lift for my grandmother. I went to the house and tested it before purchasing and all seemed fine. I have since brought it home and fit it to her stairs. I tested the lift was working by going up and down a few times and all seemed fine. before finishing I wanted to ensure the end limits worked correctly by taking the lift right to the bottom.

This lift has a sliding rail and when checking it went all the way to the bottom the stair lift hit the floor (not hard and we noticed straight away and let go over the button). I sent the lift back up to the top to check the top limit and then tried to move it down again and the diagnostic display started to show code 6 which seems to relate to the safety edges. The lift then started to show codes 6 and 4 which is both top and bottom safety switches. I have a copy of the engineers manual and I have checked for continuity around all of the switches and all appear to be in the closed position as they should be. Im a little lost now as I cant understand what else could be causing the issue. I cant find any broken cables or switches.

Any help or advise will be appreciated

Thanks

Sean

[northern-mobility]

Sounds like you have probably broken the bottom limit when you took the lift to the bottom (they are very flimsy)

Hand wind the lift down slightly and see if it will run upwards still

[seanchadwick2k3]

Thanks for your reply.

the lift wont move in either direction now I have tried winding it both up and down and I still get both errors 4 and 6 which seem to be the top and bottom switches. Are these the switches that are triggered by the bump areas of the Carriage/Main case?

If so I’ve also checked these for continuity and they seem ok.

Regards

Sean

[northern-mobility]

Ok, firstly what is the exact model of the lift, it cannot be a 1000 with a slide track

Secondly, what hand is it?

4 and 6 more often than not are the footplate switches, rare to get both directions faulting though

[seanchadwick2k3]

Whilst completing searches and downloading installation manuals it looks very similar to the 950, however the user manual that same with it states – Handicare simplicity, Handicare 1000 and Handicare 2000. There doesn’t appear to be any writing on the unit itself to identify which one it is exactly. It is fit to the Left hand side.

I have read about the footplate switches, the switches appear to be working correctly (switch closed until pressed), the wiring also seems itact and I have tested from each switch back to the nearest connection.

[northern-mobility]

Ok, check the circuits on the main board, On a l/h the two blacks are the bottom limit, two blues top limit switch

On the other connecter you will have a grey, violet and brown wire together
Grey-Common
Brown-Top safety edges
Voilet -Bottom safety edges (The carriage safety edges and footplate edges are on the same circuit)

Hopefully this will help eliminate where the issue is

[seanchadwick2k3]

Thanks for your help I will try this again tonight, I do have a wiring diagram. If im reading it correctly I should be interested in the connection labelled M7 (pins 5,7 and 8) im in work at the moment so will take a look tonight and post back.

Thanks again

[northern-mobility]

quote seanchadwick2k3:

Thanks for your help I will try this again tonight, I do have a wiring diagram. If im reading it correctly I should be interested in the connection labelled M7 (pins 5,7 and 8) im in work at the moment so will take a look tonight and post back.

Thanks again

Correct

On the other connector it’s 3&4 and 5&6 for end limits

[seanchadwick2k3]

Right I’ve had another poke around with the multimeter. I put the meter on both black cables and the circuit seems to be complete pressing the appropriate switch broke the circuit and same again for the two blue cables.

I then moved on to the other one and tested from the common to the other two (Violet and brown) same situation with these. Really don’t know what else to do

[nsl]

If you have the link outs, put the footplate one in and try the lift. I would visually inspect the footplate wiring if i was you. Also are your final limit and end limits the correct way around. The 1000 part I would think refers to the seat style but with a slide rail its always a 950.

[seanchadwick2k3]

At the minute I have the lift itself at my house minus the seat. The footplate wiring is all still connected up, I have visual inspected it aswel as checked with a meter ensuring I covered the points where the cable hinges and all seems fine. What do.you mean by end limits the wrong way?

Its.got to be something daft the thing was working fine until we took it right to the bottom, dont get it all circuits appear to be complete. Only switch im not able to check at the min is under the swivel seat but id of expected that to give an error other than 4 and 6

[northern-mobility]

Very weird, if you have checked at the board then the wiring and switches must be ok. Can only be a board fault

If it is the main board with the green connectors then it is easy to put link out those circuits as a double check because the board is not cheap

I presume you have tried a reset?

Also may be worth changing the dip settings so its not looking for comms on the slide track

[seanchadwick2k3]

That’s what I was dreading seems odd for it to just go all of a sudden. How much are boards roughly? The connecters for the switches to the board are white. how would I double check it?

only documentation I can find for a reset is to turn off power and ensure the bushes aren’t touching the charge strip, is that correct?

ill try the sliding track dip switch you mentioned, ill have to get it back to my nans and on the track.

Cheers

[northern-mobility]

Yes the reset procedure is correct, when you change dip switches power the carriage down first wait 30 seconds and then turn back on

Its difficult to check with the white connectors, we have inline test connectors to make it easier to test with a multimeter or short out circuits etc

Looking like you might have to get an engineer in

[seanchadwick2k3]

Thanks for your advice I will give this a try. I’ve been looking online for new Boards and came across this place – http://www.mrelectronics-online.com/prices.html

repair fee of £45 for the board and £15 if no faults found, im assuming an engineer will just check what we have already checked (switches etc) and a engineer wants 85 plus parts, I might aswel send the board in and pay £15 if there are no issues

[seanchadwick2k3]

Quick question regarding the slide track you mentioned. How does the slide track get comms from the rail if there isn’t a dedicated cable between the track and chair, I don’t quite understand how it works

[seanchadwick2k3]

Sorry ignore that read the manual front to back

[northern-mobility]

Are you sure you have changed the correct dip switch?

If you changed No2 dip setting on the wrong bank of switches you would change it to a right hand lift and that would explain the bottoming out on the rail etc

The slide enable/disable switch is on Dip 1 which is located at the bottom of the board as you look at it on track (Just above where diagnostic display cable plugs in)

Worth checking before you send a board for repair

[seanchadwick2k3]

I haven’t changed anything yet as I have to get the lift back to my nans and back on the rail. When we bought the lift it was already setup on the left side of the stairs. I took the rail out and kept the chair in one piece so I didn’t have to mess with anything. I can see the switch you mention and will give this a go before sending off, Also want to check the switch under the seat swivel

[seanchadwick2k3]

Just been having a poke around with the meter, not had chance to take it to my nans yet I’ve ordered some new brushes and want to get them on first. There is a plug next to m8 by the dip switch for the slide rail. It looks like the wire goes to the seat. Am I correct that this shouldn’t be showing a connection to ground?
Thanks

[seanchadwick2k3]

Sorry forgot to add I think this molex with the yellow cables is M11

[northern-mobility]

The two yellow wires are for the powered footrest switch, if you do not have one fitted then they are not needed and you can unplug if you wish

I would not have thought it should be going to ground though

[seanchadwick2k3]

Thanks for that It doesnt have the powered footrest so.I will remove.
One thing that sprung to mind is that I manually moved the slide track using the small spanner provided. Im wondering if that is causing a problem. Brushes should be here in the next few days so ill get them on a test the theories

[seanchadwick2k3]

Hi
I just wanted to thank you for your help with this.i replaced the brushes and disabled the slide track and the lift is now up and running I’m made up. I think it had something to do with me moving the slide track manually.

Thanks again
Sean