Meade ETX Motor Drive Failure

[Boton]

My scope is an ETX 105 PE (circa 2006)
Until last last lunar eclipse it was working like a charm as usual.
It stopped turning counter-clockwise on that day
Taking to a good location to calibrate I get a message on autostar (#497) "drive failure" and also check batteries and restart.
I don't use batteries since I have a Celestron powerpack 17Amp (the big one) which is working perfectly fine.

QUESTIONS (especulating please...):
1- Is it usually a motor problem (burnt)?
2 - Is it usually a controller board issue? (revers of 1 motor control)
3 - Has anyone knows of a RESET the thing and you will be happy again
4 - Is there a way to buy and replace the motor (I'm on the NT...)

5- Finally is it dead?

Any input on this matter will be much appreciated before I buy a new one...

Thanks

Beto Boton

[marki]

Give Bintel a call, they have parts etc that you will need as well as good advice on how to fix it.

Mark

[Boton]

I'll try that Monday morning...

I love this little thing...

[Barrykgerdes]

Hi

I have had a number of motor failures on an ETX125 (similar drive)
They have all been traced to the connectors to the boards. Check these before you delve any further.

Check out Mike Weasner's web site for general repair information.
URL = http://www.weasner.com/etx/techtips

Barry

[renormalised (Carl)]

Barry, that site doesn't exist anymore...there's a 404 error if you click on the link.

[MikeyB (Michael)]

Try this instead:

Mike Weasner's ETX & DS TECHNICAL TIPS

[Boton]

There goes Sunday.... Nothing to loose , lets open it!

[Barrykgerdes]

Originally Posted by renormalised

Barry, that site doesn't exist anymore...there's a 404 error if you click on the link.

I didn't check. Just took a copy from a download I had.
Should have been this site
http://www.weasner.com/etx/menu.html

Barry

[AndrewJ]

If the RA goes CW but not CCW
then its more than likely a burnt out mosfet in the
motors driver card.
You can normally see this quite easily as a pimple
on the suface of the chip or a burnt trace near the chip.
( they are chips Q1 and Q2 on the board )
If so, you also need to "independently" check the motor
using an external ( fused ) power supply,
before fixing the board, just so it doesnt blow again.
You should be able to disconnect the motor
and put 9-12V into it to see if it to spins easily
( and with very low but stable current draw ).
If the motor is OK, then simply replacing the board will
fix it most of the time, but its a semi major disassy to get to it.
Other people have just had the burnt mosfets
replaced by a local techie with surface mount skills.
In many cases, this has fixed the problem.
Otherwise, contact BINTEL.

Andrew

[Boton]

Hi Andrew

I'll wait the weekend to take over the kitchen table and do this check!

Cheers