Fair Value:

Did notice yesterday some of the vertical tubes which comprise the basket are going to need replaced citing rust and splitting from freeze/thaw cycles. I couldn't latch the gate as the striker plate is gone from being rusted away. I'll probably just separate the expanded metal mesh from the existing tubing and replace it wholesale so the cage can be relied upon. this existing one is kinda marginal at best.

Forgot to mention in yesterday's loading post that the machine ran out of gasoline on the ramp incline of the trailer. Being that truck was my only source of transportation and I wasn't going anyplace with the manlift's steering axle just about 1/2 way up the ramp, I elected to disengage the drive hubs and winch it up. After cabling, and chaining to the tiedowns for a secure pull point, I put some slack in the driveline with the winch, removed the hub caps and flipped them around to disengage the planetary drives. Up to the point of running out of fuel, all was going well. At my shop I just grabbed my "yard horse" Mack tractor and pulled it off the trailer where it rests now. It was raining like a cow pissing on a flat rock so I went no further with it other than starting the engine. I'll lift the drive axle and engage the hubs, (by hand) this afternoon when it warms up a bit. Hopefully get a couple of small repairs prior mentioned accomplished also.

Found two of the three magnetic switches I have are grounded case, where the last requires a switched ground such as engine generator systems use in their starting circuits. No worries as needing a quantity of two to facilitate repairs. The switch I'd found on the chassis after transport is open in the coil circuit, and I assume the reason it was replaced. Also made up a "few" pigtail leads to use as ground connections on what I consider marginal grounds citing corrosion. Not really wanting to rewire the machine so will address the switched B+ sides as I see the need unless grossly needing attention. Hope to swap that DPDT momentary toggle switch, (ground control lift) shortly, and call this done.

All good now. Replaced both magnetic switches questioned, a few ground wires and cleaned others, along with the "UP", "Down" toggle switch in the ground control station. Commands from ground, and basket respond appropriately now. Wasn't able to do the engine tuning as it's taken to raining again. Don't have enough free space in my building to get the lift inside, so will wait till morning to work on it further.

I noticed the turntable does not stop immediately, nor feels as if it's firmly anchored in place against rotation when the toggle switch for rotation is released. Looking at the unit when the boom is up, I can see what looks like a bleeder valve on the swing brake assembly shown here as #20 in the diagram:




I can't imagine this thing would use automotive brake fluid but am wondering if the cavity this bleeder valve seals could capture and retain air entrainment if the hydraulic pump were to cavitate? If this were the case, the swing brake would not effectively engage to hold anything, (turntable) precluding rotation securely. This is assuming the swing brake is hydraulically applied and spring released. There is a little slack such as bull gear and pinion clearance, which I assume to be normal, but at the basket I can move the boom about 18" in geartrain slack side to side. I would think this should be rather secure and not have any movement allowed.

Spring applied - hydraulically released.

That was my first thought as more conventional. However this swing brake must not be functioning at all as it offer no detectable resistance to rotation.

Think something got wet in the recent rains as I went to move it this afternoon and at first it would only drive forward no matter if commanding reverse and then it just died. It is completely unresponsive to basket controls but normal in ground control. More troublshooting tomorrow to figure this one out.

Continuing with the adventure:

Retracing my steps this afternoon prior to attempting to move the lift and I had ran the boom all the way up which is the first time for me. I did this to attempt to find the source of a hydraulic oil leak. Turns out the wiper on the main lift cylinder is broken and pushing out of the gland at the end so the seal below is shot. Long story short is the cylinder will need to come out for rebuild. I'll address the swing brake at the same time.

As the boom was raising I was watching the cable/hose keeper chain as it was deploying and the hoses, along with the wires are quite rough looking. They have been painted over with that green color and it's all cracked and shabby looking. Up by the basket the cable jacket is wrapped in black electrical tape heavily. I'm questioning what might be under there so will look tomorrow. The latest problem is probably a splice or termination problem given what I've seen all over this lift so far. As mentioned, everything still works well, (seemingly) from the ground control station and it's like the wire run from the basket to the main junction box is compromised. I'll find it tomorrow.

Digging into the new problem this morning is definitely a wiring issue. The 24conductor/16gauge wire bundle is compromised and readily splits it's insulation when moved a bit. Insulation readily disintegrates and falls from the conductor with just rubbing it between a finger and thumb. This bundle of course carries a lot of the control wiring. No fuses or breakers tripped however. I most likely brought it on when extending the boom full stroke yesterday as now do not have the relay energizing with the "basket control" switch in that position which is located in the main junction box. The second relay which energizes with the "ground control" switch position is normal in operation. The basket is completely dead of functions and was fine prior to lifting the boom to maximum stroke and elevation yesterday.

Glad to discover these things before placing the lift into service. I never got the full story with the "man stuck in the air" in the basket needing a helper to get him down, but so far I've found plenty of corrosion, broken, or compromised terminations to wire lands, burnt coils on electrical contactors, and some very shoddy repair work from years gone by.

The fun continues but I'm not out of my realm yet.

'Bout as complicated as attempting a back-course ILS, if any still exist. Greatly enjoyable reading. Eyes peeled for your next report, and thank you.

There are a few of those still around but are getting fewer and far between. Never really worked on many but ancillary support of the equipment was my staple for a lot of years. Engine generators, battery banks, power conditioning, remote monitoring, and the like I'm quite familiar with.

Plenty of Rho-Theta sets still out there and they keep soldiering on, but many of the later ASR's are supplanting, or obsoleting them except in rare cases where GA has prevalence in the local NAS.

Definitely a wiring issue. I didn't snap a photo but where the power cable to the basket runs on the side of the boom and enters the area over the top of the horizontal pivot pin the basket uses for level, the wires are gnarly at best. An abrasion point for certain. They have been taped up with several layers of vinyl electricians tape and after unwrapping some of this, it's plain to see chaffing of the bare wires. Long and short is there is 12VDC leaving the main junction box but not reaching the basket controls. Nothing works in the basket as a result. Prior owner probably never ran this lift anywhere near maximum elevation so never stressed the wires as I did yesterday.

The wire in question is 12/4AWG "SO" cord and I'll look around to see if I have some before making a purchase. Black, white, red, and green are very standard issue colors for three way switch installation on single phase power so should be a hardware store item. I'm going to pull a complete new run and be done with it as everything is brittle, painted over, and fragile. I'll have to check on availability of the other 24/16 gauge conductor cable as that is probably a special made item. Hate the thought of making my own but if cost prohibitive, that is exactly what I'll do; BTDT.

About $5 a foot

Yes, I was thinking I'd have about 5 hundred into the wire but that's alright if needed as I'm a long ways from being upside down in the machine

I did a quick inventory of hydraulic hose at the shop tonight and have enough -6, and -8 R-17 hose to completely rehose the unit rather than await one to blow out. Looks like there may be a section of -10 on the machine but that's just a hazard of a guess and I have that too. Don't know the style of fittings as haven't broken anything loose yet, but they look like JIC connections at the cylinders.

Thanks,

Are you planning on using this machine on the job. Just remember OSHA requires a certified inspection on boom lifts and also a daily inspection form must be filled out and on hand in the machine. I have enjoyed following this post. Good luck.

Thanks kindly. No to open usage on jobsites. It will be for my personal usage only. I'm going to maintain my own building and outbuildings with this so shouldn't require inspections.

Looks like I have at least a couple hundred feet of 12/4 "SOOW" cord at the shop left over from the initial build. We used to install a lot of 30/16 control cable at facilities but the encapsulating jacket was not environmentally resistant as it was designed for raceway installation. I can emulate that but would require some kind of outer jacket small enough to fit into the required spaces to avoid pinching bundles. Non metallic flexible conduit does not hold up well enough long term when it is basically used as a lanyard. Everything, (hydraulic, electrical) runs, or is bound together in the chain/trough which runs up the side of the boom and the gathering points.

Not sure why but all the control box interior is spray painted white including the wiring. Don't know if this were done to preclude corrosion, or if a machinery resaler did this when the unit was repainted to that green color it is now, or after a repair. As mentioned there is a plethora of shoddy repairs done as far as wiring and that takes a while to sort out. This coupled with the wires being spray painted doesn't help matters but the point to point diagrams I've been able to obtain have been a great asset in the quest. For the most part they have been correct with a few exceptions which are probably local, or field repairs.

Going to attempt to get this unit inside the shop this afternoon so I can be out of the ever changing weather this time of year. The boom does not leak down when setting idle so I'm comfortable having it in the shop, but will still support it with my gantry so I can have things under it.

And as if I need another project, I'm going to look at a bulldozer this morning which is mentioned in another thread.....

Thanks,

Quick scan on ebay, amazon, and a couple of other online wiring suppliers yields I can rewire this machine complete for about $600.00 in material costs, and a lot of time, (obviously). This is the route I'll go once the machine is proven.

Well, I got power back to the basket but things aren't as they should be. I did find a feed wire pulled apart in the questioned bundle and once scab repaired, the basket livened back up. However I only have forward on the controller no matter if selecting forward or reverse. Don't know what is going on there yet.

For some reason I have also lost the ability to elevate, or lower the boom whether pushing the buttons, or electrically with the solenoids. I can still rotate the turntable, and drive the machine via the push buttons on the proportional valves, but cannot lift the boom which is down. The dump valves for both solenoid, and proportional valves are working, but I have completely lost the ability to raise, or lower the boom. It is almost like there is no hydraulic pressure behind those valves and the effort to manually push them in has changed greatly. The response earlier in the day with them was immediate and now once again, nothing. I've tried with basket, and ground position in control. Again the rotation, and driving the machine are normal with the manual pushbuttons so there has to be flow through the proportional valves. Also in basket control, I could not get the boom to raise, or rotate the turntable.

Having nothing in print of theory or operating principle of this machine leaves me in uncharted territory as far as wiring. I'm making progress however and sorting through all kinds of "hodge podge" repairs to the wiring system. Many of the replacement terminations are either corroded, or readily pull apart with little pressure applied to them citing poor crimping technique. Regardless, very little integrity to many of the landings and terminations in wiring.

I'm beginning to believe this machine has been reworked extensively in it's lifetime. Speaking with the deceased prior owner's grandson, he thinks he remembers this lift "burning up", (electrically) many years ago and it going someplace local for repairs. This may stand to reason why the print for an 80F series, (which I believe this lift is) has discrepancies from what I'm actually seeing. Kind of a dead giveaway as the 80F series shows five relays in the main junction box, and the 60F series from the print provided by "Off" shows only four relays. This machine has four relays and no room on the interior string for a fifth within the enclosure. Sure wish I'd find a serial number to ascertain certainty, or possibly changes?

Also wondering via my desktop troubleshooting if the hydraulic reservoir has depleted and the level is below the suction port of the hydraulic pump for the boom elevation? IIRC there are three or four suction ports from the main tank through it's sidewall feeding this pump which is three section. Though I have no way of knowing how much the boom lift cylinder leaks, I have raised the boom several times and it's known to leak around the packing. The valve definitely feels like there is no hydraulic pressure behind it and this is new. If the reservoir level is below the suction port of this pump section there would be no flow through the valve, but I don't have a hydraulic diagram of the machine so just guessing.

More as I know it.....

Thanks,

I believe the 5th relay dealt with the outriggers. There were two set of contacts, one set for "out" and another set for "down". Yours and a 60F would only have "out"