Got called out to the old Baxter building downtown for a stuck car and found the problem was a 20 year old relay welded shut.

The building manager said it had been acting up for months, but they kept resetting it. When I opened the controller, the relay for the door interlock was completely fused. I had to replace the whole board because the contacts were part of it. Anyone else run into these old Otis boards where a single bad part means a full swap?

3 comments

3 Comments

mason.brian24d ago

Come on, you can totally fix those boards. @diana_black, I've saved a bunch by just cutting out the old relay and soldering a new socket in its place.

diana_black24d ago

Classic Otis move right there. Those old boards are a real pain when they solder the relays directly to the PCB. In my experience, once that contact welds itself, you're pretty much done. Always worth keeping a spare board or two on the truck for those jobs, saves a ton of call-back time. Your mileage may vary, but that's what worked for me.

bennett.nora22d ago

Cutting out the old relay and adding a socket is the only way I handle those calls. A new board might be faster, but it costs the customer three times as much for the same fix. I've got a little jig to hold the board steady, makes the soldering pretty straightforward. Most of those old Otis panels are still solid aside from that one bad joint.