Had to pick between a new hoist rope or a full motor rebuild on a 15-year-old traction unit in a downtown office building, and going with the rope first saved the building owner $8,000 in immediate costs.

The motor had a slight hum, but the rope showed three broken outer wires in a 10-foot section, so I argued for the rope replacement first, and after we swapped it, the car ran smooth and the motor noise actually went away, which makes me think the strain was causing it. Anyone ever have a secondary symptom clear up after fixing the primary, obvious fault?

3 comments

3 Comments

west.anna1mo ago

That's a risky move that could backfire big time. Putting a new rope on a motor that's already humming is just asking for a call back in two weeks when it finally seizes up. The rope was a symptom, not the cause. The motor was working harder to pull against that bad rope, and now you've just removed the warning sign. Seen it happen before where the "fixed" unit runs for a month then the motor burns out completely, costing way more than that saved eight grand.

the_dylan1mo ago

@west.anna but the motor quieted down after the rope fix, so maybe it was the cause.

margaret_jackson731mo ago

But wouldn't a motor under more strain usually get louder, not quieter, after you fix the rope?