Clacking noise in HEQ5 Pro

[HunterGeo (David)]

That subject line doesn't sound good, eh?

Last night, I was tracking Saturn with my HEQ5 Pro. Just as I had finished imaging, the mount started to make a worrying, clacking and grinding noise. It was quite loud (I could hear it over Freddie Mercury in my headphones!) and it repeated roughly every third of a second. I looked at the SynScan controller and found that it had no power.

So, I flicked the mount off (N.B.: I have had issues with the power unit on the mount previously, as detailed here, which were not fixed but only temporarily avoided).

Now, the mount won't turn back on again. I suspect, given the previous problems, that there is an issue with the power control board within the mount, but I would be interested in hearing anyone's opinions on what the issue could possibly be.

When I had the earlier issue, Andrews told me they could take a look at it, but that meant couriering the mount and the tripod to them (so, even if they can't fix it, that's $200 spent just on shipping to-and-fro). Plus the replacement power control board ($200-$400 based on replacement parts I've seen on the Interwebs), plus labour, etc. At that cost, I may as well just buy a new mount... (given that this mount is probably a good ten years old).

Thanks in advance for any thoughts anyone may have.
Dave

[HunterGeo (David)]

Ah, never mind. Stupid-head here didn't realize that the red flashing LED on the mount meant low voltage coming from the battery (and, hence, ignored that throughout the night). I recharged the battery today and all works fine.

[Astroman (Andrew Wall)]

good to hear David, only time I heard a clunking noise from my old EQ6 was when I left an adapter on my pier and the mount hit it causing the motors to stall..

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

Problem solvered, good to hear.