Wybron Coloram IT troubleshooting

[tdrga]

Hello all - I'm hoping someone can shed some light on a couple of issues I'm having with our 12 year old Wybron Coloram IT 4" scrollers. They have been rock solid since 2008 until the last month. They are used in 6-8 shows per year, so not a heavy duty cycle.

I have had two fail with motors spinning continuously at high speed as soon as the 4pin cable is plugged in.
I have had two fail with no motor movement at all. Fuses are good, display works, just no motor movement.

Two things concern me:

• the four failures are all in a relatively short time span - within a month, with three failing on the load in of the last show two days ago.
  
• I was able to "fix" them by disconnecting and reconnecting the "Hall Effect/Light sensor" wire connector from the main PCB. After doing so, they seem to work fine in testing on the bench. But that doesn't help me in diagnosing why they failed in the first place.

Anyone who worked at Wybron or has experience repairing these scrollers have an idea what is failing and why?

Thanks,
Todd

 

[FMEng]

By unplugging and plugging you burnished the contacts. Connectors can oxidize from pollution and humidity. It's a common problem and some types of connectors are more prone than others, depending upon the plating type, contact surface area, and amount of current carried. I suggest cleaning them with DeoxIT D5, and then apply a preservative of DeoxIT Gold G5. That will keep the problem from coming back for many years.