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Thread: Anyone have experience fixing LEV home elevator?

  1. #1
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    Anyone have experience fixing LEV home elevator?

    This is a shot in the dark, but I am having trouble finding any information on the internet regarding this. LOML's Grandfather has a LEV home elevator installed in his house. He was in AZ for the past five months, and now that he is back at his home in Springfield, IL he has found that his elevator does not work. He is 94 and walking up and down the steps is a lot of work for him. Anyway, I took a look at it and found that the display on the wall and inside the elevator is flashing "E" and then "1". I can only assume that this is some sort of error code? The owner says that he does not have any paperwork for the elevator and I have not had much luck getting any help from the manufacturer, although I am still working on that. With the broad base of knowledge here at the Creek I thought I would just see if anyone here could help.

    Thanks,

    Clay

  2. #2
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    I'm not sure "DIY Elevator Repair" would be on my todo list. I'm confused by your post. Who owns the building where this elevator is located? Is it a commercial building or a residence? And are you talking about one of those elevators that goes up a flight of stairs or an honest to goodness, get inside and push the buttons elevator?


  3. #3
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    Matt,

    It is a real elevator, here are some pictures of the same model I found online:


    This is looking inside the elevator.


    This is looking down the shaft from above.

    The elevator in question is inside the LOML's Grandfather's house which is a private residence. He built the house about five years ago when his wife was still alive but in a wheel chair so he had the elevator installed during construction to make it easier to get from the downstairs to the upstairs. According to him the local dealer that sold him the elevator went out of business a couple of years after he bought it. I found a distributor in St. Louis, but I have not been able to get a reply from their service department. The elevator is currently on the upper floor and will not go down. Normally you just walk in, close the outer door and the inner "accordion" door and hit the button and down you go. All of the doors have contact switches to make sure the elevator does not operate with the doors open. The display inside the elevator is continuously flashing "E1" whether the doors are open or closed. I think that the "E1" that is flashing on the display is some type of error code. I just don't know what the code means and was hoping by chance that someone, somewhere has a little piece of knowledge that might help. Sorry if my original post was not clearly stated.

    clay

  4. #4
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    I'd agree that it sounds like some kind of error code (I have a microwave flashing F3 and beeping right now.) To know what it means you are going to need the documentation from the manufacturer or someone who happens to know what it means.

    Have you tried just shutting the power to the elevator off and "rebooting" it? Make sure you kill all power sources.


  5. #5
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    I have considered powering down and rebooting but the control circuitry is located in the top of the shaft and is on an un-interruptible power supply (UPS). Since the elevator is currently on the top floor the only access is through a small hatch in the attic above. I installed a new UPS last year because the old one went bad. It was pretty easy to access at that time because I was able to run the elevator down to the bottom floor, open the upper floor door and stand on top of the elevator to install the new UPS. I remember seeing the "hatch" at the top of the shaft and thinking 'I would never want to have to try and get at the controls from above with the elevator in the up position'. Oh well, I may be finding out, LOL. Thanks for the input.

    Clay

  6. #6
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    Made some progress

    Finally found a PDF copy of the user's manual for this elevator after countless different Google searches. Turns out "E1" is the error code for "an equipment failure" and to "contact an authorized dealer....to correct the fault". Now if I can only get the "authorized dealer" to respond to my e-mails and voice mails.

    clay

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Clay Crocker View Post
    Finally found a PDF copy of the user's manual for this elevator after countless different Google searches. Turns out "E1" is the error code for "an equipment failure" and to "contact an authorized dealer....to correct the fault". Now if I can only get the "authorized dealer" to respond to my e-mails and voice mails.

    clay
    I was going to suggest you turn the power off but it sounds problematic. I work with a lot of different equipment and sometimes thats all it takes Likely thats what the manufacturer will tell you to do first as a DIY project anyway, so it might be worth the trouble.

  8. #8
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    It's Fixed

    Well, I got g'pa's elevator working. Finally got a call back from the regional service rep and she suggested, as some of you posted, that I power the elevator control down and then back up. I turned the 110 and 220 circuit breakers off but as I suspected, the UPS kept the microprocessor powered-up. Fortunately I did this this morning before it got to warm, so my trip through the attic to the elevator shaft hatch was not too hot. Once there I was able to reach down and turn off the UPS, let it set for a bit and then turned the UPS back on. Once I had all the CB's back on it ran like a charm. I have never seen a 94 year old man look happier.

    clay

  9. #9
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    ups switch

    I think if it were me I would locate the UPS switch in a more accessable place
    just incase it gets stuck in the upright position again.
    ken
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  10. #10
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    That sounds like a good idea to me. One way you could do that is to put a switch between the UPS and the controller. Mount the switch in a convenient place and run wire to there. You might use a keyed switch or something to prevent it from being turned off inadvertently.


  11. LEV Elevator

    Quote Originally Posted by Clay Crocker View Post
    This is a shot in the dark, but I am having trouble finding any information on the internet regarding this. LOML's Grandfather has a LEV home elevator installed in his house. He was in AZ for the past five months, and now that he is back at his home in Springfield, IL he has found that his elevator does not work. He is 94 and walking up and down the steps is a lot of work for him. Anyway, I took a look at it and found that the display on the wall and inside the elevator is flashing "E" and then "1". I can only assume that this is some sort of error code? The owner says that he does not have any paperwork for the elevator and I have not had much luck getting any help from the manufacturer, although I am still working on that. With the broad base of knowledge here at the Creek I thought I would just see if anyone here could help.

    Thanks,

    Clay
    Our house has one of the LEV elevators installed by the past owner. According to my owner's manual, the E 1 error code means that "The elevator has made 4 attempts to run, but was not able to run properly. The drive IGBT module is the likely failure". The number they offer for service or parts is 800-409-3349. Hope this helps.

  12. I have a similar elevator - after a recent power outage, following power restoration (likely with a surge) the backup power supply started a constant buzzing alarm and the elevator stopped working. I replace the battery but still get the buzzing. Any idea how to fix this? The backup power supply is an APC 350.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by John R Longenecker View Post
    I have a similar elevator - after a recent power outage, following power restoration (likely with a surge) the backup power supply started a constant buzzing alarm and the elevator stopped working. I replace the battery but still get the buzzing. Any idea how to fix this? The backup power supply is an APC 350.
    APC 350's are dirt cheap... take it out and make sure it works by itself (no equipment plugged in), then with a lamp. If those all work, the buzzing suggests to me it's not getting power (or it's getting low-voltage power) and is trying to supply power to the load (elevator) via the battery and inverter. If that's the case, check cabling supplying power to the elevator/UPS.
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  14. #14
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    John,

    I like Dan's suggestion about pulling the APC and making sure it works properly. When LOML's G'pa's LEV APC started buzzing (indicating a bad battery) I swapped out the entire APC with a new one and that fixed the problem. My concern is that your elevator quit working too, I think if the APC simply had a bad battery the elevator would continue to operate, but with an annoying high pitch "buzzing" coming from above. Are you positive that the "buzzing" is coming from the APC and not the elevator control board adjacent to the APC? LOML's G'pa passed away in 2011 and when LOML was getting his house ready to sell the LEV quit working again following electrical storms and a power outage. I can't remember if there was any buzzing at that time, but I ended up getting a LEV service man out and he found that the mother board was shot and had to be replaced. Elevator worked great when the house sold, now it is someone else's problem! ;-) One final note about switching out the APC, when I put the new APC in I found that APC had made some cosmetic changes to their UPS that made it a little challenging to plug the elevator controller into the APC. I seem to recall that the mounting bracket that holds the APC in place was in the way of the receptacles, I can't remember how (this was like six years ago) but I did manage to make it work. Good luck. Clay

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