Motor mover lacks power

[Mandarin]

We have a powrtouch model 1 mover, which works OK on the level, but lacks power on a slope, for example it stalls on the levelling ramp.

It's an old mover, do these were out and lose power or could it be a simple brush replacement?

Thanks for any thoughts or ideas.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hi,

Logical checks would include
Is it the correct sized mover for your weight of caravan?
Has the gap between the wheel and the movers roller been correctly set?
Is the battery in good condition and fully charged?

If all the above are correct, then it might point to worn motors, gear boxes. or bearings.

 

[Mandarin]

Hi Prof, thanks for the quick reply, in short yes to all the above. However it's an old mover which must have been transferred to this van when it was new 5 years ago. In all other respects it works fine.

 

[Hutch]

Mandarin, the profs answers , are valid but do not cover, other items, go back to basics, as the prof says, are the MM rollers gripping or spinning on the tyre, ? If the spin on the tyre then the distance between the roller and the tyre need adjustment.

The old type Power touch had the rollers that looked like Very rough Sand paper the newer ones has serrated roller which were better. Tyre pressures and distance between the MM rollers to the tyres is the main facture.

 

[Mandarin]

Hi Hutch, thanks. The rollers are not slipping. As soon as the wheel starts to feel the ramp the electric motor simply stops. Hence my thoughts that this is connected to the electric motor.

But I don't know much about electric motors so why one would simply stop is beyond me, I could only think of brushes, when I looked at these last winter they seemed OK to my untrained eye.

The battery is new, with 13.1 volts, the connections at the motor are clean and tight, the spacing is spot on as are the tyre pressures (I did a bit of research on this forum before posting 🙂 ) so I ran out of ideas.

 

[otherclive]

Are the wires in your battery terminals tight. Mine came loose and it affected the mover. It could be your mover power supply board which is more difficult to diagnose.

 

[Raywood]

Powertouch have a good reputation for customer service. I would ring there helpline and see if they can help.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Madarin,

Thankyou for the confirmation about the points I raised.

Not withstanding the points others have suggested: and whilst you tell us the device is correctly rated for your caravan, perhaps the incline you are asking it to climb is steeper than the movers specification.

I'm just trying to eliminate any of the external variables that might compromise the movers performance.

I would next check the batteries terminal voltage whilst the mover is "stalling" to see if perhaps the battery voltage is dropping too far under load. This could point to a faulty battery or it could still be a problem with mover

A way of checking would be to try another battery, for example a fully charge car battery might work, which would suggest the caravan battery is not up to the job.

 

[PaulT]

I agree with the Prof, check the battery voltage under load. Also check that the connections from the battery to the mover system are ok and tight.

 

[Raywood]

Having used a motor mover to take our caravan up a steep drive, we found it simply stopped when it reached its limit. If there is still power in the battery, and there should be, move it forward by using the motor each side in turn to shuffle up the slope.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Having used a motor mover to take our caravan up a steep drive, we found it simply stopped when it reached its limit. If there is still power in the battery, and there should be, move it forward by using the motor each side in turn to shuffle up the slope.

Hello Ray
Which limit are you referring to?

 

[Dustydog]

Having used a motor mover to take our caravan up a steep drive, we found it simply stopped when it reached its limit. If there is still power in the battery, and there should be, move it forward by using the motor each side in turn to shuffle up the slope.

Hello Ray
Which limit are you referring to?

My Powrtouch is rated to have the ability to move 1800kgs up a 25% gradient . If that gradient or some obstruction blocks progress then the mover will cut out. In Ray’s words it stops when it reaches its limit.
Have you changed the batteries in your hand controller?
You should have a cable that plugs into the remote and the on board receiver unit , by passing the radio signal. Does this improve matters?
Back to Clive’s points check all the connections including all earth wires especially at the motors.

Please let us know how you get on. I assume your mover has worked ok until recently?

 

[Gafferbill]

.......I experienced the same symptoms with my mover as the OP.
In my case I found it was the contacts within the isolation switch.
These appear to be cheaply made.
I dismantled mine and tweaked it but they are cheap to replace.
Could be a cause.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Dusty

I don't know of any mover that is clever enough to measure either the caravans weight or the angle of any incline on which its used. However too much weight o rtrying to climb too steep an incline would both cause the current through the motors to rise. It is possible that some manufacturers may include current monitoring and automatic shut off if the maximum current profile is exceeded.

Some manufacturers do have supply voltage sensing, and if the supply potential difference at the mover control circuit falls below a preset threshold, the system will shut down.

Whether these are what Ray was referring too I don't know.

 

[Dustydog]

Hello Dusty

I don't know of any mover that is clever enough to measure either the caravans weight or the angle of any incline on which its used. However too much weight o rtrying to climb too steep an incline would both cause the current through the motors to rise. It is possible that some manufacturers may include current monitoring and automatic shut off if the maximum current profile is exceeded.

Some manufacturers do have supply voltage sensing, and if the supply potential difference at the mover control circuit falls below a preset threshold, the system will shut down.

Whether these are what Ray was referring too I don't know.

Prof,
My reference comes from Powrtouch.

 

[Hutch]

Hello Dusty

I don't know of any mover that is clever enough to measure either the caravans weight or the angle of any incline on which its used. However too much weight o rtrying to climb too steep an incline would both cause the current through the motors to rise. It is possible that some manufacturers may include current monitoring and automatic shut off if the maximum current profile is exceeded.

Some manufacturers do have supply voltage sensing, and if the supply potential difference at the mover control circuit falls below a preset threshold, the system will shut down.

Whether these are what Ray was referring too I don't know.

Prof,
My reference comes from Powrtouch.

There must be a lot Wizardry and Wiggly amps in that Big Blue Power touch box, Maybe, Nac Mac Feegles, 😛
When my Powertouch MM failed I went around all the electrical connections connected with the system and found that I could get a hand calibrated tweak to nearly all the connections, including the blue box, maybe mine was installed by someone who didn't want to risk stripping a thread.

 

[Guzzilazz]

Hello Dusty

I don't know of any mover that is clever enough to measure either the caravans weight or the angle of any incline on which its used. However too much weight o rtrying to climb too steep an incline would both cause the current through the motors to rise. It is possible that some manufacturers may include current monitoring and automatic shut off if the maximum current profile is exceeded.

Some manufacturers do have supply voltage sensing, and if the supply potential difference at the mover control circuit falls below a preset threshold, the system will shut down.

Whether these are what Ray was referring too I don't know.

Straight overload trip... These days that can be done in software rather than a current trip

 

[Mandarin]

Thanks for all the great ideas. We just moved house so as soon as possible I will try them out and report back.

 

[Hutch]

Thanks for all the great ideas. We just moved house so as soon as possible I will try them out and report back.

Thanks for the update, keep us informed, it will help others.