Thread: Help troubleshooting actuator

First let me explain the problem the best I can. A couple of days before Christmas we were due to have some freezing rain. I wanted my dish on Galaxy 19 for the weekend so I thought to myself, I better move this over there now in case the actuator gets froze up from the rain. The ice didn't turn out to be that serious but, low and behold when I went to move the dish, I got an actuator error. I went out and figured I'll just break whatever ice is there loose and be back in business. There wasn't any ice there.



The receiver is the Uniden Supra. The acutator is a Superjack QARL 3024+. I tried to move the dish while standing out there and the motor made no noise at all. I could however hear the servo moving. I tried disconnecting the big red and white wires at the actuator and using a battery charger to move the dish and it wouldn't move. I tried using my multimeter at the back of the receiver and measuring for DC voltage where the motor wires are and, there is nothing. I don't see any circuit breaker or anything. I took the red and white motor wires off the Supra and measured the terminals themselves and there is nothing.

Is this the proper way to test? Do I have to mess with any of the small wires while performing this test? At this point I'm scratching my head because the actuator doesn't move with a battery charger yet it also seems like the Receiver isn't outputting voltage. They can't both have gone bad at the same time.

If you can help me get troubleshooting this correctly where I can eliminate one part as the cause or not, it would help alot. I don't want to just order an actuator and find out the receiver isn't outputting. Perhaps the Supra needs to be reset or something because it encountered a bound up actuator?

Here is a file I have that I got off the net some time ago this should help.

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MOTOR VOLTAGE
(1) Unplug your IRD/Receiver/Actuator Control from the electrical
outlet and remove all cabling. Place the unit where it can easily
be worked on and connect the video out to a monitor, if the unit
has on-screen graphics.
(2) Plug the unit back into the AC
(3) Take your volt meter and set it at the 100 Volts DC.
(4) Place your meter probes on the screws or in the spring loaded
terminals of the Motor Control. It could be labeled: Motor; MTR;
M1 & M2, etc.
(5) Initiate your dish to move...you should hear the relay within the unit
make a "click" noise. Likely you will hear two clicks, the first would
be the relay, and the 2nd would be the unit shutting down to deliver an
"actuator error" reading.
(6) At the first "click", your meter should read +36 VDC. Your meter
should drop to 0 at the second "click".
(7) If you heard the "Clicks" but there was no voltage displayed on your
meter, check the fuse or the circuit breaker & retest.
(8) If when the test is performed again, you still have no voltage, you
have a problem within your unit.

TESTING ACTUATOR SYSTEMS

SENSOR VOLTAGE
(1) Follow the first two steps outlined in the MOTOR VOLTAGE testing.
(2) Take your volt meter and set it at the 10 Volts DC.
(3) Place your meter probes on the screws or in the spring loaded
terminals of the Actuator sensor & ground. It could be labeled:
Pulse & GND, Sensor & Gnd, ETC.
(4) The meter should read between 6 & 8 VDC, typically. Your receiver,
IRD, actuator control is not functioning properly if your readings are
not in this range.

COUNTING CIRCUIT
PROCEDURE A
(1) Follow the first two steps outlined in the MOTOR VOLTAGE testing.
(2) Insert or connect wire at the sensor terminal
(3) Tap the wire you just connected at approximately two taps per second
against a metal surface on the unit
(4) While tapping the wire, command the unit to move the dish
(Make sure you are tapping the wire PRIOR to commanding the unit to
move.)
(5) Your counting signifier should change on the panel of the unit or
on the monitor screen as you are simulating a working sensor.
(6) If your counting signifier does not change, try Procedure B before
shipping the unit in for repair.

PROCEDURE B
(1) Follow the first two steps outlined in the MOTOR VOLTAGE.
(2) Insert a working sensor from a tested actuator motor. Place one
lead on the sensor or pulse terminal. Place the other lead on the
GND terminal.
(3) With the sensor connected, command the unit to move the dish
(4) Your counting signifier should change on the panel of the unit or
on the monitor screen as you are using a working sensor.
(5) If your counting signifier does not change, try Procedure C before
shipping the unit in for repair.

PROCEDURE C
(1) Follow the first two steps outlined in the MOTOR VOLTAGE.
(2) Take a working actuator arm or a working actuator motor and by using
jumper wires, connect it directly to your receiver/IRD/actuator.
(3) Connect both motor wires (typically larger gauge than sensor wires)
& connect the sensor wires to pulse or sensor and ground.
(4) Command the unit to move the dish
(5) Your counting signifier should change on the panel of the unit or
on the actuator monitor screen and the motor should be running.
If your actuator motor is still attached to the telescoping shaft,
it should be moving. Try both East and West movement commands.
(6) If your counting signifier does not change, and the motor does not run,
you will need to likely send the unit in for repair.
(7) If the motor runs but the shaft (if connected to motor) does not move,
you have a problem with your actuator arm and probably not the unit
itself.

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One last thing Im adding if the battery charger don't move the dish at the dish, either the motor is froze or brushes are shot.