Home Forums General Discussion Technical Questions 1962 Westinghouse 2BC-ERL won't run

Westinghouse (early ’60s, DC MG) – relay/number quick map

Movement demand & direction

1 = Up Demand (master up call)

2 = Down Demand

32s = Direction starter/sequence relays that qualify 1/2 into motion (you’ll see 1 or 2 → 32s → brake/main).

MG / power / run chain

5 = MG Run (machine‑generator run permissive). Often seals itself through a back contact in the stop string; will also be used to qualify car movement.

60N = Run/Stop switches (machine room stop, cartop stop, pit stop, etc.)—this is your safety string “normal” feed; verify 60N is solid before chasing doors.

Door/gate permissives (the usual show‑stoppers)

40 / 40A = Car gate switch / gate relay. Expect 40 coil fed through the car gate contact; 40A is its companion/aux contact used in the run chain.

41 = Hoistway (hatch) door locks string. On many jobs 41 is the relay built up by all hatch locks; sometimes the lock string feeds directly into 41’s coil.

43 / 43A = Door close command / aux (used as “door close proving” in some prints).

44 / 44A = Door open command / aux.

42s = Hall call registered relay (traffic). (Useful for knowing you’re “ready to go” once the door permissives make.)

Calls

100‑series = Up hall call storage/register (by floor).

200‑series = Down hall call storage/register.

300‑series = Car call storage/register.

Suffix tips you’ll see on these prints:
• A usually denotes an auxiliary/companion contact for that relay number (e.g., 40A = aux of the 40 relay).
• S/s is commonly “stick/seal” or “storage” in Westy traffic logic (e.g., 32s, 42s). Use the title‑block legend if present to confirm.

Fast diagnosis with your symptoms

“MG runs, accepts calls, won’t leave the floor; after ~1 min the doors reopen/close; popping a lock doesn’t drop anything.”

That screams door‑closed proving isn’t being made or isn’t handed into the run chain, so the controller keeps cycling door operation hoping to make DCL, times out, reopens, tries again.

Watch 40 and 41 together

With doors fully closed and gate latched, you should see 40 and 41 picked. If either one is not up, you’ll never get qualified run.

If you “pop a lock” and nothing drops, either:

your 41 relay isn’t in series with that particular lock (bypassed/strapped elsewhere), or

the door‑closed proving that feeds the run chain is actually through a 43A (door‑close “prove”) or a dedicated DCL contact derived from 40/41, not directly from 41’s main contact. Trace what actually feeds 32s/PM/BR.

Trace the run‑permissive into the first motion device
Pick a known motion element (brake or main contactor) and trace backwards:

BR (brake coil) or PM (main) → through 32s → through 40A + 41 (and/or 43A) → through 60N → power.
Meter across 40A and 41 while doors “proved”; if you catch intermittents here, that’s your recycle cause.

Door close prove vs. door zone
Early Westy often separate door‑closed proving (derived from 40/41/43A) from door zone. If DZ (sometimes a cam or vane switch) is stuck or mis‑set, you may accept calls but be inhibited from leaving because the controller doesn’t “see” itself properly at/clear of the floor. If the print shows a door‑zone input in the run permissive, check it’s dropping at the right time.

Time‑outs & recycle
If 43 is commanded, but 43A (close prove) never makes, you’ll see exactly your behavior: timer expires → 44 opens → doors re‑open → retry. Check mechanical close force and the clean make of the gate tongue and keeper—a whisker of bounce can keep 40 from sealing. Clean and re‑tension.

How I’d finish your cheat sheet (in the field, 10–15 minutes)

Put your meter on 40 coil; check that you’ve actually got coil voltage when the car is waiting to start. No volts = the car gate contact string isn’t even trying to build 40.

Meter 41 coil at the same moment. If 41 coil is hot but the relay isn’t up, swap in a test relay or check the base/knife blades—old Westy relay blades pit and go high‑resistance.

Identify the brake coil number by following B1/B2 leads to the rectifier/contactor—write that coil number on your sheet. Then pencil the entire permissive chain feeding that coil. That becomes your definitive “go/no‑go” picture for this job.

Sanity note about your uploaded docs
.

If you want, I can turn your list into a one‑page printable with blanks for the remaining coils (brake, main, leveling, limit, selector) so you can fill them in as you trace. Or post a pic of the first ladder page and I’ll finish labeling the likely motion chain for you.