It only makes sense that before you can repair a lift chair, you need to have a pretty good idea of what's wrong with it.  We developed the following section to help you with making decisions as to what may be wrong with your lift chair, and possible solutions to be made.  Please remember that this is only a guide, and is not intended to be the only solution, or even the correct solution, for every problem.  It is based on what we have learned in over seventeen years experience "in the real world" repairing lift chairs in our service area, and from feedback we have received from our customers all across the country.     

In most cases, there is no need to call a technician in to repair a lift chair; the problems listed here can easily be completed in the home by almost anyone (please keep in mind that the last statement was made by a service technician that makes his living by doing service calls...).  We hope the information is helpful in your situation.

Although there are differences in the major manufacturers of power lift chair bases, the general principles of lift chair operation are the same.  They all use a lift motor with a pushing force of 1 to 2 horsepower to operate a lift mechanism mounted by scissor arms to the wooden chair frame.  Internal to the motor is an acme screw/worm gear system that pushes the chair to the lift position and pulls the chair to recline.  Just how the units operate to accomplish this, and what happens when all doesn't go according to plan, is why these tips were created.

Because there are so many different chair manufacturers, we tend to identify the different systems by the brand and model of motor the chair has.  That information should be on a sticker on the side of the motor.  Turn the chair over on its side, see if you can find that information, then check below for the most common problems and possible solutions.

If, after reading the suggestions below, you still can't figure out what is wrong, you can send the complete electrical system (motor, transformer, hand control, power cord) to us here in Mississippi, and because we are all-around nice guys, we will check it out for you free of charge; all you would pay is for the parts needed plus return shipping for the system.  Feel free to sent it down to us for checking, just please put a note in the box describing the problem you are having, and a contact number so we can call you with what we find (even if you have called before you sent it, I will have slept a night or two and will have forgotten what we talked about (I'm like a duck - it's a "new world everyday"...)

Trouble Shooting Guide for Hubbell Motors

NOTE: Hubbell Special Products discontinued operations in October, 2008, so there is a very limited number of repair parts available for motor repair.  In some ways, this makes diagnosis easier (that's me, always looking for the bright spot...); now, it doesn't really matter if your motor is slipping because of a bad gear set or a stripped stroke tube, as you can't get either one anymore...  You can still get the capacitor and limit switches, and I note those below as we go through the typical symptoms.  But with these two exceptions, if your Hubbell system is having problems, you replace either the hand control or the motor (or both, if you want to order them together and save over the single piece prices, or if the plug on your hand control cord is anything but the four prong connector we show on our part # 4210).

1. Nothing about the chair will work.

PROBLEM: Most common problem is chair is not connected to the electrical supply or the electrical supply is not working due to a breaker or fuse problem in the home.

SOLUTION: Make sure there is electrical current at the outlet (try plugging a lamp into the outlet the chair is plugged into), and that the chair is connected to the outlet (don't roll your eyes at how stupid this sounds - you don't want to know the number of miles I have driven to a call, only to find that the chair wasn't plugged in, or that the wall plug was loose and not making contact...) 

2. Chair will not lift or recline, and the motor makes no noise whatsoever.

PROBLEM: No electricity present (see above), or possible switch in hand control defective.

SOLUTION: Make sure chair is connected to electrical supply, if this does not solve the problem, replace switch in hand control (if replaceable) or else replace hand control. Important - Make sure chair is not connected to electrical outlet before replacing hand control or switch as an electrical shock might occur; please remember that this is a 120 volt unit.

3. Chair is in the full lifted position and will not go down, or in the fully reclined position and will not come up.

PROBLEM: Oftentimes, the chair will go up but not back, or back but not up.  The user then keeps pushing the button on the way that it will go until the motor is fully extended, then the limit switch cuts the motor off, then it won't go either direction.  The most common cause of this is a defective switch or hand control; if the motor will run either direction, and it won't even try to run the other way, the motor is hardly ever the problem.

SOLUTION: Replace either the switch (if replaceable) or the hand control (after making sure that the chair is not connected to the electrical outlet).

4. After chair has run through several cycles of up and down the motor fails to work.

PROBLEM: Thermal limit switch has overheated. This is a normal occurrence since this switch is designed to keep the motor from overheating to insure the life of the motor.

SOLUTION: Let the chair sit for 10 to 15 minutes, then the chair will begin to operate normally.

Note: This is one of the most frequent calls we receive from some dealers and a large number of consumers. For instance the grandchildren want to try out this new chair and they run the chair up and down, up and down, then the chair quits and we receive the call that their chair has just quit working (grandchildren are very good for our business...).

5. Chair will not lift or recline with a person sitting in the chair, but will lift and recline with no one in the chair.

PROBLEM: One of the causes for this is a bad capacitor, or a weak capacitor;  check to see if the motor is abnormally hot (a good motor gets rather warm in normal operation, but if the motor housing gets "hot enough to fry an egg" hot, that is another sign of a weak capacitor.  Another cause for this are motor gears that are beginning to strip; they "hold" and work as long as the motor doesn't have to strain to work, but as weight is added to the chair, the gears fail.

SOLUTION: If the motor is abnormally hot, replace the capacitor. Again, before making any repairs to the motor or electrical components, make sure the chair is not connected to electrical power.  Also, before touching the wires on the capacitor, take an insulated screwdriver (plastic, rubber or wooden handle) and touch the 2 connectors together while holding the insulated end of the screwdriver; sometimes, capacitors hold a "charge" in them even after the electrical current is unplugged.  If the motor is not abnormally hot, and you hear a grinding noise from the motor with weight on the chair, most likely the problem is in the motor gears (see question # 6 below).

6. Can hear the motor running, but there is no movement to the chair, or the chair runs a few seconds and stops again.

PROBLEM: This could be caused by two different items.

A. The gears might possibly be faulty in the motor (most common).

B. The motor push tube nut threads might be defective (less common). 

If you are one of those people that just has to know exactly what the problem is,  you can do this:  first, lie the chair on the side, run the motor, and notice if the steel worm gear inside the round push tube is turning (you may have to take the motor out of the chair and hook the hand control back up to see this better; take the plastic cover off the outside of the round push tube (so you can see the worm screw better), hold the motor's push tube down on an old  piece of carpet to give some resistance, then run the hand control up and down.  If the worm gear does not turn when running the motor, then most likely you will have defective gears, or a shear pin defective in the gears.  If the worm gear is turning, then the gears are most likely good, but the nylon nut in the outer tube is defective.

SOLUT1ON: Replace the motor.  As I said earlier, the gears and stroke tube aren't available anymore, so replacing the motor is really the only solution.  Our MS-1000 replacement motor is being used by one of the major chair manufacturers, and is a perfect fit for the Hubbell MC-42.

7. When being lifted, chair seems to sway from side to side. This is usually in rhythm with the motor.

PROBLEM: Warped worm gear in motor

SOLUTION: Replace the motor.

NOTE: This problem usually occurs when the chair has been dropped after moving.  I have also seen this happen if the grandkids have used the chair as a "jumping platform" (oh, to be young again...)

8. Chair seems to not sit level on the floor.

PROBLEM: Usually a leveling guide is missing.

SOLUTION: Replace missing plastic glide, or put a shim on the low side under the chair.

9. Foot rest seems to be hanging on floor or is sitting unlevel when chair is in closed position.

PROBLEM: Normally recline hardware is bent or broken.

SOLUTION: Replace hardware.  We recommend replacing both sides of scissor mechanisms, even if only one side is bent or broken.  We would need to know the manufacturer of the chair, and the serial # to see if the mechanisms are available.

10. Motor in chair seems to want to continue running after chair has completed a lift or recline cycle. If you continue to engage the switch, the motor wants to continue to run. 

PROBLEM: Limit switch defective.

SOLUTION: Replace limit switch, after making sure chair is not connected to the electrical outlet.

11) The chair doesn't raise up or recline as far back as it used to, and in the other direction the chair bottoms out but the motor is still humming like it wants to run.

PROBLEM: The motor timing is off

SOLUTION: Retime the motor.  This often happens when changing a defective motor or if the timing gears are beginning to strip.  Motor timing and installation instructions are below.

MOTOR TIMING & INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS

The motor is a powerful electrical mechanism with up to 1000 lb torque; Injury or damage may occur if not properly handled and installed.  We have trained personnel who can assist you, so please don't hesitate to call if you have any trouble reinstalling the motor.

Motors are equipped with limit switches which allow the motor tube to run in and out only so far before stopping; we "time" the motor so these switches will operate correctly.

1) Lay the chair on its side.

2) If the motor is still on the chair, take the bolt and clevis pin out of the end of the push tube (C) (see illustration below) where it goes through the chair bracket.

3) Connect the motor base (A) (if not already connected)  to the base of the chair.

4) Plug in the motor, push the down button on the hand control, and let the motor run until it stops (note: do not have your hand on the push tube (C) while the motor is running at this step- just let it "free-wheel" until it stops running.  Some new motors are factory set in this position already, so the motor might not run when the down button is pushed; if so you can push the up button to make sure the motor has power, then the down button to get it in the right position.

5) Hand screw the push tube (C) down toward the motor housing until it bottoms out (you will have to feel for it bottoming out, as the dust cover is covering that space).  Then turn it back out three full turns; this will allow the 1/4" to 3/8" space (B) between the bottom of the tube and the hub of the motor that we need (if you like, you can take the dust cover off so you can measure the distance, but usually three full turns will give the proper clearance).

6) At this point, grab hold of the push tube (C) and push the up button on the hand control; the push tube should start going out from the hub.  Take the tube out as far as is needed to align the tube with the connection on the chair.  Put the pin back in at the end of the tube (note: only run the motor up or down to align the components -   do not screw the tube in or out to do the alignment.  This will fully connect the motor.

7) Turn the chair back over and run it all the way up to make sure the limit switch turns the motor off when it is in the fully lifted position; then run the chair all the way down to the fully reclined position and see if the limit switch cuts it off there.  If the motor tries to keep running when the chair is all the way up or all the way reclined, the timing is still off; repeat the steps above or call for assistance.

Please Note: Listed below are the instructions for replacing the gears or push tube.  I could take this off the website, as neither the gears or push tube are available for purchase anymore, but I will leave it on here, in case you are lucky enough to find another motor that you can take the parts out of to repair your motor.

GEAR REMOVAL & INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS

This is not a hard job to do (especially if you have done it a few hundred times...), but it is one of the messier jobs you will do - I suggest wearing latex gloves and old clothes...

To Remove Gears:

1. Remove motor from lift chair by pulling two pins; one pin is located at the base of the motor and the other pin is located at the end of the screw tube.

2. Sit the motor on a workbench or similar surface.  Cover the surface of the bench with newspapers, old sheets, etc to catch the grease that will invariably get all over everything...

3. Remove the two screws from the outside of the round electrical cover that sits on top of the gear housing.

4. Remove the six screws that hold the gear housing cover to the motor base

5. Carefully fold the gear housing cover back over the top of the motor (there are wires that go through the cover, so you won't be able to take it completely off the motor).  CAUTION: Fold the cover back very carefully to keep from knocking the small timing gears (right side of picture below) out of position (if you do knock them off, call me and I will explain how they go back).

6. Remove the output gear (B) (see illustration below).

7. Remove the washers and bearings that are on the shaft end of the drive gear (A); NOTE: Pay attention to how the washers and bearings come off, so you can reinstall them the same way going back.  Also, look inside the housing cover - one or more of the washers and bearings may be imbedded in the grease there.

8. Remove the round metal covering from around the roll pin (C); you may need to use a small blade screwdriver to work the covering from around the drive gear - sometimes, they are on tight (I get calls all the time from people saying that "their motor doesn't have a roll pin", because they don't have the metal cover off...)

9. Use a 5/16" punch to knock out the roll pin in the drive gear (A); you may have to have someone hold the worm gear while you tap the roll pin out, so the gear and tube won't turn.

10. Tap - gently - on the end of the worm gear until the drive gear (A) comes completely off.

To Reassemble Gears:

Reverse the top ten steps.  NOTE: It is OK to reuse the original roll pin (it doesn't have much torque on it, so there is little danger of breakage); also, it's also acceptable to reuse the old grease (the stuff that keeps trying to get on your clothes and work area... the factory uses plenty of grease when they assemble motors) around the new gears; just put it on like it was around the old gears.  If you would rather not do that, any standard gear grease from an auto parts house would work fine.

PUSH TUBE REMOVAL & INSTALLATION

When replacing the round push tube, the gears must be pulled off and the worm gear taken completely away from the motor.  The tube must have the steel worm gear started through from the unthreaded end (see illustration).

Trouble Shooting Guide for Okin Motors

More lift chair manufacturers use the Okin electronics system than any other system today, mainly because they are quiet running and, usually, very dependable.  There are four components to a standard Okin system, and we will mention all of them in the symptoms mentioned below; they are, in order of the amount of problems experienced:

1) Hand control:  The hand control is by far the part that we sell the most... Okin hand controls have a circuit board built into them (why, I don't know, except that's the way the West German engineers designed the system); we could get into a long discussion as to what the circuit board does, but we don't really need to know (and besides, very technical electronics explanations just give me a headache...).  The problem is that as the hand control is used  - and abused (that is, it is dropped, sat on, water spilled into it, chair let down on it, etc), the solder contacts loosen, and the control usually starts working intermittently, and at some point it quits altogether...

2) Transformer:  This is the Okin part that we have the second most problems with.  It's not that they are abused that much (except when liquids get spilled into them or it somehow gets under the chair and the chair comes down on it...), but the fact is that it is operating 24/7, and nothing lasts forever (at least, nothing that I own)...  A simple check you can do is to feel the transformer to see if it is warm.  It should be warm, but not so hot that you don't want to hold onto it; if it is that hot, it needs to be replaced, no matter if it is still working or not - house fires are really inconvenient...  If the chair won't do anything, and the transformer is cold to the touch (assuming it has been plugged in for awhile), that well may be the problem.

3) Motor:  Many people that call in say that their chair isn't working, and they think the motor is out.  It's sort of like if you come into your house in mid-summer and the house is hot; you automatically assume the compressor is out; many times (unless you have my luck...) that's not the case.  In fact, the motor is one of the last things I suspect in a lift chair problem... Usually, if a defective motor is the problem, it will be pretty obvious; the motor will smoke, or it will run but not pick up the chair, or you can hear gears grinding, etc.  The motor is hardly ever the problem if it is just dead silent and not making any noise at all...

4) Power Cord: Unless the cord has obvious damage (which does happen, as a loose cord can easily get caught in the chair mechanism when it moves), cords hardly ever cause any problem... In 17 years, I can count on one hand how many power cords I have found that were bad without showing any external damage... 

1. Nothing about the chair will work.

PROBLEM: Most common problem is chair is not connected to electrical supply or electrical supply is not working due to breaker or fuse problem in the home.

SOLUTION: Make sure there is electrical current (try plugging a lamp into the outlet the chair is plugged into), and that the cord from the transformer is connected to the outlet (don't roll your eyes at how stupid this sounds - you don't want to know the number of miles I have driven to a call, only to find that the chair wasn't plugged in, or that the wall plug was loose and not making contact...)

2) The chair will not function at all.

PROBLEM: As mentioned above, the problem is either a defective transformer, defective power cord from transformer to motor, defective hand control, or defective motor.

SOLUTION: You can either replace all the parts listed above (we have them available as a complete package on our parts illustration pages), or, if you have access to an inexpensive  multimeter,  you can do a few tests to determine what the problem is.

Steps to take:

a) Check Transformer/Motor Power Lead

1. Turn the chair on its side and find the leads coming from the motor housing

2. At the motor, disconnect the small two prong wire coming from the transformer.

3. Plug the chair into the wall, if not already done (unlike the Hubbell system above, the Okin motor is a low volt system, greatly minimizing the danger of electrical shock).

4. Set your multimeter to the DC Volts setting, put your RED lead into the SMALLER of the two openings on the cord (you will probably have to put a paper clip or pin into the holes, then put your lead onto that; I don't understand why they made the contact points so small, but then again, they didn't ask me...), then your BLACK meter lead into the LARGER opening.  Your meter should read from 24 -38 volts DC current.  If you get a reading, then both the transformer and power cord are OK.

5. If you get no current reading, then unplug the wire lead coming out the end of the transformer, and   do the same check described above directly at the transformer end connector.  If you get a voltage reading there, then the lead from transformer to motor is defective.  If no voltage reading, then the transformer is defective.

b) Check the Hand Control:

Note: The following procedure is very difficult to do by yourself with your own two hands; it is very hard to hold the plug with one hand, and your two meter leads with the other, and get both the leads on those small pins without it touching the adjacent pins and giving a false reading.  Either having another person hold the plug for you, or putting the plug in a vise or some other holding device helps greatly...

Another note: With a hand control that is working intermittently, it is possible that you could get a good reading if everything is lined up correctly, but if you move the cord around a little, the test will fail.  If you can, have someone wiggle the hand control housing and cord while you take the reading.  If the reading fails then, replace the hand control.

c) Check the motor:

1. Unplug the chair from the power source.

2. At the motor, disconnect the small two prong wire coming from the transformer.

3. Set your multimeter to the OHMS setting.

4. Place one lead on each pin coming from the motor.

5. If less than one (1) ohm is read on the meter, replace the motor.

Note: Please refer to the notes about the motor above... I have seen a great many Okin motors that checked OK with the test above (that is, it tested to the 1 ohm reading) but the motor was bad...  In reality, there is no really good electrical test that will definitely show a bad motor.  The best thing to do (if you don't have a known good part to test with) is to eliminate everything else in the system, and if you are fairly sure that everything else is OK, then try replacing the motor. IMPORTANT: When you receive the new motor, try it by plugging the wires into the motor without mounting the motor in the chair; we can't take the motor back if it has been installed in the chair...

3) Motor runs, but chair will not move, or only partially moves, or makes squeaking or creaking noise.

PROBLEM: Metal lift frame broken, scissor mechanism bent, T bracket bent, wooden frame cracked, or connector on lift tube cracked

SOLUTION: Turn the chair on its side,  Examine the entire base of the chair for bends or breaks.  Check the scissor mechanisms for excessive wear or broken welds.  Examine the wood and the lift frame near the scissors for scrapes or damage; The problem may lie with those instead of the scissors.  Check the end of the motor lift tube, where it bolts to the chair; until very recently, they were made of a composite plastic (our part # 6250) , and often was the "weak point" of the motor assembly.  You you can't tell if the noise is coming from the chair frame or the motor, try removing the motor from the chair and manually move the chair to its various positions; sometimes you can find the squeak easier that way.  You can also run the motor while it is off the chair; if you hear loud noises from the motor that way, then the motor needs replacing.

4)  Battery backup system not working.

PROBLEM: Batteries may be dead, or battery leads may be damaged.

SOLUTION: Batteries need to be changed every 6 months (a good idea is to do this when you change your smoke detector batteries), or after every time they are activated due to power failure (the batteries only have enough power to run the chair for a cycle or two, then they will be dead.  If, after you change the batteries, the backup system still doesn't work, examine the battery leads for breaks, cracks, etc.  You can try replacing  the battery connectors If you have the room; if not, replace the transformer, if the battery backup is important to you (probably 90% of chairs with this feature don't have any batteries installed, or the batteries are dead, but manufacturers know that it is a good selling point, so they still use them.

 Trouble Shooting Guide for Dewert Motors

Dewert electronics are not as common as Okin systems, as they are mainly used by one manufacturer (Pride) in the USA.  However, Pride is the largest lift chair manufacturer in the USA, so there are many chairs in use with the Dewert system.  There are four components to a newer Dewert system, and even less in an older Dewert MB1 system.  We will mention all of them in the symptoms mentioned below; they are, in order of the amount of problems experienced:

1) Hand control:  The hand control is by far the part that we sell the most... Most Dewert hand controls are operated by a paddle switch; they don't have a circuit board built into them like the Okin controls do.  The only real significance of this is that on most Dewert controls, the switch can be replaced (see symptoms below).  The problem is that as the hand control is used  - and abused (that is, it is dropped, sat on, water spilled into it, chair let down on it, etc), the switch fails, or shorts develop in the hand control wiring, and the control usually starts working intermittently, and at some point it quits altogether...

2) Transformer:  This is the Dewert part that we have the second most problems with.  It's not that they are abused that much (except when liquids get spilled into them or it somehow gets under the chair and the chair comes down on it...), but the fact is that it is operating 24/7, and nothing lasts forever (at least, nothing that I own)...  There are two styles of Dewert transformers; older model Dewert systems like the MB1 have what we call an "internal" transformer (the transformer is mounted on the motor assy under the chair).  Newer model chairs have an "external" transformer (the transformer sits behind the chair with a power cord connecting the transformer to the hand control and motor).  We will discuss troubleshooting both types in the symptoms below.  In either case, a simple check you can do is to feel the transformer to see if it is warm.  It should be warm, but not so hot that you don't want to hold onto it; if it is that hot, it needs to be replaced, no matter if it is still working or not - house fires are really inconvenient...  If the chair won't do anything, and the transformer is cold to the touch (assuming it has been plugged in for awhile), that well may be the problem.

3) Motor:  Many people that call in say that their chair isn't working, and they think the motor is out.  It's sort of like if you come into your house in mid-summer and the house is hot; you automatically assume the compressor is out; many times (unless you have my luck...) that's not the case.  In fact, the motor is one of the last things I suspect in a lift chair problem... Usually, if a defective motor is the problem, it will be pretty obvious; the motor will smoke, or it will run but not pick up the chair, or you can hear gears grinding, etc.   The motor is hardly ever the problem if it is just dead silent and not making any noise at all (although Dewert motors seem to go out more often than Okin motors this way...)

4) Power Cord: Unless the cord has obvious damage (which does happen, as a loose cord can easily get caught in the chair mechanism when it moves), cords hardly ever cause any problem... In 17 years, I can count on one hand how many power cords I have found that were bad without showing any external damage... 

1. Nothing about the chair will work.

PROBLEM: Most common problem is chair is not connected to electrical supply or electrical supply is not working due to breaker or fuse problem in the home.

SOLUTION: Make sure there is electrical current (try plugging a lamp into the outlet the chair is plugged into), and that the cord from the transformer is connected to the outlet (don't roll your eyes at how stupid this sounds - you don't want to know the number of miles I have driven to a call, only to find that the chair wasn't plugged in, or that the wall plug was loose and not making contact...).

2) The chair will not function at all.

PROBLEM: There is either a defective transformer, defective hand control, defective motor, or defective/damaged power cord (in MBZ systems).

SOLUTION: You can either replace all the parts listed above (we have them available as a complete package on our parts illustration pages), or, if you have access to an inexpensive  multimeter,  you can do a few tests to determine what the problem is.

Steps to take:

a) Check the Transformer.  As mentioned above, there are two styles of Dewert transformers; older model Dewert systems like the MB1 have what we call an "internal" transformer (the transformer is mounted on the motor assy under the chair).  Newer model chairs have an "external" transformer (the transformer sits behind the chair with a power cord connecting the transformer to the hand control and motor).  To find which one you have, simply follow the power cord from the wall - whatever the cord is attached to is the transformer...

Internal (MB1) Transformer System - Transformer mounted to the motor

External (MBZ) Transformer System - Transformer Sits Behind the Chair

b) Check the Hand Control:

Note: The following procedure is very difficult to do by yourself with your own two hands; it is very hard to hold the plug with one hand, and your two meter leads with the other, and get both the leads on those small pins without it touching the adjacent pins and giving a false reading.  Either having another person hold the plug for you, or putting the plug in a vise or some other holding device helps greatly...

c) Check Motor:

1. Unplug the chair from the power source.

2. At the motor, disconnect the small two prong wire coming from the transformer.

3. Set your multimeter to the OHMS setting.

4. Place the BLACK lead on the LARGE pin, and the RED lead on the SMALL pin.

5. The meter reading should show resistance in the 1.5 to 2.5 ohm range.  If less than one (1) ohm is read on the meter, replace the motor.

Note: Please refer to the notes about the motor above... I have seen a great many Dewert motors that checked OK with the test above (that is, it tested to the 1 ohm reading) but the motor was bad...  In reality, there is no really good electrical test that will definitely show a bad motor.  The best thing to do (if you don't have a known good part to test with) is to eliminate everything else in the system, and if you are fairly sure that everything else is OK, then try replacing the motor. IMPORTANT: When you receive the new motor, try it by plugging the wires into the motor without mounting the motor in the chair; we can't take the motor back if it has been installed in the chair...

A Dewert motor can also be checked by applying voltage directly to the motor.  You can take a 12 volt battery, or two 9 volt batteries wired in series, and put voltage directly to the motor terminals.  The large pin is the ground on the motor, an the smaller pin is the hot lead.  Positive voltage will make the motor push tube extend, and negative voltage will make it retract.  NOTE: this is less voltage than the motor is designed for, so don't run the motor but just a few seconds to see if it is operable or not.

3) Motor runs, but chair will not move, or only partially moves, or makes squeaking or creaking noise.

PROBLEM: Metal lift frame broken, scissor mechanism bent, T bracket bent, wooden frame cracked, or broken push tube.

SOLUTION: Turn the chair on its side,  Examine the entire base of the chair for bends or breaks.  Check the scissor mechanisms for excessive wear or broken welds.  Examine the wood and the lift frame near the scissors for scrapes or damage.  The problem may lie with those instead of the scissors.  Check the end of the motor lift tube, where it bolts to the chair; the older Dewert motors had a plastic connector on the end of the push tube, and it was the "weak point" of the motor assembly.

4)  Battery backup system not working.

PROBLEM: Batteries may be dead, or battery leads may be damaged.

SOLUTION: Batteries need to be changed every 6 months (a good idea is to do this when you change your smoke detector batteries), or after every time they are activated due to power failure.  If, after you change the batteries, the backup system still doesn't work, examine the battery leads for breaks, cracks, etc.  You can try replacing  the battery connectors If you have the room; if not, replace the transformer.

Contact Information

Telephone            

Toll Free 888-871-0312 or 662-328-1493

FAX

Toll Free 888-871-2125 or 662-328-1480

Postal address

Medical Center Supply

1835 Highway 45 North  Ste 225

Columbus, MS 39705

Electronic mail

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