- Check your charger. Plug your charger into an outlet. With a volt meter, meter the tip (positive is inside or it’s the tip end, negative is on the outside or closer to the cord end), With a 12v charger, you should be getting about 17v out of the tip. With a 9 volt charger, you should get about 13v. All of our systems require a tip positive charger. Make sure the polarity is correct if the charger has been replaced.
- Check your internal battery. Batteries last about 5 – 6 years. A 12V battery with good voltage should read about 12.5v +, a good 6v battery should read 6.4‐6.5v+. To get to the battery in most units, there are 4 Allen head type screws on the bottom of the carry case (units that have the larger faceplate like Magnum or Pro Weigh, the screws are on the faceplate). Remove the 4 screws and you will be able to take the unit out of the carry case and separate the top and bottom housings enough to view the battery (or you are able to lift the faceplate up off the unit). When your battery gets so old and the level is too low, it will prevent the unit from powering up. Open your control box up and disconnect the +/‐ battery wires, plug your charger in and see if it powers up.
- Check your cables. If all checks out good with steps 1 & 2, *unplug 1 of the cables from the circuit board. On models with double ended cables, disconnect 1 cable from unit. Press the On/Off button, if it doesn’t power up, plug that cable back into unit and unplug the next cable, repeat * for the next 2 cables. If you find a cable with a short, remove cable from the unit and replace with a new cable. Head here to fill out our Cable Replacement Form.
- Membrane test. Make sure your charger is connected to the unit and find where the membrane (keypad) ribbon plugs into the circuit board (this will be a flat piece with a blue, 4 – 13 hole connector that plugs into pins on circuit board). It will have a gold trace for every hole in the connector giving it a “striped” look. Disconnect the membrane from the circuit board and wet 1 of your fingers ,run your finger across the pins on the circuit board. If the unit powers up, you have a membrane issue and it needs to be replaced. Note: Some older models membrane may not be available anymore.
- If all above tests have been done and your unit still doesn’t power up, we recommend that you carefully box the unit or whole system up and give us a call and ask that we issue you an RMA number. When this number is issued, write it on the outside of the box with a sharpie. (This number ensures that the package you send to us goes to our service department).
Please note: Not all parts are available on our older model systems, and there is a chance the unit may not be repairable. Our service dept. will go over all of your options available to you.