The day we had to scrap a full door operator because of one little relay

I used to think I could fix any old Otis door operator with just a multimeter and patience. Last Tuesday at the 34th Street building, I spent 6 hours tracing wires on a model 7A before realizing the main control board was beyond repair. We ended up having to pull the whole unit and install a replacement from the warehouse, a $2,800 job that could have been avoided if I had just checked the serial number first. Has anyone else run into these old units where the parts just aren't worth saving anymore?

2 comments

2 Comments

thompson.tyler6d ago

Same thing with microwaves nowadays, one bad capacitor means the whole unit goes in the trash.

derek_burns6d ago

My buddy Mike had a Samsung microwave die on him last year. The thing was barely 18 months old, started making this weird buzzing noise then just stopped heating. He took the back off and saw a bulging capacitor, figured it'd be a simple fix. Found the part online for like 8 bucks, but getting to it required desoldering half the board and he ended up cracking the PCB trying to pry it out. Ended up just buying a new one from a thrift store for 20 bucks, total waste of time.

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