Yesterday morning before I started remote mounting a trio of Tortoise machines I focused on the turntable. Cleaned all of the contact points, swabbed the sensor on both the pit wall and the bridge, checked (without disassembly) that the sensors were in place and seemed connected, and even gave a drop of oil to the places indicated in the instructions on the drive (just because, not that I thought it would help the home position issue). Put the bridge back in place, turned on power, gave the command to find home position, and the bridge went around 1 full revolution (I started about 90 degrees CCW from the home position sensor on the pit wall) and gave me E1 again. I found a different number than the one I used the other day for Walthers and called them, but even though the lady who took my call was very nice and helpful I am still awaiting a phone call back from the tech support guy(s). I don’t want to start laying any track around the turntable and then have to rip it out as a return, so I guess I will be working on other parts of the yard for the time being!
Well, so much for a thorough cleaning. I had begun to convince myself that cleaning would solve the problem. Meanwhile, Walthers Tech Support is not being responsive.
I did some further research on the ERR1 issue, and it seems to suggest that the controller is the problem. The solution in a couple of cases was to replace the controller. The replacement controller for the 933-2859 is the 933-2320. It retails at Walthers for $49.98, but you can find it discounted for about $40.00. That may be the way to go.
Rich
Interesting! I have a second controller on the north side of the yard. I think I will do some cable sawpping (after I get the Tortoise machines wired and working) and see if that helps. I may have to change which is the primary controller and which is the secondary, but that is all based on plugging in cables.
have you visibly inspected the slot in the pit and presumably a similar slot in the bridge to see if there is anything that might block a light beam?
can you see a LED like device in the slot of the bridge? could it be knocked out of alignment? can you see if the wires to it are properly connected?
can you see the head of an LED behind the slot in the pit? it might not be visible is it somehow got knocked loose
Morpar, before you go the route of buying a replacement (even if your able to prove that it is the issue), wait until you talk to Walthers. I was having an issue with mine where it would forget what position it was in each time I powered up the layout. I had to send it finding the home position (which it could do) each time I turned the layout on. Walthers said it was an issue with the board that mounts under the turntable and replaced it for free. Maybe your issue is somehow related.
The Tortoise machines got finished today and while I was under the layout I swapped the cables around to try using only the north side controller. Same result as before, start looking for home position about 90 degrees CCW of the sensor and the bridge does a full rotation before the controller comes up with E1. I also turned out the basement lights and tried to see if there was any visible light from either the pit sensor or the bridge on a second try. No light, but that didn’t rule anything out to me as we had some photoeye sensors at work which used infrared light. Which made them a bear to adjust I might add! I am hoping Walthers calls back next week and can guide me on how to troubleshoot the issue. I figure there are only 3 choices at this point, the sensor, the emitter, or the main board, but I’m not sure how to diagnose them. Since the input voltage is either AC or DC I presume the main board converts to whatever voltage and type for the sensor system and motor (I would guess DC) and sends it to the bridge via the contacts. Then how to check on each side to determine which component is bad? Pit side should be fairly easy, but the bridge (without the right knowledge) could be really bad if you hook up power where it doesn’t belong!
Hmmm, I guess that we can rule out the control box. Apparently, that home sensor or zero point or whatever Walthers calls it is not sending a signal to the circuitry on the underside of the turntable. Either that or the circuitry on the underside of the turntable is not processing the signal correctly.
Rich
are the bridges the same length? can they be swapped?
I doubt that the bridge is the problem, although anything seems like fair game at the moment.
Since the control box has been apparently ruled out as the problem, the circuitry on the underside of the turntable becomes the primary suspect.
The way that the turntable is initialized is to send a signal from the zero point to the bridge. That signal is either not being sent or the circuitry on the underside of the turntable is not communicating it to the bridge.
Rich
At this point I think I will have to wait until Walthers gets back with me and go from there. At least I have plenty of other things to do so the turntable isn’t stopping progress! Maybe I will have the rest of the yard all wired when the turntable finally works…
not sure how you can rule out the emitter (LED), detector, connections
isn’t the detector in the bridge, along with the connections between it and the control circuit?
I don’t mean to rule out the emitter or detector connections.
I’m just suggesting that the signal is either not being sent or the circuitry on the underside of the turntable is not communicatting the signal to the bridge. For whatever the reason, the turntable is fully rotating 360 degrees without sensing the zero point (home position) and stopping.
Rich
my understanding is the bridge can easily be removed and inspected. has it been inspected?
there’s a comment in the instructions about adjusting the wipers. some of the wipers may be for the detector/emitter in the bridge
Be gentle when cleaning the wipers and avoid pushing them down. They should always be slightly raised in a flat row.
If adjustment is needed, gently lift the wiper/s upward until it aligns with the others.
if the other TT bridge is the same model, can it be swapped?
There isn’t a second turntable bridge I just have a second controller to operate the turntable. I don’t want to dig too deeply into the bridge in case Walthers wants me to send it back for replacement at this point. I looked at taking the motor cover off when I was cleaning and lubing the other day and the slotted wheel for the pulse generator is right over one of the cover screws. I know from experience in the industrial sector getting those out of alignment is a huge pain, but if I break it now it would be on my dime! I will wait a little more until I hear back from Walthers. I agree, the signal is basically getting lost somewhere since I am sending a request for a signal when trying to find home position and never getting it, just not sure where!
the bridge is meant to come off
The bridge simply lifts up and straight out of the center pivot hole in the turntable.
Rich
So as an update to this issue I got a voicemail from one of the tech support guys at Walthers this morning (why my phone didn’t ring I have no clue) and he suggested checking for the anything blocking either the infrared emitter on the bridge or the receiver on the pit wall. I went ahead and took the bridge out of the box and looked at both for the however many-eth time and found nothing blocking either. However, for some reason I poked my finger on to the black and white wires sending power to the IR emitter and the black wire came loose! I didn’t tear in any further (warranty concerns) to see if there is a connector or a bad solder joint, but no matter what I think the main issue has been found. I sent an email to the tech support guy explaining the problem and asking how to proceed.