View Full Version : Can't move control shaft nut?-SOLVED!
beckpm
09-30-2003, 10:54 PM
I had my 12.0 update Saturday and of course the tech removed the control shaft to do the brain transplant. He connected it and made it fit me before getting it tight. Today I was out on a 10 mile glide (with no ill effects from the software update) and when I stopped to do a demo I found I could not loosen the nut? I have done this before without a problem by turning it counter-clockwise. I guess the tech was stronger than I am - but I even enlisted the help of a big strong person and it won't budge. Any ideas - is there some kind of strap wrench or filter changing wrench that might work without damaging the HT?
Peter Beck
Arlington, Virginia
dhugger
09-30-2003, 11:03 PM
I screwed my height adjuster on too tight once. Make sure the nut connecting the shaft to the base is good and tight (so the shaft won't twist), then stand on the HT and twist the height adjuster as hard as you can. This is the only way I could do it. I had to give it quite a bit of force, but it came loose. (At the time, I didn't have access to a strap wrech.) Now, I make sure to tighten it just enough so that the CS won't move... and no tighter.
-Derek Hugger-
beckpm
09-30-2003, 11:20 PM
I have tried applying all the strengh I have in me from every angle you can imagine (and a few you might not be able to imagine) and it won't loosen a bit. I need leverage. Has anyone used a tool such as a strap wrench? I don't have one, but they are not expensive. Here is a photo of what they look like:
http://www.segwaychat.com/photos/beckpm/strapwrench.bmp
Peter Beck
Arlington, Virginia
was it cold(-ish) outside
while trying to adjust the
nut? if so, maybe "success"
can be had indoors, once
it has been warmed up a bit.
(plastic-type items are
easier to manipulate warm,
rather than cold.)
luck.
q.
http://www.pcisys.net/~qwhew/segway/jpg_segway_sfest_08312003_sunday_3i.jpg
(plz click image to enlarge.)
//
opti6600
09-30-2003, 11:30 PM
Call Segway. I did this once, no way around it. Tried everything - we're geeks, we gave it our best shot, gave up, and I gave about 100 demos that day with the CS in the lowest position.
1-866-4-SEGWAY
Stewbonz
09-30-2003, 11:51 PM
I'm no expert, but, I suggest rubbing a bar of soap on the threads to prevent the nut from sticking.
JEFF JARVIS
Carmel Valley Ca
Why not squirt it with some penetrating oil like WD-40?
(Careful not to get any on the outside of the ring).
Chris
toybuilder
10-01-2003, 12:55 AM
Push down (or was it pull up? I'm pretty sure it was push down) on the handle bar a bit while wiggling (twisting) it left/right. And then try again...
Also, I think q- might have something there -- try warming it up a bit...
http://www.pasadenasegway.org/
beckpm
10-01-2003, 01:19 PM
I got through to Segway this morning about my problem - they said it is pretty common and had a few ideas which I will try when I get home:
1. Find a big strong body builder type to take a shot at it.
2. Spray it with windex and let it sit - don't use wd-40 or the like.
3. Apply moderate heat (blow dryer / heating pad) but not blow torch.
4. Try a strap wrench
5. Don't make it too tight in the future!
Peter Beck
Arlington, Virginia
GlideMaster
10-01-2003, 01:26 PM
<center>Try a strap wrench; that should do the job. </center>
<center>http://www.segwaychat.com/forum/avatars/glidemaster.gif</center>
GadgetmanKen
10-01-2003, 01:59 PM
Are you hands slipping around the collar? Try a pair of those leather or canvas work gloves on and get the fingers wet, they will help in getting a good grip. If that doesn't work, try some of those rubberized grip gloves, or make the shaft collar bigger by wrapping one of those flat black auto bungee cords around the collar then give it a twist. Was it humid during your glide? Perhaps it has a vapor lock of some sort. The shaft does have a rubber o-ring in it, doesn't it? The windex may help loosen it, or perhaps try using rubbing alcohol, which windex has a form of, in it.
"Wouldn't it be cool, if?...is like Folgers in my cup"
beckpm
10-01-2003, 08:51 PM
Free at last, Free at last, Free at last! Finally
The windex didn't do it, the blow dryer didn't do it, gloves didn't do it - but a $17.50 Strap Wrench did it in 2 seconds. I guess the old concept of leverage still works. Judging from the number of people who said they also have had this problem (including Judy on the Segway customer service hotline), I would say that the strap wrench is a best practice solution. Thanks to all who gave advice. I hope my experience will help someone else someday.
http://www.segwaychat.com/photos/beckpm/strapwrench.bmp
By the way, after a 10 mile glide post 12.0 upgrade I got the old no response to the key and after trying the key tap dance awhile I did resort to the CS removal and two wire disconnect reconnect proceedure. It worked, of course, but I was hoping that somehow the 12.0 would cure that ill - no dice.
Peter Beck
Arlington, Virginia
Sleepy
10-01-2003, 09:28 PM
I had my first key tap dance 2 days ago on 12.0. It happenned just after unplugging my Seg and pushing it about 12 feet with the power off, then immediately trying to start it. I took about 2 minutes, but the key tap worked.
-Alex
It seems like to me that the shaft nut requires much more torque to unscrew than to screw. I am real shy about tightening the thing because of this effect.
Chris
quote:Originally posted by beckpm
Free at last, Free at last, Free at last! Finally
The windex didn't do it, the blow dryer didn't do it, gloves didn't do it - but a $17.50 Strap Wrench did it in 2 seconds. I guess the old concept of leverage still works. Judging from the number of people who said they also have had this problem (including Judy on the Segway customer service hotline), I would say that the strap wrench is a best practice solution. Thanks to all who gave advice. I hope my experience will help someone else someday.
http://www.segwaychat.com/photos/beckpm/strapwrench.bmp
//
thx for reporting your suc-
cess back to list! (that
would have driven me crazy.
my handlebar has to be at
the right height, or the
glide "suffers.")
//
quote:
By the way, after a 10 mile glide post 12.0 upgrade I got the old no response to the key and after trying the key tap dance awhile I did resort to the CS removal and two wire disconnect reconnect proceedure. It worked, of course, but I was hoping that somehow the 12.0 would cure that ill - no dice.
Peter Beck
Arlington, Virginia
//
i don't think the "reboot"
issue will ever be solved
by a _software_ upgrade.
(afterall, some people
have never had to "rebo-
ot," regardless of the
firmware version.)
as explained during seg-
fest, the top part of the
unit (where the key goes)
gets out of "sync" with the
bottom part of the unit
(where the computers are);
which is why the disconnect-
ing and re-connecting of the
wires typically fixes the
problem. the "key tap" me-
thod may achieve the same
result (of getting the "top"
and the "bottom" to "talk"
to each other), but may take
longer.
...seems to me that until the
"ignition" is moved closer to
the computers, _or_ the "connec-
tivity" "betwix" the "top" and
the "bottom" is modified, the
"reboot" will be part of the
seg "landscape," for some peo-
ple.
.02?
i love the seg!
kthxbye.
q.
http://www.pcisys.net/~qwhew/segway/jpg_segway_sfest_08312003_sunday_3c.jpg
(plz click the image to enlarge.)
//
That's why I love my quick release. Even though I don't have to pop that CS very often at all, it's nice to be able to do it quickly and efficiently.
Pam
Shaft Nut response:
I asked the Segway tech at the 12.0 upgrade site in NYC about why the collar nut can be pesky to loosen as well as tighten. He said Segway wanted a rubber like material that had a lot of friction and be very water tight... Well they certainly got it!
he then said if the collar becomes immovable, to wiggle the handlebars from left to right while the segway is tilted towards the rider (the rider is off the platform, and the segway is off as well).
He said this should loosen the collar nut.
He never mentioned blow drying, windex, or the like.
I never screw the collar nut all the way down, as I can't d it with all my strength. it's 1/2 way down, and tight as can be.
What I have found, though, is gripping the collar nut with both hands, as the Segway is tilted towards the rider's waist, and twisting with all your might, helps, as the weight of the platform keeps the shaft still as you torque in another direction.
Using the rubber jar openers also help with the grip.
-Sal
Think Different
www.apple.com
Answers that Matter
www.lilly.com
MagiMike
10-02-2003, 04:36 PM
Beckpm,
How about posting your solution to the problem solver sticky thread so the next person who has this problem can get help after this thread gets lost to newer threads. Plz.
beckpm
10-03-2003, 12:01 AM
Mike,
Good Idea - I have just posted the issue to the problem solver sticky. Have a nice day.
quote:Originally posted by MagiMike
Beckpm,
How about posting your solution to the problem solver sticky thread so the next person who has this problem can get help after this thread gets lost to newer threads. Plz.
Peter Beck
Arlington, Virginia
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