Showerthought: A blown relay in a 30-year-old Otis taught me the hard way about parts sourcing

I was working on an old Otis elevator in a downtown St. Louis office building last Thursday, and the main door relay just gave out mid-cycle. Had to spend two hours scavenging through a dusty storage room to find a replacement because nobody stocks those 24V DC relays anymore. The building manager was pacing around asking how long it would take, and I just told him, 'well, depends on how much 1980s junk is in your basement.' Has anyone else had to dig through old parts bins to keep an ancient setup running?

3 comments

3 Comments

karen36125d ago

Was the building really going to shut down over one door relay, or was he just panicking?

miles_burns25d ago

Oh absolutely, I had an entire server room nearly locked down over a single stuck relay on a closet door.

betty_wells25d ago

@karen361 one relay can absolutely trigger a full building lockdown. these systems are touchy.