Washington Elevator’s Approach to the DOVER DMC!
Dover DMCs have long been regarded as one of (if not the) best hydraulic elevator ever made because of their maintenance reliability and longevity. However, troubleshooting these elevators can be tricky. The Original Equipment Manufacturer “OEM” (ThyssenKrupp who then purchased Dover and is now TKE) is no longer supporting the equipment. For these reasons, it is important select a provider who has (1) the Dover DMC experience and (2) specialty tools to troubleshoot and repair the equipment. All issues are different and can present different symptoms. Below is Washington Elevator’s general approach to repairing Dover DMCs.
HARDWARE. Dover DMCs consists of four main printed circuit boards (PCBs) – Power Unit Relay, CLC “brains”, Door Operator and Selector. If there is an issue with any of these boards, none will communicate to one another and the elevator will not run. Troubleshooting is required to determine if a board is bad and which one. If a short is identified, we typically work with a third-party supplier lab, World Electronics, to assist (because the board repair is not supported by the OEM). Generally, Washington Elevator’s preferred approach is to send the board to the lab for repair. In most cases, repairs are successful. Depending on the part number, some replacement boards are available through World Electronics or other third party national companies. Washington Elevator also maintains a stock of used boards that have been acquired though past modernizations.
Once Washington Elevator has verified that all hardware is functional and the board can be repaired or replaced, we can then start communicating with the software.
SOFTWARE. This is where experience (and tools) matter. Specialty tools are required to communicate with the equipment. Dover DMCs have a very unique way of storing and backing up software parameters. There is only a 3volt battery on the CLC board so if you turn power on/off via the building mainline electrical disconnect or have any on-going building power disruptions, the elevator will forget it’s parameters and will not run. Often a “re-learn” is needed to restore the software communication. Rudimentary comparison, but without the software communicating, it’s like having a physical computer that came without Microsoft Office or any internet capabilities.
SUCCESS STORIES. Our amazing mechanics at Washington Elevator have decades of experience on Dover DMCs. We were called in again recently on a project where the existing service provider was unsuccessful returning the DMC back to service and the elevator was down for approximately three months (with the suggestion of major upgrades or a modernization.) However, after approximately two days of briefly troubleshooting the elevator, Washington Elevator mechanics were able to find the root cause of the problem, provide options for solutions and returned it to service. Don’t take my word for it, read the Google review from Eirik:
Then, another customer of ours received regular and on-going invoices for years from their previous service provider due to “power issues”. The elevator did not reset when the power went out because it lost programming when the elevator lost power. After Washington Elevator took over service, there was a power outage causing the elevator to fail again. However, instead of simply resetting it and sending a power issue invoice, Washington Elevator took the time to determine the root cause of the problem, which was a bad solder on a PCB. We sourced the proper repairs, corrected the issue and look forward to our newest customer having reliable operation and lower costs.
In summary, we have been very successful in maintaining and repairing Dover DMCs for the reasons identified above. In addition to troubleshooting, we strive to maintain open and consistent communication with our customers through the entire process.
Are you being told you need to perform a major upgrade or complete modernization? Ask Sean for a second perspective!
For more information, Washington Elevator wrote another educational blog about the DMC manufacturer obsolescence.