E-2 error message in Vbox

[roccky]

I am getting a E-2 error message in my Superjack Vbox II every time I try to move West or East. First time I see it. I went out to the roof, I opened the actuator box to check if all cables were still ok, and I found a lot of water in the case.

Cables looked fine, but I would say water was covering maybe 30% of the stuff in the box.

It is still not working, do you think the water might have permanently damaged the actuator or should there be some other problem (maybe arm too rusty -see picture-?, maybe just not working because it is still wet...)??

thanks!

 

[satelliteman]

E2 message normally refers to mechanical limits or reed sensor failure.

 

[Terryl]

Water could have affected the micro switch(s) used for telling the Vbox where the dish is vs how much jack to use to move it one place or another.

The outside of the jack arm being rusty should not affect the jacks movement, the jack has an internal drive screw that moves the arm in and out, the end of this drive screw is attached to a small disk with bumps on it, the bumps contact the micro switch, the switch closing and opening when these bumps go by it is the signals sent down to the Vbox to tell it that it has extended or retracted by how much.

If water has corroded the (or these) switch(s) then the arm will not move.

One other possibility is that water may have got into the motors internal electrical system, this can cause all sorts of problems.

To see if there is any possibility of this the jack would have to be removed from the dish and disassembled, you can fix the dish in-place with some 2x4'rs to keep it from moving when the jack is removed.

 

[roccky]

Thanks for such a great response.

I would really like to try everything I can before removing the jack from the dish. It is not very comfortable to work on it and I am not very skilled either! Do you think there is any possibility of fixing this just by cutting the cables a bit and pluging them again (using a healthy piece of cable instead of the maybe corroded cables I have now)?

If the swith(es) was corroded, would I have to replace it, or could I just try to remove the external rust? It is dark now, but I could post pictures tomorrow to show you how everything looks like.

 

[Channel Hopper]

Check that the dish moves slightly when either direction is selected (get somebody to press the buttons while you are hanging on the chimney behind the dish). If the back is off then see if the magnet is turning, again only slightly.

If it is moving, it won't be a great amount, then you should find the problem is limited to the sensor side of the motor, and as others have mentioned it is either the switches, or the reed that needs to be checked/replaced, though I would take all the grub screw/wire connections apart and clean/lubricate them.

What type of motor is it ? Was it installed upside down ?

 

[Terryl]

Thanks for such a great response.

I would really like to try everything I can before removing the jack from the dish. It is not very comfortable to work on it and I am not very skilled either! Do you think there is any possibility of fixing this just by cutting the cables a bit and pluging them again (using a healthy piece of cable instead of the maybe corroded cables I have now)?

If the swith(es) was corroded, would I have to replace it, or could I just try to remove the external rust? It is dark now, but I could post pictures tomorrow to show you how everything looks like.

You can try cleaning up the connections, it may work but if the switches are gone then it's new ones.

How did water get in? A bad seal maybe?

When you put it back together use some non hardening gasket seal.

 

[Burnham Beech]

If you have a car battery charger you could try to feed the motor (without removing it) with 12v from the car charger to see if the motor is jammed. If you try this make sure you feed the motor with 12v and not the reed switch with 12v.

12v is enough to move the motor if is is not jammed. If 12v does not move the motor it is jammed and you will have to remove it for repair or replacement.

In my experience the reed switches are rarely the problem - although it is possible. It is far more likly that the motor is jammed.

 

[roccky]

Good news. I went out to the roof a couple of hours ago ready to re-plug the cables and everything was still wet inside the box. But cables and connectors were looking good. So I didn't touch the cables, I just used kitchen paper to try to dry everything. I was better equiped today . Since it was not raining I left the case open for a while. And it is working now!

To be honest, I tried this because it was easy, not because I thought it was going to work. I didn't have anyone here this morning to help me to check if the dish was slightly moving or not, and I don't have any car battery charger to check the motor. I am really surprised that it was not working for being wet, and that it has come back to life once it is dry. Good news, anyway.

Thanks for your help guys. I have no idea how the water (and so much water) got into the box, though. The box screws were very tight, and the rubber that seals the cable entry seemed ok, too. Any possibility it came through the arm?

Googling a bit I have learnt why my superjack 18'' has that small opening (see picture). It seems I am not the first one getting water there:

http://www.satelliteguys.us/xen/threads/water-in-the-connection-area-on-an-actuator.341689/

If I don't do anything the case will get inundated again as soon as it rains. So I will have to find a way to seal it, or just open a new slot in the lower part of the case to evacuate the water coming in, as the current one is on the left side. Suggestions welcomed!

 

[Terryl]

If that is not a weep hole for water to get out of the arm, then a few wraps of electrical tape may seal it up, or a dab of silicone caulking.

You can also wrap the edges of the housing with tape to help out.

 

[Channel Hopper]

The actuator arm should not be on its side like that, the cable entry and drain hole should be directly underneath, so as Terryl says, any water can drain straight out.

You can try unclamping the two 13mm bolts that hold the arm to the back of the polarmount and twisting slightly anticlockwise, but do not undo them to the point the arm slides towards the wall otherwise you will have to realign the limits and positions.

 

[roccky]

I wouldn't mind at all if I had to set up again my vbox, but it would be very tricky if the dish needed realigment. Any risk of that?

Both the bolts in the middle of the arm and behind the dish are a little bit rusty (although not too bad), so not sure if I could do that with my hands (I don't have a drill). If I left the actuator in its current (incorrect) position, maybe just opening an aditional hole with an screw in the box (and applying some tape here and there) to deal with the water, could I have other issues, maybe not working fine or something? In the last months I had been noticing that the movement of the dish was getting less precise. Just thought it might be due to the rustiness of the arm, but I wasn't aware that it was not in the right position.

 

[wod]

If you can't undo the bolts holding the actuator then spray some wd40 on them and leave for a bit then try to undo them a little.

Your best trying to reposition the actuator in the clamp to get some more use out of it before having to strip and service it.

Maybe you should buy a new one and fit that then refurbish the old one as a backup?

Does no where in Europe von weise actuators, these are meant to be the best

 

[roccky]

Update: that couple of screws holding the actuator were quite tight and a bit rusty, and I since I was not very confident about moving the actuator, instead of working on those screws I decided to go for the easiest thing to do. After all, the actuator has been working again since I removed the water from the box at the end of december.

So I just unscrewed the box (it had some water inside again after 2-3 weeks, but too much yet), I covered the hole with some tape, and I opened a couple of holes with a screw in the side of the box which is currently facing the floor. I will check in a couple of weeks if this is really working to evacuate the water from the box. It should!

Do you think I could be damaging the actuator by making it work in that position? I thought about it and I couldn't find any reason for that... but who knows.