Twist, Help with fault condition

[MalcolmW]

My old Twist has never shown any difference in performance in either eco or full power mode since I acquired it, and so i don't know which mode its stuck in; I suspect its eco.
The power output has become very poor of late and this coincides with the red light on the controller not coming on and no power at all in the full power position. Before i get stuck in to fully investigate with the aid of flecc's wonderful notes i ask if anyone willing to take a guess at the fault from the behaviour of the red light?

 

[flecc]

It's most likely to have been suffering the fault that occasionally happens in the old type Panasonic unit, leaving only the Eco mode operative. I don't know the cause of the even lower power now happening, but the things you've observed prompts me to start by advising unplugging and replugging the controller connector at the unit end. Poor connections there could account for the loss of High Power mode switching and the red LED.

The new further loss of overall power might have several causes, one possibility being a displaced Hall sensor board, about which more in my website.

 

[MalcolmW]

It's most likely to have been suffering the fault that occasionally happens in the old type Panasonic unit, leaving only the Eco mode operative. I don't know the cause of the even lower power now happening, but the things you've observed prompts me to start by advising unplugging and replugging the controller connector at the unit end. Poor connections there could account for the loss of High Power mode switching and the red LED.

The new further loss of overall power might have several causes, one possibility being a displaced Hall sensor board, about which more in my website.

 

[MalcolmW]

Thanks flecc,
I have read all your stuff on the old unit and checking the connectors seems a good place to start particularly as there has been a gradual reluctance to select the full power position. I was not able to find a reference to the effect of a displaced sensor board but, am i right in thinking that this was the cause of a number of old units that would not give full power early in the history of this power unit?

 

[flecc]

No, that wasn't the cause Malcolm, the getting stuck in Eco mode was due to a fault in the main circuit board, known by Panasonic but unspecified. The full encapsulation made it impossible to trace/repair anyway, Panasonic just changed the under warranty units and scrapped the failed ones.

The reference to the Hall sensor board is about two fifths down this page where you'll see the green Hall sensor board. It's slots sit on two small plastic pegs with rubber rings pushed onto the pegs, holding it in place. Not good design, grease from the shaft gets onto the pegs and the rubbers can slip off. Also the board can get displaced all to easily and is very fiddly to get set up right on re-assembly. It's also very easy to break off one of the flimsy soft plastic pegs.

On the later unit the board mounts on the adjacent crankcase wall instead of the motor wall, a far better arrangement.