Best New or Used Wheel Balancers for Your Auto Shop

Hi, I have a Beissbarth Microtec 810 which is showing a error 6, ive been searching online for a manual but cant seem to find one, any ideas what could be wrong?.

Hello is there anyone who can tell me whats wrong with ny beidsbarth w416 when it loses position where the green light is supposed to light up? Spin it a Little by hand and the green light lights up in a different position...

Sir, would it be possible to tell me where i can find service manual and all the info for fmc 4100 sc.

email : marco.lamarre@gmail.com

Your current soiutlon seems like the best bet actually except I would change the domain addresses to IPs for the load balancers. Clients currently have to resolve the IP on every connection or their driver/OS will manage caching of the IP. Either way this adds DNS overhead and connection behavior can be wonky from one driver to the next. With IP we simply have to plan for connection failure. If we fail we move on to the next IP. Overall I would suspect that there would be better performance from the client perspective by 10 100ms depending on network latency by removing the DNS step. On Amazon the soiutlon would be to give clients Elastic IPs to connect to. I forget if Rackspace has an elastic IP equivalent.

Hey Shawn,I should warn you that I haven't curoigfned a multi-master MySQL configuration yet, just multi-slaves, and everything about your topic is based on the dox.You didn't mention a particular MySQL version, so I'll refer to 4.1. There are a couple of issues with the load balancer setup, including when one (or more) of the slaves has more data than the secondary master (unlikely, yet not impossible). The closest you can come to no downtime fixing things and bringing DB's up-to-date manually is to have shared storage between the two masters, the second one being on standby (of course, this means no replication ring). When primary fails, you start up MySQL on the secondary with the same server-id and the setup takes off just as if nothing happened. This can even be scripted, depending on the operating system you use.I know, MySQL is a pain the butt when it comes to true HA, and it seems that only in 5.1 things are beginning to go in the right direction. Till then

Hi Flocar, Andrew has a circuit diagram for the Repco balancers which I was able to download a copy. If you email Andrew @pe$ he will give you the link to download the service manual and calibration procedure.

I can't see any reason why a single phase motor would not work other than it might take some "Trickery" to get Dynamic Braking to stop the wheel tyre after balancing. Talk to an electrician. My email address is still the same I don't know why it is bouncing on you???

Anyway Andrew has been great with info as he used to service these machines. I'm sure he can answer any questions better than I can. Cheers [Detroit diesel the other Andrew]

Thanks Andrew.

raringe@bigpond.com

Rob

Rob,

that email dustooff@gmail.com does work, Detroitdiesel has managed to get through to me using it. Can you post up your email, and I will pm a link to the manual. The only clue to motor RPM is on page 4, saying models 470/1 are 600RPM and 472 is 400RPM. I am missing page 18 which is the electrical diagram, which may indicate motor specs.

Andrew

Andrew have tried your email address several times and it bounces back. I am very interested in a circuit for the 472. Thank you for the offer. I also live in SE QLD. I have another question. I would like to change the 3 phase motor for a single phase motor. The three phase seems to run at a low rpm. What speed does the single phase motor run at? The same I guess but it doesn't seem a standard rpm. Rob

Hi, by way of into, I am an electronics tech 20+years, and have worked on many of the machines mentioned, SEQld area. I do have some service manuals also. Those still interested I do have circuits for Repco 472. Other Beissbarth manuals (510 etc). msg me at dustooff@gmail.com. My reason for finding this page was in search of service codes for Hoffmann Geodyna 3001, CS0, CS1, ... C99. One machine I had little to do with in the past, but still would be used in a dealer w/s if I can get it to calibrate. I've scanned through some of the codes and made sense of them in relation to sensors on the machine, but not been able to find actual cal entries.

cheers

Andrew

Hi Jim I responded via your email, a little long winded but this procedure should work if you can't find the original calibration mass.

Cheers Andrew

Hi Detroitdiesel, hoping you may be able to help me. I bought a Beissbarth Microtec 840 wheel balancer and have downloaded a free instruction manual and I am not sure about the calibration procedure. The first thing is I don't have the "Sample Weight For Setting" that would have been one of the "Accessories Supplied" when this balancer was originally pruchased.

Do I need this for calibration, if so could I machine one up, or would you know where I cfould buy one from.

Jim

jimkennedy770@hotmail.com

Simo83. Think my wiring is all intact. But thanks for the offer. Thanks for the tip DD. I imagine that the electrolytic capicitors might be gone. It is apparently a common problem with old electronics. When I first cranked it up it had a constant flash regardless and gave no settings. Now I get no flash at all. Although the instructions do say wait 5 minutes before use after turning on which I don't think I've done. But I imagine that is only to stabilize it prior to use.

A common problem with Repco 471 wheel balancers are the operator can't see the "Strobe Flash" clearly, In this case remove the instrument and top cover, [you will have to remove the rear cover to unplug the harness] and clean inside the plastic drum with the numbers printed on the outside. It gets dust off the drive belt building up inside the opaque plastic drum.

[Make sure the power has been off for half an hour] then clean the glass of the Xenon flash tube, [I used CRC brakecleen] Caution: Bear in mind there is a capacitor in the circuit that can still have a charge in it to trigger the flash tube, once it is leaked out or discharged it is safe.

Thanx so much for that link to operators manual, been a great help, and for flocar if u want I have some pics of the wiring mostly intact beside from a few rat removed wires, it might help, if so send me an email to simeon_83@hotmail.com and ill send u what I have

Thanks very much Detroitdiesel These are perfect. Yes a circuit would be nice but these two documents are a great start. Sorry I never got in touch before but was probably caught up in other activities. I have just moved into a new 21m x 9m workshop so once I get settled again I will start playing with my balancer again. I certainly have wheels that need it.

Please exercise all safety precautions when working around wheel balancing equipment as the operator is exposed to rotating wheels and equipment that can cause serious injury, and no attempt should be made to calibrate the machine without a registered / Licensed Electrician present when rear cover is removed from machine. As there are terminals at Phase Potential!

The above link to information is used entirely at your own risk when servicing Repco 471 wheel balancing machines.

..Just tested the link and it works OK, to see the numbers on the drawing of the wheel unbalance in the Calibration document you have to down load and then open the downloaded copy on the bottom of your screen. Im not sure why it doesn't display this diagram in the preview mode.

This link will take you to the Repco 471 Wheel Balancer machine operators manual and the Calibration procedure, for anyone who wants the information on the Worlds best wheel balancer I dont have a "Circuit Diagram" but any electronics service person could easily repair any part of this circuit as all parts can be replaced and sourced from someone like RS Elctronics.The Google Docs preview wont show all of the numbers in one of the Diagrams [I dont know why?] so you will have to download the word document by clicking on the "Down load tab [next to the print icon] when you have it open in preview, to preview click on the page once. I hope this helps anyone who is looking. https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0BxYSyVSCNU...

Flocar I wasn't aware you did not receive my email about the operators manual, you should have emailed me straight away and I would resend it for you. The calibration precedure is straight forward and is essential to make these old timers work well. My old Repco is the best balancer on the planet and is extremely accurate and I can balance wheels up to 20 inches and beyond by just putting on less weight than what the instrument asks for [Its only Mass x Radius]

Hello Simo and Flocar, Give me your email address and I will send you an operators manual, I don.t have a wiring diagram but I do have the calibration procedure. all the parts are available from any electronic spares shop

Best regards

I emailed Dieseldetroit who said he would send the info for my machine but I never received it. In the mean time it has stopped doinging anything other than spin the wheels. Unfortunately it has been no use to me. I would still love the information so that perhaps I could still restore it.

Hi, just wondering if you would have a wiring diagram for repco 472A wheel balancer, this machine is older than I am and left over at the workshop before i started so im bringing it back to life. After the rats were evicted and fixed the wiring that was still attached I have a couple more i need help with due to being completely chewed thru and disconnected, i would really appreciate any help I can get

Hi, I bought an old beissbarth (w426 from 1985). I have tried to find some manuals for this machine but haven't managed to find anything. The usage is clear to me except for one switch in the panel which I would need help with..please see the link. The machine in the link is not w426 but have the same switch.. http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg538/Otto-79/...

Even calibrationprocedure would be interesting to know if anybody has the answer

Thanks to Detriotdesiel I have some info for my Repco 471. I will look at the machine soon.

Hi. I need some help with a fmc 2500 I am getting a cal error. If I run f11 I get zeros on the displays. Does any one have a repair manual with test points on circuit board. Thanks al

Unfortunately the people that have the information about these Repco machines do not seem to look at this thread any more. My machine still sits waiting for some information that will allow me to either repair it or set it up. A manual or circuit or other info would be great. I need it to balance 3 stud wheels that the modern machines cannot do. In the mean time I have found a place that is still using this type of machine but they have no information on it. I have 14 cars with these three stud wheels and so would like my own balancer.

I have an operation manual for a 471 and calibration instructions, I think the model you are referring to has digital indicators?? However the calibration and plane separation could be similar if there are trim pots on the main board. If the calibration co-efficient' s are stored in a digital format in an Eprom then the Cal procedure will have to accessed and followed step by step by switching on the calibration function. I can't help you with that as I don't know how to switch between user and calibration. First thing to do is open the instrument and look at the main board, if you can see trim pots [hopefully they are labelled] then it should be easy using the Repco 471 manual, if there are no trim pots [just ICs] then you will need to ask around for some information from someone who used to service these machines. I may be able to help with someone that might know how these work as he is retired but his son's are now running the business. email me cnajackson@xtra.co.nz

Can anyone help me

I am after a user manual and calibration instructions for a Repco 572 wheel balancer. I believe it is part of the same family of balancers as the 470 / 471 series so the instructions for them may be very close.

Thanks

That would be great. I have not found a wiring diagram for the 3 phase unit, but have seen 220 single phase diagrams. I was thinking the same thing, split out controls from motor as Hofmann transform incoming power to 18V to feed the control boards. Was thinking one could use an inverter to generate 3 phase from single phase. If you could share you details on converter it would be greatly appreciated. I'll see if I can use it on my unit. You can email to thorsfar@gmail.com. Thanks.

I built a single phase to 3 phase convertor for my Repco. It is fairly straight forward. The computer had a 240 volt connection as well as the 400 volt one. I connected the computer to a single phase plug. Then built the convertor and connected it to the motor. I had an electrician mate check it for safety. The motor was fine but the computer never worked properly. I am not sure but perhaps it was already faulty. I can email details of the convertor if you wish. The reason I wired the computer seperatly was I thought the converted 400 volts may not be clean.

Some great info. I recently picked up a Hofmann Geodyne 88-2, but it is a 3 phase machine and I only have 1 phase power at home. Do you know if there is any feasible way to convert the balancer to single phase operation? Or is it just a boat anchor. Thanks.

Hello, I have a coats 1004 and its a great machine. However I fired it up one day and when it went to brake, it keeps tripping the circuit breaker. I have not had this problem before. I pulled off the top and checked for any shorts in the wiring none found.

Alf, contact me trough this forum andI can email you a manual for the Repc 471 balancer along with the calibration procedure,

Regards Andrew

Hi Earnest

I read your hub with interest,when I was an apprentice, where I worked we had a Repco 472 unit which I see you are also fond of,it seemed like everywhere I went years later had one of these units either working or in the corner,usually because they didn't know how to use it,I still think they are the most reliable, simple & accurate units ever built.

Last week I had an opportunity to buy a balancer for home it's Faip ED20 in going order, great,

but I had to take the other unit out the back with it & yes it's a 472 , my eyes lit up.

Here is my question firstly you mentioned you have a pdf manual for this machine ,please may I have /buy ? a copy & secondly would you have an operator manual for the faip,it works well,I know it has a calibrate feature similar to a Corghi but I cannot find anything on the web, however if I can get the 472 going (panel holding the circuit board has fallen braking the fuses & several wires off the board) things could change.

I appreciate anything you can do.

Regards

Alf Zambuto

Auckland New Zealand

I have just set up a Repco 471B. It is a 3 phase machine and I only have single phase power. I built a simple 1 to 3 phase convertor. But have run a separate lead to 240v for the computer.

Question 1 is the motor speed critical?

Question 2 do you have a manual for this machine.

Question 3 the location of the imbalance is a bit hard to read, it jumps a bit. Perhaps if I bolt the balancer down it will keep it steady?

played with it got it to come on would you have an owner manaul for this and do you know if parts are out there i would like to change the board any help would be great thanks jim my email is smith 1399@verizon.net

hi just purchased a beissbarth 510.m the board seems to be dead any info would be great thanks jim

I have a repco 471 e. The eletrical contactor is not working think it got damp it is us. Any idea where i can get one.

Do you or anyone here have any comments on a Norton tire balancer? I found one that works ( balances ) but the brake doesn't. Is this a machine worth trying to fix?

I ALSO TRIED THE F50 CODE AND IT CAME UP WITH A DASH MARK ON LEFT SIDE SCREEN AND A 259 ON THE OTHER SIDE. WHEN I ROTATED THE ARBER IT WOULD FLASH FROM 255 TO 259 ON RT SIDE AND DASH ON LFT SIDE WOULD JUST BLINK. MACHINE WAS GIVEN TO ME AND WAS JUST WANDERING IF ITS WORTH IT TO KEEP AND PURCHASE THE THINGS THAT ARE MISSING.

I ALSO TRIED THE F50 CODE AND IT CAME UP WITH A DASH MARK ON LEFT SIDE SCREEN AND A 259 ON THE OTHER SIDE. WHEN I ROTATED THE ARBER IT WOULD FLASH FROM 255 TO 259 ON RT SIDE AND DASH ON LFT SIDE WOULD JUST BLINK. MACHINE WAS GIVEN TO ME AND WAS JUST WANDERING IF ITS WORTH IT TO KEEP AND PURCHASE THE THINGS THAT ARE MISSING.

I HAVE A JMC 4100 THAT ALSO JUST KEEPS RUNNING WHEN YOU TRY TO CALIBRATE. DID YOU EVER FIGURE OUT WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS ON THAT OTHER MACHINE WHEN IT WASN'T THE RELAYS.

Hi, I am in Queensland, Australia & where I work has a Repco Computer Wheel Balancer model 471. The mechanic who works with me (an old Pom!) tried it out once & couldn't work out why the wheels weren't balancing properly & hasn't been used since. I was wondering if you could help me out please & also help me locate a manual for it please?

sir,please provide me service manual of tyre changer monty1100 of hofmann and wheel balancer geodyna 3001 of hofmann,my mail id balu_mes47@rediffmail.com

Hi, i recently got a Beissbarth W447 tire balance machine for free. I do tho have major troubles finding out how to calibrate this machine? It does not have any displays so i can't relate to any of the methods of calibration of other models. It just have big turning knobs for the wheel size, width and distance from the machine. Any possibility anyone can help me out?

If you want to e-mail me that stuff my e-mail is

allistair@johnstoneelectrical.co.nz

Thanks that would be great

Thanks for that but do you know what type of lamps and voltage of lamps and do you just series them up or parallel them cheers

Would any one know where to get a lamp for a Repco 471.A balancer

thanks will try!

Thanks Earnest for your help. I gave up on this machine and will through it out. Its not worth the effort. Here in south africa the new coats corghi and hunter machines are prohibitely expensive around 6000 AUD. I am getting a great deal on a new 'BRIGHT' and 'MASTER' machines for 850 AUD. I have a medium size workshop and was thinking maybe this might be the way to go. Any comments on these new machines?

hi,i took out my old beissbarth w416 wheel balancer.it was a great machine but not up to date, so we packed it away. however after good several years while cleaning up we took it out and plugged it up.IT CAME ON,butnothing happens on the display when spinning the wheel,just 00.None of the arrow lights plus weight position light comes on.Power light is on plus lcd shows 00 but nothing else.Any ideas on what could be wrong?

that was a very informative article. Thanks for this

earnest thanks for the reply. I sent them an e-mail and maybe they will be able to help more, but thank you for pointing me in the right direction. Steve

Earnest, I bolted my FMC 2500 down to the floor and leveled it, Still gives me erroe message when I try to calibrate. Do you know how to test the sensors to see if they are bad. My machine came with a new one under the cover but I don't want to just switch it without testing the old ones. The circuit board looked descent with no burn marks or blown caps and diodes. From what I've read it sounds like a sensor (encoder) could be bad, but I don't know how to test with a meter, any help? Thanks, Steve

I will give it a try and see if I can locate one. That is kind of what I thought I might have to do. If I can find one for the John Bean 4100 would it be relatively the same or do I have to find the 2500 FMC only. I will get it bolted down and level first to make sure that I'm not getting any movement causing problems. Thanks for the tip and your help so far.

I have the manual and the calibration procedure, it just keeps failing and instead of CAL GOOD, I get CAL ER. Just needed to know if you know some simple things I can check or adjust since I have no one within 200 miles of me to work on this? Thanks for your help. Steve

Hello, and I hope you can help me out. I just purchased an FMC 2500 wheel balancer and it was suppose to work fine. I brought it home and tried to calibrate it with the calibration weight and it gave me a CAL ER both times, which in the manual says that I might need a servics rep. Well I live in Saranac, MI. and there is no one around to help. Do you know of some steps that I can try to fix this or diagnois the problem. I am prety handy with electronics but don't know where to start. I do have it on a level concrete floor but it is not bolted down yet, if that makes a difference. Thank you very much for your time and reading my post. Steve

Photo doesn't show the insides of any Balco wheel balancer I ever saw!

hello Earnestshub, we recently purchased a used FMC 2500 wheel balancer and unfortunately, it did not come with a calibration weight. We can't seem to locate one as FMC is no longer in business. Any suggestions? Thank you!!!

How about Hunter balancers and changers?

I missed out on the Hoffman changer, so I'm still looking.

There seems to be an abundance of older Hoffman balancer and changers around, and above you mention that Hoffman made some lemon balancers. Could you tell me which models to avoid? Also are there some changers models to avoid too?

I did find a Coats 850 for sale. Is this a good model?

Sorry to ask you so many questions, but I think you are the only one on the internet who is willing to help folks like me, and I am very grateful for all your help.

Hi, I own a Coats 700 Wheel Balancer and I think I need to replace the motor due to a bad bearing (which appears to be pressed to the motor). Does anybody know where I can buy a motor 110V on line? Thanks,

John

Thanks for the info, It look pretty good in the ad, but I will have to go and look at it and make sure it works OK.

Here is the ad:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Hofmann-Model-Monty...

There is a fellow not far from me selling the one on Ebay but I couldn't find out anything about the model he is selling. The price is in my range $700 USD, so if you could shed any light on this model I would be grateful.

Are Hofman tire changers American made?

There is a Monty 12.SE-18 for sale on Ebay but I cannot find out any info on it. Not even on the Hofman web site.

I did a search of 100 miles around me and there was only one coats 5060 changer for $1500. Everything else was either Chinese or big bucks. I didn't see any of the other brands you mentioned.

I used a coats 10-10 for a couple years and there is a 40-40 that looked pretty tempting but I don't want to buy yesterdays technology especially when the wheel industry is going to high tech.

I thought wheel balancers were pricey till I started looking at tire changers, boy what an eye opener.

I guess I'm going to have to save more money to up my budget.

HaHa How did I know you would say "Don't buy a Chinese tire changer."

I am looking and saving for the changer. Haven't found any good used ones yet. Mostly old rough looking machines, and no rim clamp changers at all.

I will be changing mostly OEM wheels and maybe a random aftermarket wheel. Probably nothing bigger than a 20 wheel, if even that big.

I thought I read that the older machines such as the Coats 4040 won't handle tires bigger than 15",, but I don't know if that's true. I also read that rim clamp is the only type to buy considering today's wheel trends.

I'm in no rush to find one now, because I am more concerned with my balancer purchase.

I'll keep looking.

You don't happen to know about tire changers too, do you? I need one of them also.

Thanks for your advice.

The fellow selling the Coats 700 owns an auto repair shop, not a tire store and I have no way of telling how much he used it although he said he replaced it with a balancer that cost $14,000. This would tell me he does a lot of tires else he couldn't justify a $14,000 purchase. I was looking at the Ranger balancer also. Is Ranger a Chinese machine too?

I offered $800 he went to $1000 and won't budge. At $1000, he is at the price of a brand new Atlas balancer, so I'm back to square one, New or used.

Maintaining the tire balance on your vehicle is critical to receiving satisfactory service from your tire investment. In addition to providing a smooth ride, balancing is a key component in tire wear.

There is a Coats 700 for sale here for $1200, with the light truck cones, but that price might be negotiable.Are there any common problems with the Coats 700 that I should know about before looking at this one? Something you might want to check out before buying?

Are you suggesting a "used" Coats 700 would be better than a new Chinese machine? A "used" Coats 700 here in Northeast America costs around $1,200-1,500 US dollars, depending on age and condition, which is more than I had planned to spend. Should I choose to spend the extra money, and buy a Coats, what should I look for to tell if it is working correctly before I buy it. Are there any other good machines you would recommend in case I can't find a used Coats 700 that would fit in my budget?