Jugs Jr. problems, need help.

[CoachBroker]

Our league has 3 jugs pitching machines for all the teams to be able to use during their field or batting cage practice. At the end of last season 2 of the 3 were working. At the start of this season only 1 of the 3 are working. I brought the newer home that was not working in hopes up getting it back up and going. It is a Jugs Jr. with the digital speed read out. When I plug it in, nothing works. It does not make a sound and there is no digital power shown on the screen. I opened up the power box that houses the digital display. Everything looks good, clean, and no corrosion. The fuse was still good also. The tire spends freely by hand.
Now as much as I have tried to learn I am not smart enough with electricity or elec. meters to find where the power loss is coming from. I figure it has to be something simple. If the digital screen was lit up and the motor not spinning then I would be worried.
Has anyone had this or a similar problem and can you tell me what fixed it? Thanks.

 

[Ken Krause]

I have not had the problem, but I've spoken to the techs at Jugs before and they are awesome. Contact them and they can probably help you out.

 

[justanotherguy]

Have you followed all the power related wires and checked their connections? I believe there's one set that "plugs" in and one that's soldered. I'd also replace the fuse anyways just to see. If it was a problem on the motherboard I'd expect it to still light up or the wheel to spin. It sounds like a total power failure.

A new MB will cost a little over 200 if you can't figure it out. I'd consider taking it to an appliance/tv repair shop. They often work with very similar technology and could possibly diagnose it. It's a rather simple motherboard.

 

[smddad]

Find someone with some electrical knowledge to check for voltage at the fuse. If there is voltage there, then it's in the board. That's where all the magic happens. If there is not voltage, then work your way back to the switch and the cord.

 

[coach james]

I agree with "another guy"... Double check all connections and if nothing is broken, blown, or loose, you should look on eBay for a replacement board.

 

[CoachBroker]

Thanks guys. These have been my thoughts. If its plugged in and nothing is showing power, I think I have a problem to would have to be fairly easy once you find the first switch/connector/cylinoid that the power goes through. If I have not figured it out by Monday I will call jugs and let them walk me through it. Thanks again.

 

[JJsqueeze]

Be careful of visual inspection of fuses- many times fuses look intact but are really blown. Do a resistance check and make sure it reads basically 0 ohms or a small fraction of an ohm. What you have described smells very much like a connection problem like an intermittent crimp connection or a loose solder joint. I would try turning it on and start gently pressing in on various connection points to see if you can find something that makes it come to life.

 

[CoachBroker]

JJ, that is what I initially did was plug it in and with the cover off started moving wires around and pushing on crimps. It never seemed to make a difference.

 

[YOCOACH]

On electrical boards, sometimes there is a soldered in fuse which many people without electrical/electronic experience often mistake for a resistor but usually they are approximately 2/3 the size. Also, many times moisture will seep into resistors if they experience wide temperature variations like you would find in a batting barn that gets heated for an hour then cools back down to 40 degrees and this moisture causes them to go bad. Take a multi-meter, set it to resistance mode and measure across all of the resistors/fuses by touching the probes to the wires on both sides of the resistors. You should get a resistance of anywhere from 5-50K ohms of resistance with 10K being the most common type of resistor. If your meter reads OL (outside limits), then more than likely you have found your problem. Then it's just a simple matter of getting some soldering braid, unsoldering the joint, installing the new resistor or fuse which you can pick up from Radio Shack, re-soldering the joints and clipping the extra wire on the backside close to the board.