How to deconfuse an Istobal M9+…
Posted in Geeking Out, Technology on June 16th, 2008Problem: You’ve got an Istobal M9+ car wash sitting in front of you, and it’s confused. In this case, it’s not at its home position, and can’t figure out how to get back there, although there are no other mechanical or electrical faults.
Solution: Open the protective cover over the control panel. The display should read “Place machine at initial position”. At the bottom of the keypad are four nice little buttons with pictograms above them for retract top brush, retract side brushes, move gantry, and A -> B.
WARNING: Before touching any of those buttons, do a careful safety check. Remove the vehicle from the bay, if applicable. Perform a visual inspection of the machine and look for any damaged parts, foreign objects, or visible signs of major collision with a vehicle. Ensure that all persons are, and remain, clear of the machine. Locate the emergency stop button in case it’s needed (on the machine I was playing with tonight, it was on the side of the control panel). Remember, you’re going to have a few hundred pounds of robot under manual control, and it’s sorta your responsibility to ensure compliance with Asimov’s Laws……
Now, as for those buttons — take a guess at which one will move the machine home…….
If you guessed the one for “move gantry” — Nope! Pressing and holding this button will cause the gantry to move, however, all it’ll do is move in one direction briefly while you’re holding it. If you hold it too long, the machine will hit the end of the track and bounce off disturbingly. I’m guessing this button is only used for manual positioning, clearing a jam, or something like that.
Ok, now that you’re done playing ultra-slow-speed Carwash Pong… press and hold A->B. The machine should move home, and, if you’ve paid for a wash package already at the activation terminal, you should get a nice happy green light to enter. Be sure to close the protective weather cover on the control panel again before using the wash!