Ricon Wheelchair Woes

[dredman]

Had a Braun in the last bus, and made multiple repairs to the switch. This is a Ricon, and looks barely used, but NO response when hitting the "Deploy" switch, or any other switch. I was hoping for a "hidden" safety switch somewhere, before I start troubleshooting power issues?

Any clues?

Anyone have a Ricon besides me?

[Robin97396]

Originally Posted by dredman

Had a Braun in the last bus, and made multiple repairs to the switch. This is a Ricon, and looks barely used, but NO response when hitting the "Deploy" switch, or any other switch. I was hoping for a "hidden" safety switch somewhere, before I start troubleshooting power issues?

Any clues?

Anyone have a Ricon besides me?

I've got the same lift and the same problem. I've got power to the lift, lights are on, but no movement from the controls. I've been using it manualy to get the occasional wood stove or motorcycle in and out.

Mine did work before I insulated, so possibly I might have knocked a ground wire off or something. I've thought of getting rid of my lift altogether, but a ramp simply wouldn't compare to a lift.

[family wagon]

Mine has a Ricon under floor lift. It slides straight out sideways from the bus until fully out of its case, then moves up to the bus floor or down to the ground. The remote has a green light that illuminates when the lift is usable; I think it has interlocks verifying the park brake is set and the door is open. Once the green light is on then I think I have to push and hold two buttons at the same time to make the lift actually move. I don't have a photo of it handy -- does yours sound similar at all?

When I first got mine it was pretty stiff. I could hear a motor run and the lift would twitch, but then it made a popping sound like a protective clutch was slipping. With a great deal of button-pushing alternating between deploy and retract, much like rocking a vehicle stuck in mud or snow, I finally got the whole thing deployed. It had a whole lot of dust accumulated in the drive chains, rollers, etc. I haven't taken the time to clean it yet, and though it moves better, it still sticks sometimes.

Mine has a load of safety switches that sometimes cause inconvenience. There's one on the "seat belt" -- the belt has to be buckled even to stow the lift. Another on the fold-down edge at the end of the platform -- that has to be fully vertical or the lift won't move. Others too, I'm sure, but those are all that come to mind now. Mine is in a model year 2000 Blue Bird, in case that helps judge whether yours and mine are contemporaries or not.

[Thomas1985]

The lift on my buss requires an order of operations. After you park your emergency brake goes on, then I flip a switch on the dash, then you can open the doors and use the remote.

- Thomas

[cowlitzcoach]

There are multiple interlocks that will keep the pump motor from getting any juice. Depending on the year, model, and type of bus you will have some or all of the different interlocks.

• Newer buses have a power switch on the driver's control panel. If it isn't turned on nothing will work
• Most newer buses have to have the emergency brake applied and the transmission in neutral. I have seen some that require the engine to be off.
• The newer lifts have safety belts to protect people from falling off the front of the lift. The interlock switch in the belt can be troublesome.
• The lift door needs to be open. The switch looks like a dome light switch on a car--out the light comes on, in the light goes out. Same thing for the lift--out the lift should work, in the lift won't work.
• There is a limit switch the tells the pedestal (the hand held control--no idea as why it is called a pedestal) whether or not the lift is stowed or not. The limit switch can become magnetized and will not retract when it is supposed to do so. If it doesn't retract the pedestal will not start any of the functions.
• Pedestals do wear out and the function buttons fail to work correctly.
• Pedestal cords can get pulled and mashed by the lift and the lift door causing intermittent or complete failure to stay connected at the plug end.

Diagnosing the problem is not difficult. All you need is a 12-vdc test light. You need to determine where the juice stops. Wherever the juice stops, that is where the problem will lie. The problem will arise as to following the wiring to find all of the possible places as to where the juice is getting interrupted.

The fact you can manually deploy and run the lift up and down is indicative that the lift is still in working condition. If it didn't you would have a whole different set of issues with which to contend.

[dredman]

Originally Posted by cowlitzcoach

[*]Pedestal cords can get pulled and mashed by the lift and the lift door causing intermittent or complete failure to stay connected at the plug end.[/LIST]

Wow that looks like a complete list? Thanks cowlitz

Gonna do some testing after I install the pedestal (the hand held control) that I ripped off after manually lowering while the pedestal was stil attached to the bottom of the lift

Anyone got a wiring diagram for a ricon pedestal?

[cowlitzcoach]

I was able to get a schematic sent to me or I downloaded one.

It has been so long since I was having to troubleshoot why our lift wasn't working correctly (of course it stopped working on Easter Sunday morning) that I don't remember where I got it.

My first stop would be to contact your local school district and talk to one of the techs.

I would also contact Ricon directly to see if you can get any help troubleshooting or sending a schematic.

Good luck.

http://www.riconcorp.com/pdfs/32sl629revB_Titanium.pdf