Laserwash G5 intermittent arm rotation fail

[Dick Nitro]

Just bought a wash with laserwash G5 which Hadn’t ran in about a year. Last owner was told by local company that it needed new nozzles (I saw the quote) so I replaced them all and it finally After many months of effort to fix burst nozzles and tlc maintenance, I got it spraying beautifully. Not knowing if there were other issues, I figured if I washed my own car 20 times without a failure, it can remain open. It passed. And yes, I checked the impact switch which worked

well… the 3RD VEHICLE after my car test got roughed up because the arm
Over-rotated and contacted the vehicle, scraping it on all sides with the backside of the arm (spraying away from the vehicle). It reseted in home position after the incident. On my next test, it didn’t rotate the normal 90* to spray the front of my hood during presoak so I aborted and left it

local company says it needs new motor, gearbox, encoder, swivel, and a bunch of small parts… decent bill.

I can see the encoder, maybe the gearbox, but has anyone seen all of these dominoes fall at one time? I’m just curious if anyone has experience troubleshooting these components or any ideas on where to start. They got me by the ba**s because refusing any recommended part puts the ball in my court, but I’d like to troubleshoot more before firing the parts cannon.

also, has anyone tried the mosmatic swivel for one of these?

thanks

-Dick

 

[Monte]

I'm familiar with the 360+, not the g5. But....it sounds like you have an issue with your prox sensors LOSING the arch, the first place I would be looking, not with mechanical failure. On the 360, the analog prox sensor communicates the arch rotation....which you seem to have lost.
Again, I'm referring to my understanding of the 360+

 

[Fatboy769]

"local company says it needs new motor, gearbox, encoder, swivel, and a bunch of small parts… decent bill."

Sounds like parts changers instead of technicians.

 

[PEI]

I would replace the encoder and card. Then zero the Arch and test.

 

[Dick Nitro]

I would replace the encoder and card. Then zero the Arch and test.

they didn’t mention a card… do you have a part number or name?

 

[PEI]

The Arch Encoder is connected to the 17N01 card in slot 1 of the Bridge Box. The PDQ part number is 07150002.

The G5S uses just the encoder to know the position of the Arch. You have to tell it where the zero position is which is stored on the 17N01 card. Using the zero point as a reference it should be able to turn 90 degrees from that point.

If you are not sure then you can call PDQ at 920-983-8333. They have always been happy to help me with any issues I have with a G5S.

 

[PEI]

I forgot to add. Start with the card. It's the easiest to change and one of the 2 most likely culprits.

 

[Dick Nitro]

I forgot to add. Start with the card. It's the easiest to change and one of the 2 most likely culprits.

Awesome! Excellent info!

 

[Dick Nitro]

Well… after learning how to rig a computer to this monster, the encoder and impact switch were both found bad and the “shear bolt” had a grade 8 bolt instead. This explains why after the arch over rotating against the victims vehicle, it never stopped and caused so much chaos.

I replaced the switch, encoder and corrected the shear bolt. I ran the find limit re-learn procedure and I’ve verified that it will trip if impacted. I washed my truck 6 times and my friends truck twice with no issues. Is there anything else I should run for diagnosis? Would you leave it in service with a record like that?

It ran this good just before the impact incident so I’m very leery… but at least now I have a proper shear bolt and impact switch. At a certain point you can only be so sure about anything in life and just gotta see what happens, right? I appreciate any thoughts

 

[New Washdog]

I would replace the encoder and card. Then zero the Arch and test.

I'd start here also.

 

[Dick Nitro]

I'd start here also.

The encoder failed the ema tast before and then was replaced. After replacement, the ema test passed. I then zeroed the arch and did the limit re-learn, which it also passed and has since not messed up in about 10 washes. Knowing all of this, you think it’s still worth replacing the card? It’s not cheap, but for peace of mind, I absolutely will. Would love any insight if there’s more ways to diagnose the card too. Thanks

 

[New Washdog]

The encoder failed the ema tast before and then was replaced. After replacement, the ema test passed. I then zeroed the arch and did the limit re-learn, which it also passed and has since not messed up in about 10 washes. Knowing all of this, you think it’s still worth replacing the card? It’s not cheap, but for peace of mind, I absolutely will. Would love any insight if there’s more ways to diagnose the card too. Thanks

Do you have more than one machine? If so you could swap and see if the issue follows the board. If not I would order a rebuilt board, RDM had them last I knew.