Slip ring and brushes

[dravenzouk]

I've got a Chauvet Intimidator 1.2 scanner that's giving me trouble (again). I just put in a bunch of time programming and all of the sudden there is no light output. I changed the bulb - didn't fix it. I checked the bulb (as well as the spare) in another unit and it is fine. So it's back to the scanner itself. Everything else is working fine (tilt/pan/color & gobo wheels/fan) - just no light output. The fuse is good (as is another one I found inside).

 

So I went to the basic troubleshooting chart in my manual and it says three things: 1)change the bulb, 2)check slip ring and brushes for contact, and 3)call service technician. I figure that #2 has got to be easy enough to do, or else they wouldn't suggest it in the owner's manual. So I prepared for surgery and opened the beast up. Thing is, I don't really know what they mean by "slip ring and brushes" but I figured it might become obvious once I poke around inside for a bit. Nope....nothing in there that looks like it might be described as a slip ring or a brush (and yes, I do understand what is meant by a "brush" in basic electric motors).

 

So, anyone know what these actually are, where I can find them, how I can check them, and how to make light come out of my light?

 

Thanks in advance, dz.

[BillESC]

That's probably a missprint as there is no commutator in the scanner, only moving heads have rings and brushes.

 

I'd suggest looking at the lamp socket itself. Follow the two leads back from the porcelain to where they are crimp connected to other wires. You may find one of them has lost contact. It has been a somewhat common occurance.

[dravenzouk]

Thanks Bill for the reply.

 

I just got off the phone with Chauvet and they said the same thing - there are no slip rings or brushes in this particular unit (no wonder I couldn't find any!). I have also tried the light socket and I checked the wiring for any loose connections but that didn't work.

 

Here's the interesting story of Chauvet's support & customer service:

This unit is one of four that I own - all bought used and/or refurbished. I have had a recurring smaller problem with this unit for some time - the stepper motor was a bit "lazy", meaning every so often during a chase it wouldn't go up all the way on the up/down axis. It would then be one notch down in alignment until I manually nudged it back up. Last week I called Chauvet to see what could be done. They said it was still under warranty and that they could fix it. I was surprised at this, as I bought it used (and told them so) but figured that's cool. Unfortunately I wanted a quicker fix and asked them if they could send me the stepper motor. They said they could but they would have to sell it to me, quoted me $30-$35. I figured that was fair and chose that option. Well, when the motor arrived, I found that it was obviously not a new motor, they charged me $61, and it didn't work. I was not happy about this but I had to make something work so for the moment I gritted my teeth and re-installed the old motor so that I could get some programming done. Then, after a while, the bulb stopped working; which brings me to my post here yesterday. This morning I called Chauvet, told them about the motor that they sent and about the new problem with the light output. The guy on the phone was really nice, apologetic, and told me they would just send a whole new unit to me. No charge, no sending back of the non-working unit I've got - just a complete replacement unit. They did say it would be a refurbished one (not brand new), but that a tech would check it out completely before shipping - which is fine by me.

 

So. Their tech/warranty department gets a generally good, but a bit odd, rating from me. On the one hand, it was lousy that they sent me a used, faulty motor and charged me quite a bit more for it than I was expecting. Keeping in mind that they DID offer to fix it for free - it was my choice to buy the motor to save time. On the good side, the fact that their warranty covers stuff bought second hand, and the final resolution of simply sending out a whole replacement unit is pretty cool (assuming the thing works right).

[BillESC]

They've done that for me many times in terms of advance replacements so the user doesn't have to wait for a working unit.

[Zeromus-X]

When I had a problem with an Intimidator not firing up, they sent me a brand new one (mine was less than a week old though) and told me to send the broken one back in the new one's packaging, even sent me a pre-paid shipping label. Good stuff.