Had to pick between a used Schindler controller or a new MCE board last week

The old Schindler was half the price at $1,200 but had 15 years of dust and who knows what gremlins inside. I went with the new MCE board for $2,400 because the building owner was already breathing down my neck about downtime. Turns out the MCE didn't play nice with the existing door operator, so I spent 6 hours rewiring relays anyway. Has anyone else gotten burned by a "plug and play" board that needed more work than a used one?

2 comments

2 Comments

wright.lisa2d ago

Oh come on, you really thought a brand new board wouldn't have its own quirks? They always find a way to mess with you, that's just the game. Sounds like you traded one headache for another, maybe the old Schindler would've been just as fine after a good cleaning.

lewis.troy2d ago

Had a similar deal on a Carrier board a few years back. Swapped out a perfectly fine old one because the customer wanted a newer system. Wound up with a grounding issue that took me three trips to chase down. The new board was just too sensitive for the old wiring in that building. Sometimes you gotta run a dedicated ground wire straight to the panel. That fixed it. Not saying that's your problem but those new boards can be real finicky about clean power. A good cleaning on the old Schindler might have saved you the headache for sure.