Got a call for a stuck car in a 12 story building downtown

The door interlock on the 8th floor was showing closed but the car wouldn't move. I checked the COP and saw a voltage drop on the lock circuit. Turned out a tiny piece of wire insulation had frayed and was shorting against the terminal block in the shaft (it was from a rodent, I think). I cleaned it up and re-terminated the wire, and the car ran fine. Has anyone else found weird stuff causing phantom voltage issues like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

david_palmer16d ago

Had a similar call last year at the old hospital on 3rd. A crushed soda can in the pit was bridging two terminals, causing all sorts of weird signals on the safety circuit. Those random shorts are the worst to track down. What's the strangest thing you've found in a shaft?

the_laura16d ago

Oh man, dentures and soda cans are nothing. I once pulled a completely mummified, petrified squirrel out of a shaft. Looked like a tiny furry statue. Honestly, david_palmer, I think that squirrel had better wiring than some of the jobs I've walked onto. Felt bad for the little guy, but at least he wasn't causing a short.

ivan46216d ago

Nah, I've actually found those random shorts are way easier than the slow gremlins. The weirdest thing in a shaft was a full set of dentures, still in the case.