Took me 5 years to figure out I was over-oiling the rails

I used to oil elevator guide rails every single month without fail. Thought I was being thorough. Then a Schindler rep came through for a routine inspection and casually asked when I last cleaned the oil buildup. I told him I oiled them clean every month. He showed me a 1/4 inch of grime on the rail surface near the bottom of the shaft. Turns out too much oil just traps dust and makes the car jerk on stops. I was making my own job harder and the ride worse. Now I wipe them down dry once a quarter and only apply a thin coat after cleaning. Has anyone else had that moment where an inspector pointed out something obvious you missed for years?

2 comments

2 Comments

willow_martin4d ago

Bet you were the one who kept complaining about the jerky stops to your supervisor and never connected the dots either.

shane2444d ago

That article I read about regenerative braking breaking down over time makes so much sense now. @willow_martin probably didn't realize her car was half-assing the charge recovery on every slow down. I had a buddy who swore up and down his EV felt like it had a mind of its own, jerking forward every time he tapped the pedal in traffic. Turns out his battery management system was toast and the car was basically using the friction brakes for everything, which felt super uneven. Once he got that fixed, the jerky stops went away completely.