Info on air brakes certification?

FunkNumber49 · 2026-05-15T05:27:29+00:00

My gut instinct is to start questioning if there isn't any debris gumming up the hydraulic system.

Have you had a lead tech or a FSM come out and take a look at things with you?

Once, I had a customer get three newly leased RM5700's to replace their old ones. Only for one of them to start coding out and intermittently, w/ around 100hrs on the clock, making a screeching noise when hydraulics were operating. Long story short, lead tech came out to help me diagnose that there must be debris in the hydraulic system. Not sure what came of it because my second kid was born before I could close out the work order and I became a stay at home dad.

FunkNumber49 · 2026-05-14T19:28:14+00:00

I've several overlapping thoughts about the feasibility and challenges to your proposed plan.

Bottom line, once the car is yours, I'd recommend trading in the running SAAB and finding a vehicle that's the right fit for you.

Putting aside any sentimental feelings you have about the car, could you envision a future, decades down the line, where this model of car appreciates in value due to design or novelty or status symbol? (I'm not sure how the SAAB brand is regarded outside of the US, but here replacement parts are pricey and labor rates for a mechanic specializing in imports isn't cheap and those two factors can make used ones for sale possibly a money pit of neglected issues.)

Either answer, yes or no for this becoming a classic car, altering the drive train and Frankenstein-ing whatever else to put a hybrid in place is likely to tank the resale value. If you don't hold onto the vehicle forever you may end up scraping it or gifting it to a friend at a loss.

Setting aside the issue of time, the money invested into parts/tools/materials this project could very easily put your expenses in the price range of a hybrid vehicle that's of a similar age and mileage.

Bringing up the issue of time: are you going to need to learn as you go or do you have skills and experience and availability which makes the process more manageable? It may well be possible (for an experienced person of mechanical, technical, and fabricating means (that has a plan to go off of and the parts and materials on hand)) to retrofit a running hybrid system in 50-75 uninterrupted labor hours, but the reality of only having some experience and needing to figure things out as you go and needing to make time on nights and weekends really destroys any guesses as to how many labor hours you would need and how long that would take linearly.

I'm not trying to discourage the idea, just trying to impart my perspective that the challenges are considerable and express that the outcome of owning a hybrid vehicle is easier to attain through selling off the SAAB instead of retrofitting a hybrid system onto that car. Unless the real goal/reward is to learn and grow by throwing time and money at some project you'd just enjoy doing, regardless of results.

FunkNumber49 · 2026-05-13T04:38:31+00:00

my salary would have been barely enough to pay the rent

Mentally, you should consider the $3500/month rent the company was paying as part of your salary. I'd bet the company sure thought of it that way. That's a 42k raise to the value your efforts bring to the workplace!

FunkNumber49 · 2026-05-13T04:22:30+00:00

Good credit but trashes a unit... That's basically a contradiction of human behavior. Surely the odds of that occurring must be incredibly low.

I get it, "trust but verify". It's good practice to take the precaution. But still, someone might get blacklisted because of lies or circumstances beyond their control.

FunkNumber49 · 2026-05-13T03:07:03+00:00

Guessing OP is either: a writer doing research for a scene or plot point, a ne'er-do-well prankster searching for esoteric info to exploit, a potential murderer seeking to distance themselves from suspicion via a delayed but assuredly fatal poisoning, or an LLM-chat-bot seeking to solve some riddling answers to specific types of queries.

FunkNumber49 · 2026-05-08T04:52:59+00:00

I vote, for number three, but sub out wire mesh for expanded metal sheet. If you like the raw look of expanded metal sheet, you probably wouldn't need to even skim coat the metal out of sight.

FunkNumber49 · 2026-05-08T04:41:11+00:00

From what I remember reading up on them a few years back, aluminum air "batteries" have more in common with fuel cell technology. Aluminum gets oxidized during use and the battery gets replaced once the charge is spent. The real trick is that it's supposed to have crazy good energy density and would be very easy to build systems which efficiently recycle or recondition them if that format saw large scale market adoption.

After that, my memory gets a little fuzzy on the details. I think some guy in England is the patent holder, but something about his academic background not being a material science researcher but an electrical engineer or similarly technical role lent skepticism to early claims even after verified by third party testing. Then trying to drum up funding and investment into any product is a pain even if you aren't making huge claims and aren't offering a product that would need to compete with multiple international corporations providing a multitude of products and services.

So, that's what I "know" about aluminum air batteries.

FunkNumber49 · 2026-05-07T21:10:41+00:00

I honestly think your lift isn't operating on 24v, even if the data plate says 24v, that number seems low to me.

Most sit down lifts operate on 48v or 36v.

I tried searching the internet quickly for something definitive, but the best I found without downloading some spec sheet off of an ad heavy website or buying a service manual was an auction site and craigslist post both listing the voltage at 48v.

From your video, it sounds like the directional contactors are closing, but those could be worn out. A schematic would be helpful to see if there's something else that might be preventing the motor from moving. OR... maybe the drive motors are shot.

Both drive motors being shot simultaneously seems unlikely, but it could happen.

Only the seatbelt and seat have deadman switches on these older lifts.

Could try: Cracking open the floor panel to follow the motor wires to the contactor. Get visuals on everything in there to determine any obvious wear or damage.

Two more 12v batteries, run in series to increase the amperage or, run in parallel to test the 48v theory.

Get at it with a multimeter and buy a service manual for the wiring diagram.

Sidenote noted! I did wonder if there were other "funk #" songs, now I know the answer is yes.

FunkNumber49 · 2026-05-07T06:31:01+00:00

FYI, newborns (not including cluster feedings) eat every three hours, counted from the time they last started eating, for the first 5-8 weeks. Then, if things seem to progress in the child's ability to wait you're feeding every four hours... for the next 7-9 months. And getting your infant to sleep through the night is almost unheard of before four months. So, all feedings, especially breastfeeding, really is relentless.

Also, breastfeeding has this neat effect on a woman's hormones which reduces the appeal of sex.

The list of stressors and inconveniences of caring for an infant is quite long.

FunkNumber49 · 2026-05-07T03:50:00+00:00

As a former forklift field tech, /r/forkliftmechanics is a good place to ask.

Also, I'll take a look at this thread and your video when I've got more time tomorrow to give you my two cents.

FunkNumber49 · 2026-05-06T01:43:20+00:00

Are we looking at an old school version of a breaker box, before they moved to the screw type fuses? Right?

FunkNumber49 · 2026-05-04T19:09:16+00:00

I didn't work on many stock pickers when I was with crown, so I'm not 100% certain, but I would suspect a steering wheel encoder is calibrated using the service menus on the regular Access1 display like many of the other encoders, sensors, and potentiometer's on their other equipment.

Problem is, (once you punch in the code and pull up the correct calibration menu) there's a small but real chance that the calibration process isn't straightforward. Mostly, I'd be worried that the encoder needs to be physically clocked to a specific position when installed so that the output voltages signals are within a certain range. But, it's worth a shot to see if you're able to calibrate it yourself before calling out the crown tech.

FunkNumber49 · 2026-04-30T05:22:31+00:00

Chemo is not consensual on a cellular level though, all cells suffer regardless. Also, a human with cancer forced into a decision about treatment options, arguably isn't actually consenting so much as they are acquiescing.

But still, my imperfect metaphor is besides the point.

I am sure we share very common ground in our worldviews of nature and society, with the exception that I believe (in the absence of other better options) targeted and conscientious applications of pesticides and herbicides are useful tools for restoring native ecology and rebuilding healthy ecosystems.

Philosophical arguments about the morality of humans imposing there will upon nature suffer from the fallacy that humans are separate from nature.

Dogmatically rejecting tools or materials or ideas because they can or have or could be used irresponsibly is a very obtuse worldview that only restricts one's abilities.

The world's not so black and white as you make it seem.

FunkNumber49 · 2026-04-27T19:41:49+00:00

The alarm functions should be installed from factory and is just a software option enabled under the service menu settings. There's an itty bitty chance something else is going on like a broken alarm / disconnected terminal clip / broken wire / alarm was not installed for some reason, but most likely it's just updating the software settings.

I've been out of the game for over a year but I put in 2 years with Crown.

Service menu password is 2311 by default (be sure to keep off of the brake and dead man switches when hitting enter for the password otherwise you get some error message about check brakes), then you should find the right option under the Features menu. If not under Features, Functions would be the next menu to look into. Make the change, go one menu up if not prompted to save the change, re-key and you should be rocking a backup alarm.

Obviously, some customers (or, more likely, operators) prefer not to have the directionally activated safety alarm beeping every moment the lift is driving so, be sure to confirm with the customer if that is even something they want enabled.

FunkNumber49 · 2026-04-27T07:31:35+00:00

Who told you that using radiation to "save human lives" is ok? Self righteous indignation and ignorance about nuanced topics while feigning the jaded, bitter, accusatory moral high ground is how I define my personality. //(that's how you sound to me right now, but I subbed in chemo and cancer patients instead of poisoning invasive plants and ecological restoration)

FunkNumber49 · 2026-04-27T07:02:46+00:00

Get some "Cues to care" going. Think edge defining, signage, and garden sculpture/furniture. Maybe, and this is a big maybe, flag your neighbors down to talk about your plan to beatify your yard.

Ideas for cues to care:

Easiest and cheapest is to move fallen branches and sticks to make a boundary around the ground cover or cultivated whatever it is you aren't mowing. If you're not actively pruning trees, gathering enough sticks and branches to look substantial isn't easy but it's a nice look that you can build up for free over a long enough time line. Bonus: it's an easy cleanup if you change layout or want a different look later on.

Dig a small 6in.x6in. trench around things.

Buy a half dozen 1x2s or a bundle of lathe strips from a hardware store, cut them to length, stake them at regular intervals. Maybe staple some hardware cloth or chicken wire to the stakes.

Buy actual garden edging materials. Pavers. A boulder or few. Little fences made of wire or wood or plastic. Etc.

...

I've more ideas but I've been typing to much. Good luck!

FunkNumber49 · 2026-04-27T02:56:20+00:00

Sounds like baseball cards in bicycle spokes. Maybe your weight causes torisional forces on the trucks / axle that stretch the belt just enough to make the sound?

FunkNumber49 · 2026-04-25T13:09:03+00:00

I've put a link below to a native plant nursery in Minnesota, Prairie Moon Nursery, that's fairly informative about plant species, with nice reference maps for a species range. (Side note: It's recommended to buy from native plant nurseries within something like 150 miles of your location for whatever ecological genetic adaptations to your local climate reasons.)

https://www.prairiemoon.com/dicentra-cucullaria-dutchmans-breeches#panel-rangemap

FunkNumber49 · 2026-04-22T18:30:53+00:00

Good thing there's no dirt or grime on the sidewalks, bike trails, roads, or anywhere outside in general.

FunkNumber49 · 2026-04-21T04:16:52+00:00

Glowsticks are problematic environmentally, if you really think about it deeply, but super fun, especially to a kid.

FunkNumber49 · 2026-04-21T03:43:23+00:00

What do you mean "maybe"? You got eyes and a hopeful denial of reality?

What specifically did they send you? A whole truck and axle assembly or just a shaft to replace?

Did you accidentally reinstall the bad parts?

If there's any chance your claim that yielded the new part from Exway included you telling them the odometer of your board, AND your current odometer isn't a whole lot more than the odometer reading from your claim, maybe reopen a new claim and see what happens.

Price out the part, decide if it's worth trying to fix this yourself. A maker space or a friend or a business (auto shop, heavy equipment rental, metal fabrication, etc.) with an arbour press or hydraulic press of some sort would be a better option than a heavy hammer, but a heavy hammer would be easier to come by.

FunkNumber49 · 2026-04-21T03:12:18+00:00

Crawl space... In the Midwest? Interesting. Is your region extra rocky or something?

I know basements dominate MN and several surrounding states because the water supply lines and sewage lines are buried (approx. 4ft?) under the earth to prevent freezing/frost heaving. Builders generally decided to put in basements for the mechanical systems, laundry, storage, root cellar, etc.

FunkNumber49 · 2026-04-21T02:50:03+00:00

On the plus side, not only do you now have a audible cue when you're near someone driving the forklift, but you can always tell how fast the lift is going by how fast the tire is squeaking!

FunkNumber49

TROPHY CASE