Trilobite Error 7 check bumper

[Parker]

Hi fellow Trilobiters,

Has anyone managed to fix the error 7 check bumper problem or did you have to send it back to be repaired?

It seems to think that the bumper is pressed when it isn't and my best hunches are:
* the springs that push the bumper forward are fatigued, or
* one of the microswitches has failed
Does anyone have any experience?

Any advice appreciated!
Parker

[eqwalker]

Out of the four of mine I have not experienced an Error 7. I have only had one have the Error 4 which it is off for repair. You can take the Trilobite apart (I have) and check the actual bumper switch but you must take care in doing so. Have you tried compressed air to blow around the bumper? Sorry I don't have more useful info.

[Parker]

Thanks for the suggestion eqwalker. I gave it a blast of compressed air but no change.

I made the problem go away by spraying a little WD-40 into the bumper microswitches S1 and S2. It looks like they were sticking.

In the long term it'd probably be better to replace the microswitches with new ones but I think that requires far more disassembly to get to the underside of the circuit board.

[ianbee]

microswitches s1and s2 do you know the part number or model ? I need to replacemy switches.

[Parker]

microswitches s1and s2 do you know the part number or model ? I need to replacemy switches.

I don't know. Is the part number/manufacturer not written on them?
I'm not an electronics whizz, but aren't microswitches quite simple devices - suffice to find one that looks alike.
Good luck and let us know how it works out.
Parker

[C3P0]

Hi, new here but facing the same problem. It's not really a microswitch- more a small tactile pushutton switch. Mine was an intermittent problem until I took the trilobite apart to try and find the cause of another problem. Since then it fails every time. I was very careful with the cables to the ultrasonic sensors so I don't think I could have damaged them and the switches are clicking like they should work. My suspicion is that the solder joints of the switch may have failed/gone dry. Tomorrow I'll re-solder them and see if that helps.
Mark

[Parker]

Mark,

Are you sure it's the switches and not the springs? The springs need to push the bumper right forward so that the switches are not depressed. I'd check that before any soldering.

Parker

[C3P0]

Hi Parker, no I don't think it's the springs. The bumper moves quite freely and I can hear each of the 2 switches clicking when I gently press on either side of the bumper. I did get the bumper error occasionally before I took it apart but now it's every time I try and start the Trilobote. It just moves backwards to try and clear the bumper but then flags the error. Dry joints are very common on physically stressed parts (headphone jacks on MP3 players for example) and this switch does get born upon by the relatively massive bumper so I figure it may be a dry joint or a faulty switch. Hopefully I'll be able to report back tomorrow what I find.
Mark

[C3P0]

I had another look at my 'bite this evening and made an important discovery that has given me great hope of getting it working properly once more. I was going to re-flow the solder on the bumper switches but when I got the mobo out it looked like there was nothing wrong with the solder joints at all.



So I checked the operation of the switches with a meter and sure enough they were not working at all- either one! I checked between all the combinations of pairs of the 4 of the soldered contacts and none of them showed any change at all when the switch was depressed!

So I took the switches apart



The disk to the right is the domed contact that clicks when you press the button and is very badly tarnished- no wonder the switch didn't work! The other one is the same. Needless to say I couldn't get the switches to work properly again so I soldered shorting wires across the legs on the PCB.

On reassembly my trilobite now seems to be working much better- it now starts reliably- with the ultrasonic clicking and the fan spins up and the brush rotates, but now I only get a "check wheels" error #6, but I was expecting that.

So the bumper error AND the error 4 have both gone- just need to fix or find a replacement for the wheel/gearbox and hopefully my new Trilobite will live again. Oh and I'll have to figure a way to fix the switches as I think the bumper function is quite an important one!

Mark

[Parker]

Thanks for the update and photos Mark. Highly recommend not leaving the switches shorted - could result in some chipped paintwork if not worse

Parker
PS Please share the source if you find a replacement switch.

[geeji]

I had a similar problem with the bumper switches of my Trilobite ZA2.
I was not able to find similar switches as spare parts.
The most obvious solution is to buy for cheap on eBay a broken Trilobite (ZA1 or ZA2) and use its (hopefully intact) switches to repair your original Trilobite.
You may also try a de-oxidizing vaporizer such as KF F2.

[C3P0]

Hi, I "fixed" my bumper switches by removing the front part of the old switch and gluing a new smaller switch to the stub. Thin wires from the new switch legs feed down the hole behind the switch to the contacts on the bottom of the PCB.



It works well. I was told by the UK trilobite specialist (to whom I was referred by Electrolux UK) that only one of the switches is actually active, but I'm not sure which.

Mark

[trilobite]

Had a few errors on my ZA1 today.
The first one was #4, the fan would speed down a lot during cleaning until it would just stop.
I took everything apart and cleaned it, the roller bearings were almost stuck but the problem was more likely the pressure sensor.

That fixed it but afterwards it got error #7 and whatever I did to the bumper it just didn't work.

Turns out the little switches were both completely broken!
They would click but not make a connection. So I fixed them by taking them apart (if you want to do it, carefully pry off the front part with a knife), cleaning the little disc inside and gluing them back together. I overdid one that's permanently closed now but the other one is working as it should.

So contrary to what C3P0 wrote both are needed. You just can't see any connection to the right one as it connects to the middle layer of the PCB.

My Trilobite is starting up again and seems to be working! I'll give it a full test run tomorrow.

Edit:
Perfect run, it was back on the charger when I got home!

[meanmarv]

I do need a S1 as the cap came off and spring/plunger are gone rendering the switch useless. I have removed the tactile switch and in process of searching for one without any luck. Any help would be appriciated.