I was on site last month at the Henderson building downtown and they pushed through this whole smart elevator retrofit. The contractor sold it as a quick fix for the old Otis system. But the new controller board kept throwing fault codes every time someone pressed two buttons at once. I spent three days just tracing wires because the installers ran them like spaghetti. The building manager told me, 'We paid 80 grand for this thing,' but now it runs slower than the old relay logic. If you get a call about a smart retrofit, double check the install specs before you sign off. Has anyone else seen these new boards fail under basic use?
Went into a job at a building downtown yesterday and the whole setup was just digital schematics on a tablet, no laminated prints anywhere, and it took me twice as long to figure out the fault because I had to keep scrolling back and forth; anyone else hate this new trend?
Been doing elevator service for about 8 years now, and last week on a job in a 12-story office tower someone pointed out my lock wires were swapped on the terminals... turns out I had the common and normally open flipped since day one. The door was still closing but it was causing a half-second delay every time. Anybody else have a setup habit they kept doing wrong without knowing?
I was working on an old Otis setup at the Seagram Building in NYC, mustve been around 96. The guide rails were so far out of plumb I spent a whole day just shimming, got to the top and realized the car would never run smooth. After that I started doing a plumb line check on every single rail before I even touch a bracket, saves me so much headache. Anyone else had a job that made you completely change your approach?
I was greasing a door track on an Otis gen2 and got carried away with the lithium grease, ended up with the door sticking bad after 20 cycles. Customer complained it was dragging and I had to come back and wipe it all down with brake cleaner. Anyone else had a door rail get gummy from too much lube?
Caught the night crew adjusting door locks on 6 different cabs while leaving mine with a 2 inch misalignment at the 14th floor because they assumed the old shim setup was fine, so can someone explain why taking 10 extra minutes on a known problem car never happens until a passenger gets stuck?
I chose the passenger and spent 20 minutes talking her through slow breathing while the car sat between floors, and now the building manager is mad the door repair got pushed to next Tuesday - has anyone else had to choose between a safety issue and a human issue before?
I was slathering grease all over the rails on every service call in Denver. A senior mechanic watched me once and told me I was making a mess that attracts dirt. Now I just apply a thin line on the running surface and nothing else. Anyone else overdo it starting out?
I was on a callback at a 12-story office tower in Portland yesterday and heard that comment in the machine room, and it got me thinking about how often I still see guys rely on a string for rail alignment instead of a laser. Has anyone else noticed a shift away from string lines in new installs, or is that just my crew?
Had a guy named Jerry, been in the trade since the 80s, tell me that at a job in a 12 story office building downtown. I was swapping out a door lock on the 7th floor and figured the leveling switch was fine since it looked clean. Well I didn't test it, closed everything up, and the car came back 3 inches high on the next run. Cost me 2 hours to recheck everything. He was dead right. Anyone else get burned by skipping a simple test?
I was doing a service call last Thursday in an old building downtown. Behind a panel someone had jumpered the overspeed governor switch with a literal zip tie. Took a pic to show the building manager. Dude said it was like that when he bought the place. Anyone else seen this kind of hack job on older units?
I hit 500 days on Tuesday with zero callbacks for the buildings I service downtown. That felt pretty good because last year I was getting dragged back into one specific building every other month for a door lock issue. Turned out the door hangers were just worn down and catching on the lock latch. Once I replaced those on all 12 floors the problem went away. Anyone else track their callback numbers or just me?
Had a machine room fire drill go sideways on a Gen2 MRL, the brake resistor got cooked and took out the drive board, took me 4 hours to trace it back from a ghost fault code, anyone else seen a resistor fail like that on these?
Was on a call last week at a 12-story office building in downtown Dallas, the third time this month for the same MRL. Kept getting a door zone fault on the 7th floor but everything looked fine mechanically. Overheard the building engineer mention they repainted the lobby trim last month. Turns out the reflective tape on the hoistway door was swapped for a cheaper non-reflective version. Swapped it back with some 3M stuff and she's been running clean. Anybody else run into phantom faults from building maintenance crews messing with things?
I bought this no-name brake tester off eBay for $120 thinking I was being smart with money. Used it on a MCE controller board in an office building downtown and it gave me false readings for two hours. Tore apart the whole system looking for a short that wasn't there. Finally borrowed a buddy's Fluke and found the issue in five minutes. Anyone else get burned by cheap test gear that just costs you more time in the end?
I had this older mechanic named Frank at the job site in Cleveland last spring. He told me to stop using the cheap digital rail alignment tool from Harbor Freight because it drifts after a few uses. I ignored him for about 3 months until I had a car bouncing like crazy on the 12th floor. Turns out my alignment was off by almost 1/8th of an inch. Switched to the brand he recommended, a used Hilti level kit, and it fixed the problem on the first try. Has anyone else had luck with older tools over new budget ones?
Spent 3 hours at a 12-story building downtown last month fixing a stuck lock that some janitor kept spraying with graphite. That crap gums up everything after 6 months. Switched to a dry PTFE lube on my own tools and haven't had a single sticky cylinder since. Anyone else deal with this mess?
I was swapping out an old MCE controller at a 12-story office building downtown. Everything looked clean on the print but when I powered up I kept getting a door open fault. After chasing my tail for 4 hours I finally found a crushed wire inside the harness that was grounding out intermittently. Has anyone else had a simple job turn into a whole day ordeal over something stupid like a pinched wire?
Had an Otis elevator drifting bad on the 4th floor. Kept messing with the selector tapes and nothing worked. Tried adjusting the door interlock bracket by 1/16th inch and it locked in perfect. Anyone else ever mess with interlocks to fix leveling issues?
Tuesday was wild. I had to tweak 50 landing switch positions across a 12-story office building. Every single one was off by like a quarter inch. That many ladder climbs and crouches in 8 hours? Not normal. Anyone else run into a building where every floor was just slightly out of level?
Back in the late 90s, my foreman Joe told me to always use graphite powder on door tracks instead of lubricating oil. He said oil just collects dust and gunk over time, making the doors stick worse. I didnt believe him at first because oil felt like the easier fix. But after a year of cleaning out nasty buildup on oiled tracks, I switched to his way. Now 25 years later, I still use graphite on every job in Minneapolis and the doors glide smooth for years. Has anyone else found that certain old school advice actually beats modern products?
Switched to the newer wedge-grip system on a retrofit in Kansas City and the install time dropped by a solid 30%. Anyone else made the switch and seen a real difference in the field?
It said to check for a specific 1/4 inch of play at the midpoint, which is way less than I was taught. Has anyone else found older specs to be stricter than modern practice?
We were both stuck waiting on a permit inspection at a new apartment build. He mentioned how his crew's biggest delay in a rescue is often prying open our doors if the power's out. He said 'Your perfect alignment for smooth operation is our worst enemy for a quick pry bar.' It hit different because I'd never considered our work from their emergency access angle. Made me wonder if anyone's worked with local departments on door specs for easier forced entry.
He pointed out some fine brass filings near the pit ladder after I'd finished a governor adjustment. Now I keep a small magnet in my tool bag to run over the area before I lock up. Do you guys have a better way to catch those tiny bits before they cause trouble?