Author Topic: 5 in 1 wind speed not working after cleaning  (Read 8967 times)

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Offline Weatherdude24

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5 in 1 wind speed not working after cleaning
« on: September 05, 2017, 05:27:52 PM »
Yesterday I took apart my weather sensor for a cleaning I didn't know till this morning it wasn't reading wind speed. I took it apart again to see if anything is broken and I see nothing wrong with it. Can it be the wind sensor went out?

Offline VaJim

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Re: 5 in 1 wind speed not working after cleaning
« Reply #1 on: November 12, 2017, 07:59:54 PM »
Yesterday I took apart my weather sensor for a cleaning I didn't know till this morning it wasn't reading wind speed. I took it apart again to see if anything is broken and I see nothing wrong with it. Can it be the wind sensor went out?

I've got the same problem.  Mine is an older model (probably 3-4 years old).  The outside temp was stuck at 83.  Brought the unit inside, opened it up and cleaned it.  Replaced batteries.  Now the outside temp works but the wind speed is no working.  The wind direction appears to be fine.  Not sure if this wind problem was going on the same time when the outside temp stopped working.  Any ideas??

Offline nincehelser

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Re: 5 in 1 wind speed not working after cleaning
« Reply #2 on: November 12, 2017, 09:46:32 PM »
Sorry that I don't have a good picture to explain this.  It's hard to put into words...

I'd check the ribbon cable that runs from the wind speed reed switch to the main board.

The cable runs between "levels" in the unit.  When you open the unit and fold everything wide out, stress might be put on this cable, possibly causing breaks at the solder joints.

In the last couple of years or so, the way the wind speed reed switch is mounted was changed to avoid this problem.  Newer units mount the switch on a little "stand" attached to the main board so the connection between "levels" is no longer there, avoiding the whole stress problem.

Offline VaJim

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Re: 5 in 1 wind speed not working after cleaning
« Reply #3 on: November 14, 2017, 03:13:41 PM »
Thanks

I checked inside (again) ribbons, sensor, etc. and all looks well.  It's hard to say.

Called Accurite, they said in most cases replacing the wind cup assembly would NOT fix the problem I'm having (0 MPH).

Open to suggestions.

Offline DoctorKnow

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Re: 5 in 1 wind speed not working after cleaning
« Reply #4 on: November 14, 2017, 04:11:16 PM »
Can you hear a high pitch ticking sound as the anemometer spins? If not, the magnet may be too high on the metal bar that is on the spindle.

Offline VaJim

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Re: 5 in 1 wind speed not working after cleaning
« Reply #5 on: November 14, 2017, 05:01:18 PM »
Thanks....I was able to remove the cups and spin the shaft.  It sounds like a electric motor (sorta).  If I open it again where is the magnet?

Offline DoctorKnow

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Re: 5 in 1 wind speed not working after cleaning
« Reply #6 on: November 14, 2017, 06:17:19 PM »
You have to take the sensor apart and next to the fan blade there is a black bar on the spindle for the anemometer. The magnets are on the bottom of it, one is silver, the other is gold I believe... If these do not make contact with the sensor that is attached underneath the black cover over the electronics, or you pulled the wire out of that chip, it will not read the magnet as it passes over.

Offline VaJim

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Re: 5 in 1 wind speed not working after cleaning
« Reply #7 on: November 14, 2017, 06:54:00 PM »
Thanks

Took another look inside and it all looks fine.  Saw the magents, the sensor place on its little platform and the ribbon cable.  All looks fine.

The folks at Accurite feel its something on the main board.

Offline VaJim

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Re: 5 in 1 wind speed not working after cleaning
« Reply #8 on: November 16, 2017, 10:35:51 AM »
I'm continuing to look into this.

It appears that my wind direction works fine.  How is it that the wind speed is zero yet the direction is fine?  Does the wind vane associate with a different sensor?

Offline nincehelser

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Re: 5 in 1 wind speed not working after cleaning
« Reply #9 on: November 16, 2017, 10:37:56 AM »
I'm continuing to look into this.

It appears that my wind direction works fine.  How is it that the wind speed is zero yet the direction is fine?  Does the wind vane associate with a different sensor?

Wind speed and wind direction are two different sub-systems in the 5n1.

Offline VaJim

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Re: 5 in 1 wind speed not working after cleaning
« Reply #10 on: November 16, 2017, 10:43:39 AM »
Thanks...from my limited understanding...the speed is control by the reed switch (on my unit its on the small elevated platform), what/where is the sensor for the direction?

Offline nincehelser

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Re: 5 in 1 wind speed not working after cleaning
« Reply #11 on: November 16, 2017, 10:52:15 AM »
Thanks...from my limited understanding...the speed is control by the reed switch (on my unit its on the small elevated platform), what/where is the sensor for the direction?

The shaft from the vane is attached to a plastic disk inside the 5n1.  The disk has several cut-outs in it through which a line of 4 LEDs shine through.

The light from the LEDs is picked up by a group of photo receptors on the other side of the disk.

Based on what LEDs show through the cut-outs in the disk, one of 16 values is determined, corresponding to the direction the vane is pointing.




Offline VaJim

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Re: 5 in 1 wind speed not working after cleaning
« Reply #12 on: November 16, 2017, 11:10:43 AM »
Thanks

I haven't given up on the wind speed just yet.

Offline VaJim

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Re: 5 in 1 wind speed not working after cleaning
« Reply #13 on: November 16, 2017, 09:09:38 PM »
Well I played with it a bit more.  Did get the display to read wind mph.  However I think the reed switch is shot.  Pieces of the plastic coating broke off.  I was able to take a small screw driver and move it very slightly and get a reading.  At one point it even worked while bringing a magnet close by.  But when I put the cover back on, it was pretty much back to zero.

Since the coating is shot I suspect the reed won't function properly...??


Not able to do anything different with the magnets on the shaft.

Offline nincehelser

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Re: 5 in 1 wind speed not working after cleaning
« Reply #14 on: November 16, 2017, 09:25:00 PM »
Well I played with it a bit more.  Did get the display to read wind mph.  However I think the reed switch is shot.  Pieces of the plastic coating broke off.  I was able to take a small screw driver and move it very slightly and get a reading.  At one point it even worked while bringing a magnet close by.  But when I put the cover back on, it was pretty much back to zero.

Since the coating is shot I suspect the reed won't function properly...??

I'm not sure what the plastic coating is doing, but it shouldn't matter terribly much as far as the reed switch itself goes.  The switch is typically a sealed glass tube.  I've never noticed one that is plastic.  If the seal was compromised, that would be bad.  Oxidation of the metal parts inside the switch would likely cause it to stick.

To get a reading, you would need to "pulse" the switch at a certain rate with a magnet.   If you aren't pulsing fast enough, it the readout will continue to be zero.  You would probably need to maintain the pulse for at least 4 seconds, and wait up to 18 seconds for the results to be transmitted.

Offline nincehelser

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Re: 5 in 1 wind speed not working after cleaning
« Reply #15 on: November 16, 2017, 09:29:00 PM »
I just had a thought what the plastic might be if it is clear.

It could be a coating around the glass tube to keep things nice if the glass happens to shatter.

Offline VaJim

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Re: 5 in 1 wind speed not working after cleaning
« Reply #16 on: November 16, 2017, 09:38:37 PM »
Thanks

It may have been glass but looks like plastic.  A small piece did break away.  The piece that was left, I can move/slide across the reed switch (up and down).  Most of the wind mph that I did get came when I probed a small screw driver and positioned the piece of plastic or glass at different locations across the switch.  One time I did put the outer case back on and blow the cups and did see some small mph.  I think using the screwdriver is forcing the switch to open and close.

When I use a magnet close by you don't get much of anything which makes me think the switch is brittle and the magnet is not creating the contact whereas the screwdriver does.  At one point I had a reading of 67 mph.....strange.

Offline skydvrz

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Re: 5 in 1 wind speed not working after cleaning
« Reply #17 on: May 03, 2020, 07:05:24 PM »
I know I am coming to the party pretty late, but this might help anyone that has a broken 5-in-1 anemometer that refuses to work after you try everything.

I had replaced the aspirator fan/solar cell panel with the upgrade dual-solar-cell one.  After I reinstalled the 5-in-1 I noticed that my wind speed indicator was no longer working.  I did the upgrade on the roof, so it was hard to check all the sensors at the time.

Today I took it down again and checked the magnetic reed switch that detects the anemometer cups rotation speed.  There was no continuity across the switch when the magnet was over the top of it.  Hmm... Time to do a deep dive into my electronic parts box.

I desoldered the broken reed switch and soldered in a new one.  Success! All sensors are working again.

The reed switch part number I used was a Digikey 374-1092-ND.  They cost about 0.61 $USD (yes, less than the price of a candy bar) and the postage is pretty cheap.  Do a google search for Digikey and it should pop up on top of the list.  Type in the part number and off you go.

Its time for a cold victory-beer.  It is 90F outside in the Florida sun.  Not much fun working on a roof at that temp!

Offline jeffsorr

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Re: 5 in 1 wind speed not working after cleaning
« Reply #18 on: December 31, 2021, 09:09:26 PM »
I know I am coming to the party pretty late, but this might help anyone that has a broken 5-in-1 anemometer that refuses to work after you try everything. The reed switch part number I used was a Digikey 374-1092-ND.  They cost about 0.61 $USD (yes, less than the price of a candy bar) and the postage is pretty cheap.  Do a google search for Digikey and it should pop up on top of the list.

Thanks! I had the same problem. Using a multimeter, resistance (ohms) across the reed switch should be infinite with no magnet, then dropping close to zero when bringing a magnet near the switch. My resistance was infinite in both cases.  (The magnet used for testing need not be the one on the anemometer shaft, any small magnet will do). The Digikey 374-1092-ND reed switch is now 65 cents(!) and arrived via USPS in 3 days. Success!