CRANE GAME HAS TROUBLE MOVING LEFT/RIGHT.. PLEASE HELP

[javelinarunr]

Hi, new to this forum.. really interesting and cant wait to be invlolved more...

Anyway, I recently purchased a crane game on ebay.  The only problem it had was it has trouble moving left and right.  It sounds like a motor problem, but a business told me it might be:  "Stuck relay, or bad relay. Stuck limit switch in the carraige, or bad switch. Miss-aligned carraige travel rails. Old worn out/broken belt not gripping carraige travel wheels. Very unlikely a bad motor." Why is it very unlikely a bad motor? The reason i thought it was a bad motor is it moves, then makes a loud sound as it slowly travels left or right.  In the 25sec time limit it gets to the middle of the crane by the time it drops.  I guess now i need to know how to check for bad switches and relays?? the carriage is a little mis-aligned, but not bad enough to keep it from moving.  And the belts on the travel wheels are fine as well. 

If anyone could please help me on this issue, i would greatly appreciate it. The other information i have is it is a smart industries, bear claw, 5th generation, 5FB6.

Thanks in advance...

[Ken Layton]

The problems I've seen on Smart cranes is they develop breaks in the wire harness where the wires enter the carriage housing from all the flexing. If this is the problem it's best to buy a replacement new wire harness or you'll just continue to have problems.

Smart has good tech support so you should call them for more help.

[Kevin Mullins]

Without knowing the specifics on the SMART cranes.......not sure if there are gear boxes etc. involved.

First thing I would do is take the drive belt OFF and operate everything and find where your "noise" is coming from.

[javelinarunr]

Well, i think the noise is coming from the back area of the claw... I really dont know much on cranes, but there are more than one motors, right? is there one for forward/back and right/left?

[Kevin Mullins]

Yes, typically there will be two motors.
One for forward and back, and one for left and right.

If you take the left/right drive belt off, then operate the controls and it still makes the "noise" then you know the problem is in the motor/gearbox.
Could be a mechanical problem, could be an electrical problem. But that will give you a starting point to back track from.
The carriage should also then move left/right freely by hand with the belt off as well.

[javelinarunr]

Ok, i will try taking it apart tonight. Thanks for your help, please check back tonight or tomorrow as i will update in case i run into trouble.

[javelinarunr]

Thanks for  you guys helping me out.  But you'll never guess what the problem was. I bought this from a guy on ebay for $200 cause he said it "worked sometimes, but doesnt really move left to right", so we bought it as-is condition.  well, last night i was taking the carriage off and examining the motor movements like you said, and noticed the one of the motors just had some trouble moving.  well, i go grab some WD-40, spray a little on the gear..... AND it WORKS  PERFECTLY!!

One more thing, if anyone can help me out with this.  There is a apeaker on the bottom. I dont know if there is supposed to be sound coming out or not cause nothing does.  I checked the speaker and it is fine.  If there is a problem with sound where should i check? and is it fixable by someone like me or more of a professional job since it is prolly a problem with the electronics?  Help on this issue is also appreciated.

Thanks again.

[Kevin Mullins]

Don't overlook the fact that there is a volume and dipswitches for the audio.