Sunlight heating the shaft explained my erratic door speeds

I was troubleshooting a door close issue on a newer elevator in a glass-front building. The doors would speed up randomly, and I had swapped out the photoeyes and checked the motor. A facilities guy walking by said it only happened on sunny afternoons. That clue got me to feel the door tracks, and they were warm from direct sunlight. The heat was causing just enough expansion to change the alignment. I loosened the roller guides slightly to account for the expansion, and the problem vanished. It struck me that we sometimes ignore simple environmental stuff in our diagnostics. Now I always consider time of day and building orientation when doors act up. A tiny adjustment from a casual chat made the fix feel like a real win.

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3 Comments

susanm567mo ago

Used to brush off weather stuff until a similar thing happened to me.

5

williamm827mo ago

Right, but @susanm56 knows it's the tracks, not the shaft, that expand.

5

maxt957mo ago

Oh man, my buddy's deck warped like crazy last summer.

3