I love those Fluke meters. Years ago I bought a Fluke 77 and a couple months later while putting my tools away at a job site i managed to leave it on my work truck bumper and drove off down the highway. Some guy followed me off the exit and jumped out at a stop ran to my window holding my meter, he had watched it fall off my bumper and bounce and slide down the road. The whole back of the yellow rubberized case with belt hook was completely worn down to the the meter itself, it looked like someone had taken an angle grinder to it. It no longer functioned though in any setting. I sent it back to the Fluke service center with a note telling them what happened to it, fully expecting them to total it or give me a tidy bill. I was surprised when a few days later it was shipped back, it had a brand new protective case and new display window still with protective film and a read out of all the tests and calibrations, cost? $0.00 Good company with quality stuff.
While that is awfully nice of them that's one of the reasons they're so expensive, they're wearing the expense of their customers' mistakes - ala Snap-On.
My neighbor, a mechanic once told me they hooked a 20 foot steel pipe to a ratchet to get a bolt out. Broke the ratchet and Snap-On replaced it, that is why they are expensive not just customer mistakes.
Fuel line holding clips under my car were destroyed after breaking all 4 wheels off the tarmac and landing as gently as possible, so i just ziptied the dangling blue fuel lines to the nearby brake lines. This was in 2006, 2018 and the zipties are already the same color of the underside of the car now, can't tell it was ever jury rigged!
At work I made a policy... all temporary fixes must be labeled with a "blame tag" nothing the perpetrator of the temporary fix and the date it was installed.
chris osh .. aah, yeah a defib sends a shock to stop the heart, then your autonomous nervous system ( the bit of your brain that controls breathing, heartbeat etc ) gets it firing in the correct sequence
Apparently, pace makers come with a test mode that surgeons trigger with a magnet to test it just before implanting. So although there is not enough Voltage in the batteries to give you a shock, someone with a pacemaker could be vulnerable from the magnetic field next to the 100s of amps in the cables.
Can't remember the movie, but they were on the subway tracks Watch the third rail it's 600 volts! It's not the volts that kill you it's the amps. How many amps is it? ENOUGH TO PUSH A TRAIN!!!
This is an awesome schematic explanation, I have been a novice engineer and inventor for my entire life, only starting to appreciate the basics of electrical engineering you are definitely a role model and I appreciate everything you put up here thank you from the bottom of my heart
The movable contacts on the F-R switch are not returning to their fully extended position. You bent the fixed contacts, but the movable link looks to be in the position where the spring is compressed. The Reverse side seems OK but the Forward side needs some cleaning up by the looks of it.
Looks to me like somebody was having trouble getting it to engage, probably dirty contacts then, and went to reefing on the handle. Right jammed the floating bar back. Since then it looks like there's been a buildup of corrosion to fill the space.
Aint nothing like approaching it in a logical electrical path and finding the faulty contacts when you have a schematic. That's what makes you our RUclips hero.
So in short, you fixed the ol'Jeezless thing. Nice work huge fan. Not a person who owns a metal shop but watch your videos religiously. Your, commentary is second to none.
Damn, but do I love watching your videos. Always good to watch someone I respect do some practical troubleshooting, ESPECIALLY when they can differentiate between "good" and "good enough to get the fuckin' job done". AvE, I've actually used your videos to train my guys on ways to use common sense to diagnose equipment in the field, and to make emergent repairs if necessary. Videos like this one are a perfect example of WHY- you break stuff down into manageable bites, explain your logic along the way, and give enough background using your own personal experiences for anyone with half a brain that's watching to be able to extrapolate and apply that information to a completely different system two weeks from now. I can usually figure out the problem, and I can more often than not come up with a solution that DOESN'T require slapping in a bunch of new parts, or having a piece of gear down for a week while WAITING on said parts- but I've never been very good at being able to successfully explain the why or the how to OTHER people. When someone asks, "well, boss, why did you do it THAT way? How'd you know where to start looking for the problem?", my go-to answers of "that was just what made sense to me" or "I had a hunch" are about as useful as tits on a nun. Your videos don't just help my guys learn how to troubleshoot- they help ME learn how to teach, and (at least to me), THAT is the truly awesome part of watching. You've figured out how to package COMMON SENSE. Keep up the good work, my friend.
Dusty Conner we had a sewage lift station down at my work because a uninterruptible power supply wouldn't let the pixies thru. I asked the sparky if we have 120 vac coming in and the system has 120 vac going out why cant we just jump the freaking power supply. He said I had common sense for a plumber and that he just had jumped it.
Yes to all of it. More than once ive come behind another who was beating their head in frustration focused on the little part going wrong. At some point you gotta take that step back and assume you're making it harder than it needs to be. The young pup usually has the answer before i can catch up to where they got to. If not we get her licked before it's punchout time for 'em.
@@jiggermole I can't say much, I AM one of the younger guys (I recently entered my 30's)... but I enlisted at 17 and was out dealing with industrial fuckery before I turned 19, and was at a refit facility doing the big jobs and playing politics not long after I was old enough to drink (well, drink LEGALLY, which we ALL know is something on the top of every sailor's priority list 🤣). That early start coupled with some hard work meant that at 26, I had earned enough rank and acquired enough experience to be "that guy". I was in charge, did good work, and generally I was trusted enough to keep my bosses' interference out of my shop, but I still had political BS to deal with from time to time. In pretty much every field, you're going to run into at least ONE guy that's convinced himself that he learned enough in his first 15 years to be better than everyone younger then he is, and hasn't bothered to learn anything knew since that point... and unfortunately, THAT guy is also the one that tries to throw his weight around, pull rank, and in general let his ego get in the way of accomplishing the job, usually while word-vomiting platitudes like "I bet you didn't learn this in school", "those new tools are too complicated", "this was designed and built before we even had computers, so you're wasting your time using one to find information/find a tech manual", ect. They're usually the guy that hasn't realized that there's a difference between 15 years experience and 1 year experience repeated 15 times.
Sounds like a good logo for the next shirt, "Temporary is only temporary if it doesn't work. " or "There is nothing more permanent than a temporary solution that works." then have some kind of graphics of something being held together with wire tires and duct tape. .. i'll take a blue 3XL.
Good video. Brought back lots of old memories. A couple of pointers, though... 1. Like others said...Get the drive wheels off the floor to troubleshoot forklifts! When relay contacts weld together you'll soon know why it's a good idea. All you need to do is put some good blocks under the mast channels and tilt the mast forward and it's done. 2. When I was a forklift tech many years ago most relay contacts were silver coated to help them NOT WELD together. Filing the contacts removes the silver and the base copper will weld quite well with a few hundred amps going through it. I've seen it happen more than once. 3. Specific gravity will tell you more than a voltmeter about battery condition. One or two dead cells and an old truck like that might run...for awhile. In the meantime the motors can heat up, sometimes enough to throw the solder out of the armature and can also cause relays to weld closed. Saw it happen more than once when a small company tried to go cheap and not fix or replace a bad battery because the truck (or electric pallet jack) still worked, even though they had called me out..." because it doesn't always stop!" Funny how the price of a rebuilt battery can so easily increase exponentially so easily.
AVE ...... 20 years in the industrial battery industry , Open circuit voltage should be 2.10 to 2.12 vpc . Specific gravity should be 1.280 Kw battery has been out of business for about 20 years , surprised is still chooches ....... I would still be attacking the fwd/rev contacts ....
And...never water a dead battery. If you must water, add to the moss guard which is the red holey plate. To tell how many amp hours of pixies it holds, decipher from the model# of the battery. If there's no label, take the cover off the ICC at Cell 1. Cell 1 has the red lead coming off it. That battery looks like maybe a 18-100-15. Amp hours per plate * (plate count / 2 - 1) makes 36V and 700Ah. I used to work at a lead acid battery service company.
@@courtrutherford8913 yes sir , does seem to be a 15 plate . 17 would be dual post , about 3" center to center. What area did you work ? What company if you don't mind me asking. As I'm sure you know , there isn't a lot of people wanting to play with these beast every day .
100 amps at 34 V is ~3400W (shocker, I know). Assuming creep is 20% power, that's ~2.7 kW going into that resistor. The highest power space heater you can (well, should) plug into a typical wall socket in North America is 1.8 kW. A nice seat warmer indeed.
AvE Especially when a driver decides that the vent under the seat is a good place to "hide his stash" and makes the place smell like Woodstock. And thats when I get called "Glenn , the forklifts pouring out smoke!" "Uh , call the fire department." "We can't do that." "Why?" "....." "Hello...you still there?"
There was a Canuck named Ave Who a forklift tried to save From a fate of eternal sleep In some forgotten scrap heap So out he pulls a volt meter To test the battery's leaders He discovers some have run dry Aquafina he recommends we try The sulfuric acid now wet And the charger all set The angry pixies he will push For four hours at high chooch When this fails to reveal The real problem in detail To the schematic he will turn It's a reversing switch we learn After much careful deduction It was the improper function In the forward/reverse case What was f**king our headspace This hunk of steel and lead Brought back from the dead Owes its life to the man who can fix anything at hand Voices filled full of boast Let's all shout a toast With beer chilled on ice "Keep your dick in a vice!"
Some horrid flashbacks to the old Ford Jubilee...6v and positive ground. Gross. Of course, the 50 some year old starter never gave a fuck about 12 or 6 volts, just keep the ground right.
@Lassi Kinnunen electrons flow from negative to positive in reality whereas conventional current will show circuits flowing positive to negative. It matters not most of the time so long as one is consistent. Anyway positive "ground" is just one way to think about recollecting the used pixies I think.
Otherwise known as old English car disease. Scared fourteen bejeebers out of me the first time i tried dancing with the pixies on the then girlfriends Austin 1800
That center set of contacts (the moving ones) is spring loaded and should slide in the mechanism. It looked as if the ones on the right side were not springing to the right properly. That (I believe) is why it was not making contact with the stationary contacts.
My neighbor fried off his wedding ring (and attached finger) accidentally completing the circuit on a marine battery last year. Good glovin is important
16:05 the contact bar is meant to float in the housing, yours is stuck, bending the tabs wont put even pressure on the points which is why the bar floats under spring pressure.
make sure your leads are in the correct sockets and check your meter on a known source lest you engage safety squints. Love the channel. Found through Practical Engineering.
Dude, loving this series. Man after my own heart. Admittedly I don't hoover my place as much as the next women but I can claim to have repaired the same tired old hoover My mum gave me when I moved out in '99. nothing pleases me more than seeing something be jerry rigged to last just a little bit longer. Top man!
Hey Uncle Bumbleefuck I had an electrician over here yesterday what fer installing a new hot tub and I accidentally called the man an electchicken to his old mug. A Freudian slip of some sorts. Thanks for that!
i worked as a forklift tech for a decade and although i specialized in propane truck i did dabble in electrics too. that being said, AvE sure knows his shit when it comes to reading schematics and troubleshooting outside of his element. im sure every one of his friends are damn glad to have him as one!
It's always been my experience with fork'm-a-lifts that each cell has it's own cap, and each cell is 2 volts. So, count the caps, and....waalaaa...designed battery voltage is determined. The schematic looks like it operates similar to the old EV 10 systems. Nice meter. I have the Fluke 88V and love it!
how about a quick demo of 36v and a ring, preferably not on your finger and not your wedding ring. However, a hotdog and a brass ring might do the trick.
With that much current available the ring will spot weld onto the contacts instantly and will be glowing within a second. Not a great place to have your hand.
that want we want to see sparks and flames, I have heard tell of the effect of getting a wedding band caught between the contacts of a starter motor, It can damage the motor. With 48v at 200 amps or so my guess is you could sever a wiener clean in two.
I know two carpenters that lost their ring fingers the same way, de-gloved by gang nail plate on roof trusses. Made me think twice about ever wearing rings.
The contact that wasn't touching had a spring behind it, and it appeared pushed back and anchored back by the corrosion crud. The other side was moving correctly against the spring. I'm guessing it was parked up with the lever in one direction and it corroded in that pushed back position. A spray of your favourite schmoo, a tap and a waggle might have been the answer. Great content, keep 'em coming...
I wish I was smart enough to realize what is going on.... but it still entertaining to watch him problem solve / explain stuff. I just look for small stuff that might actually help me in my meaningless tinkering.
I haven't finished the vid yet (at 16:41), but the mechanism in the fore/aft switch doesn't need more travel. The corntacts are spring loaded. Watch the 'forward' make contact and you see it push back a bit in the holder. The 'aft' bit is stuck in the 'pushed back' position. free that beastie up and clean up the contacts and I bet she chooches.
That was a great example of fixing something from first principle, you knew what it should do, so work back from there. Shows you have a sound basic understanding of pixie dust.
It looked like the traveling contacts on the f/r switch were spring loaded to ensure they made contact, and the one on the forward end was kinda hiked back in it's travel compared to the other one. Might be worth giving it a wiggle, see if it springs out again.
My brother got an electric fork lift that had "marginal" batteries. It was a 24 volt thing, and eventually the batteries couldn't make it move much. He took a trip down to the local automotive store and bought a pair of nice car batteries, and wired it up nicely. Usually the batteries would last to just before the "full warranty" period, so he took them back (each to different stores of the same chain), and asked for a replacement. Worked out nicely for his application. In your case, you would need 3 nice 12 volter one. Just a thought if the batteries go a bit south. Yes, it was a long time ago (40+ years as I remember it).
S The GE swing contactors had a problem with the insulator plates going bad with age (and heat) and they are on the positive side of the circuit. Pull the fuses one at a time and see when the (+) ground disappears. The funny part is, it's really easy to get these old resistor trucks running like new. I run into 12 volt Clark ST20's that are still running and for sale. Here's an example from 2014 www.k-bid.com/auction/3266/item/4 The thing spent 60 years scooting around in a freezer and it still runs. The hour meter is stuck at 914 because it can only go around three or four times before it breaks. Meanwhile I have stuff from the 1990's and early 2000's headed to the scrapyard because they are unrepairable junk.
For dry, crusty old contacts, a 3A trickle charge is the way to go! We got our bone-dry boom lift back up to 48V over the course of a week, by doing overnight 3A, 12V charges on each cell pair.
The contacts in the center part of the switch are on a spring. The left side contacts are moving freely and the spring is keeping pressure. The right side contacts are stuck and the spring isn't doing diddly. You can see the set of contacts on the left side depresses the spring when you pull the lever back. Look at the gap between the contact bar and the metal plate. Now look at the gap on the other set of contacts... its clear in the video that the contacts are just stuck. Easy fix, no bending required. Just free those suckers up!
You said one thing that fixed my towmotor. Saved some big bucks.The pressure switch in my seat cushion went into neutral.A wire broke inside one of the insulators, not visible. Due to a worn seat cover that displaced the switch pad. Remounted the switch using tape.
This reminds me of my younger days. In the 1970's I worked as a design engineer for the company that bought the Automatic fork truck design from Eaton Yale & Town, and rebranded it as Autolift. Built by the Fate-Root-Heath Co in Plymouth, Ohio, the same company known as the Plymouth Locomotive Works, making mining locomotives and switching engines.
I hope you figured out that the floating contacts for forward in that holder part of the lever switch were stuck and needed cleaning. You didn't need to bend the stationary contacts, you just needed to clean the moving insulator so the contacts could float freely. The reverse contacts were floating just fine and made contact with their fixed contacts under spring tension.
Many cities have been passing regulations the last 10 years to prohibit propane forklifts indoors. That's put a huge pinch on used electric forklifts and batteries in particular. The big companies can just buy new but, the small guys are having to scramble to pick up questionable used batteries from 1000+ miles away in Canada, and paying a premium for them. Especially out west. They're that rare. On that note though, I don't quite understand why the chargers need timers. The batteries aren't going to be over-charged, they'll only charge to the max voltage the charger is putting out. It's not constant current, it's just a multi-tap transformer, 50A when they're nearly full isn't actually going to pull 50A, will it? Though I suppose if the charger is designed to be too high of voltage, you always gotta use the timer. On old sulfated batteries it's good to leave them to hiss and fart and get warm or hot for 24-72 hours to help recondition. Far as I know there's only a couple companies in Canada that actually dump out and replace the electrolyte to refurbish forklift packs and they're all out east. Charge an arm and a dick for it and it's questionable how much life they bring back into them too. I'd let that 36v pack hit 42v for a few days, long as you keep 'em full of water she'll be okay. Probably don't feel like babysitting a ton of lead though. Better things to do.
The transformer will put out close to 50V peak unloaded, so as the amperage tappers over the voltage climbs. It will get high enough to boil the batteries. If you wanted to desulfate them, get a 6v or 12v desulfator and do it per battery in the pack. My buddy has a 48V forklift and we ended up taking 4 Chinese DC input chargers and installing them to each cell, then using the 48V input to power them. They are smart chargers and have actually almost doubled the life in the old pack over about 2 years. Just make sure you get isolated chargers, chaining common ground chargers will result in VERY angry pixies.
It's idiot proofing in case you set them to charge on a friday morning and get too excited thinking about beer o'clock to take them off before you leave, if nothing else.
@@alfoncejean8826 actually, lead acid likes to be charged at about 14.8 volts and a float charge of about 13.2 volts.. al for 12volt mind.. so yeah anytime there not on a "smart charger' they can easily be overcharged
John - Yes, naturally. But the heat comes from giving a higher voltage than the battery needs to charge, and then on top of that, a higher voltage than needed to electrolyze water into H2 and O2 (which technically gets rid of some water too but in infinitesimal amounts), the excess voltage causes current that makes heat. If you never give it a higher voltage than the battery needs, you shouldn't get any extra heat. Certainly not enough to heat it up enough to boiling temperature, let alone enough to convert a ton of liquid water into steam. Legacysage - Sulfation is from leaving the plates without a charge. Having a charge prevents sulfation from occurring. Overcharging, especially enough to cause hot-to-touch temperatures actually helps recondition a sulfated battery by giving enough energy and agitation to dissolve the lead sulfate crystals that formed. batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/sulfation_and_how_to_prevent_it -- "If a battery is serviced early, reversible sulfation can often be corrected by applying an overcharge to an already fully charged battery in the form of a regulated current of about 200mA. (ed: obviously referring to a specific battery size). The battery terminal voltage is allowed to rise to between 2.50 and 2.66V/cell (15 and 16V on a 12V mono block) for about 24 hours. Increasing the battery temperature to 50-60°C (122-140°F) during the corrective service further helps in dissolving the crystals." (Note; Battery University is hit and miss, is often a terrible source with false info).
We’ve had old beasts like this at the forklift shop I work at. One of the old techs, this near 100 year old man, just loves fixing them up till the chooch like the day they rolled of the line. I’ve had my share of boiling batteries as well
The voltage to frame you were reading is a result of low current being carried by the crystals forming at the top of your battery to the case. Positive plate growth can break the edge seal and allow gas to escape and condensate as well as crystallize growth around the edges. I would suspect the mutlti-color battery caps, they should be venting but are probably clogged. I know others have said 2.2 volts per cell but I see spiked cells to be higher 2.27 on new batteries and I rounded. If the the battery exhibits warmth while not hooked up to the truck you have a more serious short that is carrying enough current to act like a floor heater; call a battery company because you do not want to cause a fire. These batteries can carry enough juice to weld and battery companies often use the battery power to lead in the connectors between cells.
That 36 volt positive in the frame could be coming from corrosion on the battery case or shorted wire to frame. Be very careful if you push in F&R contactors manually. The tips can weld and the lift will be crashing into the wall on the other side of room. Don't ask me how I know that.LOL All manuals say to jack drive wheels off the floor while doing electrical trouble shooting
You lost my patrion for not saying "focus you fuck" enough. Love learning cool shit, but that got me hooked. I got my cop buddy watching you. This was about 4 months ago. He had some new recruits that came in. Something pissed him off and he yelled "focus you fuck". All the buttholes puckered that day!
I love those Fluke meters. Years ago I bought a Fluke 77 and a couple months later while putting my tools away at a job site i managed to leave it on my work truck bumper and drove off down the highway. Some guy followed me off the exit and jumped out at a stop ran to my window holding my meter, he had watched it fall off my bumper and bounce and slide down the road. The whole back of the yellow rubberized case with belt hook was completely worn down to the the meter itself, it looked like someone had taken an angle grinder to it. It no longer functioned though in any setting. I sent it back to the Fluke service center with a note telling them what happened to it, fully expecting them to total it or give me a tidy bill. I was surprised when a few days later it was shipped back, it had a brand new protective case and new display window still with protective film and a read out of all the tests and calibrations, cost? $0.00 Good company with quality stuff.
My ex mother in law worked at Fluke in Everett Wa. for years in service shipping. She retired about 15 years ago. She had some great stories.
While that is awfully nice of them that's one of the reasons they're so expensive, they're wearing the expense of their customers' mistakes - ala Snap-On.
I love people like that.... nowadays no one would pick up something that you dropped and run to return it to you. "oh look free volt meter!!"
My neighbor, a mechanic once told me they hooked a 20 foot steel pipe to a ratchet to get a bolt out. Broke the ratchet and Snap-On replaced it, that is why they are expensive not just customer mistakes.
“Years ago” yes. They’re a different company now.
Nothing more permanent than a temporary fix. Truly wise words. Any patch that works will be in place as long as it holds up.
Its temporary. Unless it works, then its permanent.
I've fixed a broken door lock spring with ducttape... can't remember when.
Fuel line holding clips under my car were destroyed after breaking all 4 wheels off the tarmac and landing as gently as possible, so i just ziptied the dangling blue fuel lines to the nearby brake lines.
This was in 2006, 2018 and the zipties are already the same color of the underside of the car now, can't tell it was ever jury rigged!
Couldn't help but laugh, nothing has ever been truer than the permentality of a temporary work around
At work I made a policy... all temporary fixes must be labeled with a "blame tag" nothing the perpetrator of the temporary fix and the date it was installed.
Its not the voltage that kills you, its your heart stoppin
chris osh .. i guess you're friend has an old style pacemaker then ( he's probably wary of electric cattle fences )
chris osh .. aah, yeah a defib sends a shock to stop the heart, then your autonomous nervous system ( the bit of your brain that controls breathing, heartbeat etc ) gets it firing in the correct sequence
Apparently, pace makers come with a test mode that surgeons trigger with a magnet to test it just before implanting. So although there is not enough Voltage in the batteries to give you a shock, someone with a pacemaker could be vulnerable from the magnetic field next to the 100s of amps in the cables.
its not your heart, its the nervous system being fried
Can't remember the movie, but they were on the subway tracks
Watch the third rail it's 600 volts!
It's not the volts that kill you it's the amps.
How many amps is it?
ENOUGH TO PUSH A TRAIN!!!
This is an awesome schematic explanation, I have been a novice engineer and inventor for my entire life, only starting to appreciate the basics of electrical engineering you are definitely a role model and I appreciate everything you put up here thank you from the bottom of my heart
The movable contacts on the F-R switch are not returning to their fully extended position. You bent the fixed contacts, but the movable link looks to be in the position where the spring is compressed. The Reverse side seems OK but the Forward side needs some cleaning up by the looks of it.
Yeah there is a spring between them pushing out. I bet the contacts got dirty, got hot and weakened the spring.
Looks to me like somebody was having trouble getting it to engage, probably dirty contacts then, and went to reefing on the handle. Right jammed the floating bar back. Since then it looks like there's been a buildup of corrosion to fill the space.
How did you comment 5 days ago???
@@snubbelbuff1471 time machine
@@snubbelbuff1471 Patron subscribers get early access to videos
Fix it right the first time, on the third try
My man
I fix it on the third try, every time.
Right on time as I sit on the ole throne
It's more manly to stand and pee. 🤪
I do the same thing nothing makes a dump sweeter
#dumpthronesquad
E30 M3 Fuck you it's easier to sit
Best way to watch
Aint nothing like approaching it in a logical electrical path and finding the faulty contacts when you have a schematic. That's what makes you our RUclips hero.
So in short, you fixed the ol'Jeezless thing. Nice work huge fan. Not a person who owns a metal shop but watch your videos religiously. Your, commentary is second to none.
*Shout out to Big Clive's Post-Surströmming Beard!!!!*
Damn, but do I love watching your videos. Always good to watch someone I respect do some practical troubleshooting, ESPECIALLY when they can differentiate between "good" and "good enough to get the fuckin' job done".
AvE, I've actually used your videos to train my guys on ways to use common sense to diagnose equipment in the field, and to make emergent repairs if necessary. Videos like this one are a perfect example of WHY- you break stuff down into manageable bites, explain your logic along the way, and give enough background using your own personal experiences for anyone with half a brain that's watching to be able to extrapolate and apply that information to a completely different system two weeks from now.
I can usually figure out the problem, and I can more often than not come up with a solution that DOESN'T require slapping in a bunch of new parts, or having a piece of gear down for a week while WAITING on said parts- but I've never been very good at being able to successfully explain the why or the how to OTHER people.
When someone asks, "well, boss, why did you do it THAT way? How'd you know where to start looking for the problem?", my go-to answers of "that was just what made sense to me" or "I had a hunch" are about as useful as tits on a nun.
Your videos don't just help my guys learn how to troubleshoot- they help ME learn how to teach, and (at least to me), THAT is the truly awesome part of watching. You've figured out how to package COMMON SENSE.
Keep up the good work, my friend.
Dusty Conner well put!
Dusty Conner we had a sewage lift station down at my work because a uninterruptible power supply wouldn't let the pixies thru. I asked the sparky if we have 120 vac coming in and the system has 120 vac going out why cant we just jump the freaking power supply. He said I had common sense for a plumber and that he just had jumped it.
Yes to all of it. More than once ive come behind another who was beating their head in frustration focused on the little part going wrong. At some point you gotta take that step back and assume you're making it harder than it needs to be. The young pup usually has the answer before i can catch up to where they got to. If not we get her licked before it's punchout time for 'em.
@@jiggermole I can't say much, I AM one of the younger guys (I recently entered my 30's)... but I enlisted at 17 and was out dealing with industrial fuckery before I turned 19, and was at a refit facility doing the big jobs and playing politics not long after I was old enough to drink (well, drink LEGALLY, which we ALL know is something on the top of every sailor's priority list 🤣).
That early start coupled with some hard work meant that at 26, I had earned enough rank and acquired enough experience to be "that guy". I was in charge, did good work, and generally I was trusted enough to keep my bosses' interference out of my shop, but I still had political BS to deal with from time to time. In pretty much every field, you're going to run into at least ONE guy that's convinced himself that he learned enough in his first 15 years to be better than everyone younger then he is, and hasn't bothered to learn anything knew since that point... and unfortunately, THAT guy is also the one that tries to throw his weight around, pull rank, and in general let his ego get in the way of accomplishing the job, usually while word-vomiting platitudes like "I bet you didn't learn this in school", "those new tools are too complicated", "this was designed and built before we even had computers, so you're wasting your time using one to find information/find a tech manual", ect. They're usually the guy that hasn't realized that there's a difference between 15 years experience and 1 year experience repeated 15 times.
Sounds like a good logo for the next shirt, "Temporary is only temporary if it doesn't work. " or "There is nothing more permanent than a temporary solution that works." then have some kind of graphics of something being held together with wire tires and duct tape. .. i'll take a blue 3XL.
As a professional software developer, I'd take one of those myself!
Please don't fix this Bertha too much, we enjoy having her on the channel. Maybe she should have her own channel by now!
Clean her up a bit and put a new seat on her!
Good video.
Brought back lots of old memories. A couple of pointers, though...
1. Like others said...Get the drive wheels off the floor to troubleshoot forklifts! When relay contacts weld together you'll soon know why it's a good idea. All you need to do is put some good blocks under the mast channels and tilt the mast forward and it's done.
2. When I was a forklift tech many years ago most relay contacts were silver coated to help them NOT WELD together. Filing the contacts removes the silver and the base copper will weld quite well with a few hundred amps going through it. I've seen it happen more than once.
3. Specific gravity will tell you more than a voltmeter about battery condition. One or two dead cells and an old truck like that might run...for awhile. In the meantime the motors can heat up, sometimes enough to throw the solder out of the armature and can also cause relays to weld closed. Saw it happen more than once when a small company tried to go cheap and not fix or replace a bad battery because the truck (or electric pallet jack) still worked, even though they had called me out..." because it doesn't always stop!" Funny how the price of a rebuilt battery can so easily increase exponentially so easily.
AVE ...... 20 years in the industrial battery industry ,
Open circuit voltage should be 2.10 to 2.12 vpc . Specific gravity should be 1.280
Kw battery has been out of business for about 20 years , surprised is still chooches .......
I would still be attacking the fwd/rev contacts ....
And...never water a dead battery. If you must water, add to the moss guard which is the red holey plate. To tell how many amp hours of pixies it holds, decipher from the model# of the battery. If there's no label, take the cover off the ICC at Cell 1. Cell 1 has the red lead coming off it. That battery looks like maybe a 18-100-15. Amp hours per plate * (plate count / 2 - 1) makes 36V and 700Ah.
I used to work at a lead acid battery service company.
Tsunauticus III - I like that! The prose has a colorful flow!
Tsunauticus III "Taint" would be a better rhyme for the last line. Otherwise 4/5 stars.
@Tsunauticus III I would have gone with " decorating his colorful taint"
@@courtrutherford8913 yes sir , does seem to be a 15 plate .
17 would be dual post , about 3" center to center.
What area did you work ?
What company if you don't mind me asking.
As I'm sure you know , there isn't a lot of people wanting to play with these beast every day .
You are the mother of all forkers. A graduate of Fork U. Thanks - Lumpy
That resistor for speed must be a nice seat warm-err.
And adds a pleasant industrial bouquet to the atmosphere.
100 amps at 34 V is ~3400W (shocker, I know). Assuming creep is 20% power, that's ~2.7 kW going into that resistor. The highest power space heater you can (well, should) plug into a typical wall socket in North America is 1.8 kW.
A nice seat warmer indeed.
Good excuse to floor the machine all day during summer, we would not want any unsafe sitiatens b’cause the warehouse is heating up!
No, does not work like this. The power loss is less than that.
AvE Especially when a driver decides that the vent under the seat is a good place to "hide his stash" and makes the place smell like Woodstock.
And thats when I get called
"Glenn , the forklifts pouring out smoke!"
"Uh , call the fire department."
"We can't do that."
"Why?"
"....."
"Hello...you still there?"
There was a Canuck named Ave
Who a forklift tried to save
From a fate of eternal sleep
In some forgotten scrap heap
So out he pulls a volt meter
To test the battery's leaders
He discovers some have run dry
Aquafina he recommends we try
The sulfuric acid now wet
And the charger all set
The angry pixies he will push
For four hours at high chooch
When this fails to reveal
The real problem in detail
To the schematic he will turn
It's a reversing switch we learn
After much careful deduction
It was the improper function
In the forward/reverse case
What was f**king our headspace
This hunk of steel and lead
Brought back from the dead
Owes its life to the man
who can fix anything at hand
Voices filled full of boast
Let's all shout a toast
With beer chilled on ice
"Keep your dick in a vice!"
A masterpiece
Positive Ground, that's horror right there.
Some horrid flashbacks to the old Ford Jubilee...6v and positive ground. Gross.
Of course, the 50 some year old starter never gave a fuck about 12 or 6 volts, just keep the ground right.
@Lassi Kinnunen electrons flow from negative to positive in reality whereas conventional current will show circuits flowing positive to negative. It matters not most of the time so long as one is consistent. Anyway positive "ground" is just one way to think about recollecting the used pixies I think.
Lo Value - Dynamo based electrics by Lucas, Prince of Darkness. Old LR driver here. Now electrumafied by an alternator from a mk1 discovery.
Otherwise known as old English car disease. Scared fourteen bejeebers out of me the first time i tried dancing with the pixies on the then girlfriends Austin 1800
When you finally find that your fwd&rev inter locks are not working, you may be close to getting it to run.
That center set of contacts (the moving ones) is spring loaded and should slide in the mechanism. It looked as if the ones on the right side were not springing to the right properly. That (I believe) is why it was not making contact with the stationary contacts.
im sure they got free'd up real good when he bent the stationary ones in closer then reassembled and undoubtedly slammed it into forward
My neighbor fried off his wedding ring (and attached finger) accidentally completing the circuit on a marine battery last year. Good glovin is important
Best excuse ever!
My dad had a coworker bridge out a glass mat bank for a speed boat with a wrench. Was 8 batterys in a 4p2s setup. Melted the wrench into his hand.
@@modrobert yeah, but now he has to wear that damn pinkey ring.
robert lmao
Duane Brown it will double as a cock ring for when he has it in the ole vice.
16:05 the contact bar is meant to float in the housing, yours is stuck, bending the tabs wont put even pressure on the points which is why the bar floats under spring pressure.
make sure your leads are in the correct sockets and check your meter on a known source lest you engage safety squints.
Love the channel.
Found through Practical Engineering.
Dude, loving this series. Man after my own heart. Admittedly I don't hoover my place as much as the next women but I can claim to have repaired the same tired old hoover My mum gave me when I moved out in '99. nothing pleases me more than seeing something be jerry rigged to last just a little bit longer. Top man!
Long time subscriber first time patron. Proud to be supporting the best channel on YT.
Hey Uncle Bumbleefuck I had an electrician over here yesterday what fer installing a new hot tub and I accidentally called the man an electchicken to his old mug. A Freudian slip of some sorts. Thanks for that!
So, how did that go? He had access to electricity and water...
Love the commentary. Nothing better than a permanent temporary fix. Thanks for the video.
i worked as a forklift tech for a decade and although i specialized in propane truck i did dabble in electrics too. that being said, AvE sure knows his shit when it comes to reading schematics and troubleshooting outside of his element. im sure every one of his friends are damn glad to have him as one!
It's always been my experience with fork'm-a-lifts that each cell has it's own cap, and each cell is 2 volts. So, count the caps, and....waalaaa...designed battery voltage is determined. The schematic looks like it operates similar to the old EV 10 systems. Nice meter. I have the Fluke 88V and love it!
brilliant. A light hearted easy listening yet educational vid by ave. today is a good day
Everyone loves a Big Clive reference.. Don't they??
Particularly one that makes mention of odors.
Came to hear a Canadian say 'take off'. Was not disappointed.
I knew you was a working on the forkamalift with the welding tip. Nice rack and nice cage. I got a contact high off this one. Cheers.
hahaha contact high. Nicely done!
@@arduinoversusevil2025 spanks.
Thank you for being awesome. For the benefit of humanity, please continue to post vids of this nature. PLEASE!!
Absolutely love your videos. Always learning something new, mainly due to the way you teach it. Top job
Did not know about positive ground, and will always check first now. Thanks dude.
I've never learned so much in a video series in the pursuit of an issue that was solved by starting with the input switch....
how about a quick demo of 36v and a ring, preferably not on your finger and not your wedding ring. However, a hotdog and a brass ring might do the trick.
With that much current available the ring will spot weld onto the contacts instantly and will be glowing within a second. Not a great place to have your hand.
that want we want to see sparks and flames, I have heard tell of the effect of getting a wedding band caught between the contacts of a starter motor, It can damage the motor. With 48v at 200 amps or so my guess is you could sever a wiener clean in two.
Everything's already been done. ruclips.net/video/kx-Dyeg7iyo/видео.html
I know two carpenters that lost their ring fingers the same way, de-gloved by gang nail plate on roof trusses. Made me think twice about ever wearing rings.
I have seen it done with a car battery but not with a battery with this many angry pixies.
Even not knowing a single thing about pixies, problem solving is always a good time! Awesome video!
Ave you fixed it ! I'm so proud of you. it didn't even go to the healing bench.
I knew you wouldn’t let ol crusty get the best of you! 👍🏻
The contact that wasn't touching had a spring behind it, and it appeared pushed back and anchored back by the corrosion crud. The other side was moving correctly against the spring. I'm guessing it was parked up with the lever in one direction and it corroded in that pushed back position. A spray of your favourite schmoo, a tap and a waggle might have been the answer. Great content, keep 'em coming...
Ineptness at forking. If I had a nickel for everytime I've heard that.
You could say it was forking useless.
I've been enjoying these forklift videos. It's more of a long term project we get to see progress on.
I wish I was smart enough to realize what is going on.... but it still entertaining to watch him problem solve / explain stuff.
I just look for small stuff that might actually help me in my meaningless tinkering.
Meter, pliers & a hammer... them's the most satisfying fixes 👍
I haven't finished the vid yet (at 16:41), but the mechanism in the fore/aft switch doesn't need more travel. The corntacts are spring loaded. Watch the 'forward' make contact and you see it push back a bit in the holder. The 'aft' bit is stuck in the 'pushed back' position. free that beastie up and clean up the contacts and I bet she chooches.
Thank you AVE for sharing your knowledge and experience
That was a great example of fixing something from first principle, you knew what it should do, so work back from there. Shows you have a sound basic understanding of pixie dust.
You did good. Bending things back is my favorite option.
As a forklift mechanic this makes me happy
As the proud owner of an 'off-road' hyster H70 that has never lived indoors. I can appreciate this fix
All good stuff fella,,love from the uk 👍👍🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
I saw the pliers and got excited. Exactly what i was thinking!
It's really satisfying when a complex problem has such a simple fix.
My favorite aspect of these forklift videos is the ASMR reverb.
I once refilled an old battery with red bull and it chooched. I was impressed.
"Temporary is only temporary if it doesn't work" jeez thats a way of life 17:08
There is something really satisfying seeing old equipment getting fixed.
It looked like the traveling contacts on the f/r switch were spring loaded to ensure they made contact, and the one on the forward end was kinda hiked back in it's travel compared to the other one. Might be worth giving it a wiggle, see if it springs out again.
Well done bud. Saved it from the scrap heap.
My brother got an electric fork lift that had "marginal" batteries. It was a 24 volt thing, and eventually the batteries couldn't make it move much. He took a trip down to the local automotive store and bought a pair of nice car batteries, and wired it up nicely. Usually the batteries would last to just before the "full warranty" period, so he took them back (each to different stores of the same chain), and asked for a replacement. Worked out nicely for his application. In your case, you would need 3 nice 12 volter one. Just a thought if the batteries go a bit south. Yes, it was a long time ago (40+ years as I remember it).
I´ll miss the old "Focus you FAck" too. Could be replaced by an occasional "Frame you FAck"? 16:33
Better than nothing, eh? ;)
Please say it just for S n Gs
Previous forklift tech here. You should never have a chassis ground on an electric lift truck! Pos. Or neg.
I think one of his directional contactors is shorted to the frame.
@Karl Fehling Why is that?
Glenn Chartrand Or it's had an after market beacon or something added which is single wire frame ground, lifting the frame to battery positive.
S The GE swing contactors had a problem with the insulator plates going bad with age (and heat) and they are on the positive side of the circuit.
Pull the fuses one at a time and see when the (+) ground disappears.
The funny part is, it's really easy to get these old resistor trucks running like new.
I run into 12 volt Clark ST20's that are still running and for sale.
Here's an example from 2014
www.k-bid.com/auction/3266/item/4
The thing spent 60 years scooting around in a freezer and it still runs.
The hour meter is stuck at 914 because it can only go around three or four times before it breaks.
Meanwhile I have stuff from the 1990's and early 2000's headed to the scrapyard because they are unrepairable junk.
drive - pump. / . any motor brushes. in a unit that old will leak voltage to the frame . carbon tracks.
A beer a knipex and some Emory cloth and she's back in action. It's like you never had a PhD. Welcome home my friend.
You’re a hoot to watch brother 👍🏻 Keep em coming... the vid-ay-Oz that is 😂
1. Remove batteries.
2. Scrap them and get $$$
3. Take $$$, buy small-block Chevy
4. V8 forklift
Easy-peasy.
For dry, crusty old contacts, a 3A trickle charge is the way to go! We got our bone-dry boom lift back up to 48V over the course of a week, by doing overnight 3A, 12V charges on each cell pair.
".. we've disconnected the safety..." These are the words I've been waiting for!
The contacts in the center part of the switch are on a spring. The left side contacts are moving freely and the spring is keeping pressure. The right side contacts are stuck and the spring isn't doing diddly.
You can see the set of contacts on the left side depresses the spring when you pull the lever back. Look at the gap between the contact bar and the metal plate. Now look at the gap on the other set of contacts... its clear in the video that the contacts are just stuck. Easy fix, no bending required. Just free those suckers up!
I fix heritage locomotives in my free time, keeping old iron running is great
Thanks man, always enjoy the videos
You said one thing that fixed my towmotor. Saved some big bucks.The pressure switch in my seat cushion went into neutral.A wire broke inside one of the insulators, not visible. Due to a worn seat cover that displaced the switch pad. Remounted the switch using tape.
K&N filter on it, wow must make that electric engine just purr
This reminds me of my younger days. In the 1970's I worked as a design engineer for the company that bought the Automatic fork truck design from Eaton Yale & Town, and rebranded it as Autolift. Built by the Fate-Root-Heath Co in Plymouth, Ohio, the same company known as the Plymouth Locomotive Works, making mining locomotives and switching engines.
I hope you figured out that the floating contacts for forward in that holder part of the lever switch were stuck and needed cleaning. You didn't need to bend the stationary contacts, you just needed to clean the moving insulator so the contacts could float freely. The reverse contacts were floating just fine and made contact with their fixed contacts under spring tension.
I love this Burroughsian narative.
If school was this fun and entertaining to learn from, I'd learn a lot more! Not to say that I don't, but it'd be more fun!
Many cities have been passing regulations the last 10 years to prohibit propane forklifts indoors. That's put a huge pinch on used electric forklifts and batteries in particular. The big companies can just buy new but, the small guys are having to scramble to pick up questionable used batteries from 1000+ miles away in Canada, and paying a premium for them. Especially out west. They're that rare.
On that note though, I don't quite understand why the chargers need timers. The batteries aren't going to be over-charged, they'll only charge to the max voltage the charger is putting out. It's not constant current, it's just a multi-tap transformer, 50A when they're nearly full isn't actually going to pull 50A, will it? Though I suppose if the charger is designed to be too high of voltage, you always gotta use the timer. On old sulfated batteries it's good to leave them to hiss and fart and get warm or hot for 24-72 hours to help recondition. Far as I know there's only a couple companies in Canada that actually dump out and replace the electrolyte to refurbish forklift packs and they're all out east. Charge an arm and a dick for it and it's questionable how much life they bring back into them too. I'd let that 36v pack hit 42v for a few days, long as you keep 'em full of water she'll be okay. Probably don't feel like babysitting a ton of lead though. Better things to do.
The transformer will put out close to 50V peak unloaded, so as the amperage tappers over the voltage climbs. It will get high enough to boil the batteries. If you wanted to desulfate them, get a 6v or 12v desulfator and do it per battery in the pack. My buddy has a 48V forklift and we ended up taking 4 Chinese DC input chargers and installing them to each cell, then using the 48V input to power them. They are smart chargers and have actually almost doubled the life in the old pack over about 2 years. Just make sure you get isolated chargers, chaining common ground chargers will result in VERY angry pixies.
My understanding is you can over heat the battery and boil the electrolyte right out of a battery if left on the charger too long.
It's idiot proofing in case you set them to charge on a friday morning and get too excited thinking about beer o'clock to take them off before you leave, if nothing else.
@@alfoncejean8826 actually, lead acid likes to be charged at about 14.8 volts and a float charge of about 13.2 volts.. al for 12volt mind.. so yeah anytime there not on a "smart charger' they can easily be overcharged
John - Yes, naturally. But the heat comes from giving a higher voltage than the battery needs to charge, and then on top of that, a higher voltage than needed to electrolyze water into H2 and O2 (which technically gets rid of some water too but in infinitesimal amounts), the excess voltage causes current that makes heat. If you never give it a higher voltage than the battery needs, you shouldn't get any extra heat. Certainly not enough to heat it up enough to boiling temperature, let alone enough to convert a ton of liquid water into steam.
Legacysage - Sulfation is from leaving the plates without a charge. Having a charge prevents sulfation from occurring. Overcharging, especially enough to cause hot-to-touch temperatures actually helps recondition a sulfated battery by giving enough energy and agitation to dissolve the lead sulfate crystals that formed.
batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/sulfation_and_how_to_prevent_it -- "If a battery is serviced early, reversible sulfation can often be corrected by applying an overcharge to an already fully charged battery in the form of a regulated current of about 200mA. (ed: obviously referring to a specific battery size). The battery terminal voltage is allowed to rise to between 2.50 and 2.66V/cell (15 and 16V on a 12V mono block) for about 24 hours. Increasing the battery temperature to 50-60°C (122-140°F) during the corrective service further helps in dissolving the crystals." (Note; Battery University is hit and miss, is often a terrible source with false info).
Nice job imparting the knowledge
Nothing more permanent than a temporary solution that works. Best quote ever.
The series with the forklift has been great.
We’ve had old beasts like this at the forklift shop I work at. One of the old techs, this near 100 year old man, just loves fixing them up till the chooch like the day they rolled of the line. I’ve had my share of boiling batteries as well
The empire of dirt is getting HUGE!!
"Temporary is not temporary, unless it works" Those are words to live by.
Perfect demonstration of "If you can't fix it with a hammer (tappy-tap-tap), you're lookin at a 'lectrical problem."
Woah, I never would have guessed positive ground. Crikey!
Your a logic driven diagnozetian
Forking unreal your skillz to madcap some.shit
Love watching ya fork with stuff!!
The voltage to frame you were reading is a result of low current being carried by the crystals forming at the top of your battery to the case. Positive plate growth can break the edge seal and allow gas to escape and condensate as well as crystallize growth around the edges. I would suspect the mutlti-color battery caps, they should be venting but are probably clogged. I know others have said 2.2 volts per cell but I see spiked cells to be higher 2.27 on new batteries and I rounded. If the the battery exhibits warmth while not hooked up to the truck you have a more serious short that is carrying enough current to act like a floor heater; call a battery company because you do not want to cause a fire. These batteries can carry enough juice to weld and battery companies often use the battery power to lead in the connectors between cells.
In electronics class now. Also badass you're almost at 1million subservients! Keep em comin, Unc!!✌️
Thanks for the lesson. Good to know about Contactors nd what they do
Good laugh as alway.s.
You are one Fine Forker Uncle Bumble.
Love watching your videos
Love these troubleshooting videos! Uncle Bumblefuck's Wisdom Nuggets sure have helped me at work a few times now.
I was the part where the 200 pound gorilla interacts with it, you forshadowed this like a pro
That 36 volt positive in the frame could be coming from corrosion on the battery case or shorted wire to frame. Be very careful if you push in F&R contactors manually. The tips can weld and the lift will be crashing into the wall on the other side of room. Don't ask me how I know that.LOL All manuals say to jack drive wheels off the floor while doing electrical trouble shooting
As someone who only gets the opportunity to work with little low-power digital electronics, this big old industrial shit is cool as heck.
You lost my patrion for not saying "focus you fuck" enough. Love learning cool shit, but that got me hooked. I got my cop buddy watching you. This was about 4 months ago. He had some new recruits that came in. Something pissed him off and he yelled "focus you fuck". All the buttholes puckered that day!
The same thing I was thinkin for a temporary fix. But love those forkin skills mate xD