OmegaTrac Wheelchair Repair/Refurbish Questions

[thraex]

Hello all, I recently acquired a non-operational Teftec OmegaTrac Wheelchair with Teftec First Class Power Tilt Seat System and Premier Liber-T Joystick/Controller. I was hoping to clean it up and repair it to sell for a fair price to someone in need but I didn't realize how little info/parts/service there is available for these so I'm seeking any advice or help I can get on what to do with it. The previous owner told me it had a problem with the joystick and that seems to be the case because it wouldn't turn on after charging the batteries. All the mechanical parts, frame, handbrake, wheels and tires seem to be in good functioning condition so I am wondering if there are other models of joysticks that could work with little to no modification such as a PG Drive controller or some type of universal power wheelchair controller. If that isn't an option I was considering the possibility of using R/C control to turn the chassis into remote control materials hauling cart, would that be feasible without a controller? And my last option which I'd rather not do would be disassembling/parting it out but even that seems not great as it seems that there isn't a high demand for parts for these and I've seen very few parts selling on eBay.

Any repair help or advice on what to do with this monster would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[thraex]

Also I noticed, on the Tilt Seat there are two loose wiring dual connectors, one is white/blue the other red/black that are not connected to anything, there is another set on the bottom back of the tilt seat where they ARE connected white/blue to red/black. (see photos below) Could this be a cause of the joystick not turning on? Seems unlikely. Should I plug them back into each other and retest?

[rlnguy]

Going strictly from memory, i think the wires you describe are leads to the tilt and recline actuators. You'd have to trace them back both ways.
I don't know of any good options for controls though.
They used a few different brands of control and I tbink they even made their own for a while.
You might contact Domingo at Wheelchair Wizard in California, he might be able to help.

[flagman1776]

Have you actually tested the batteries & that the connections to same are good... after charging... because neglected powerchairs are frequently left to sit & that ruins even good batteries. Any chairs are very hard on batteries to start with. Most chairs have a charging inhibit so they can not be operated with the charger connected, so you can't use line current to test. And typical auto chargers will fast charge & cause SLA batteries to leak acid.

[LROBBINS]

The OmegaTrack used a drive system quite different from anything found on other wheelchairs. It has one driving motor and a separate steering motor that applies torque to a differential that connects the two wheels to the drive motor. I doubt that you will find any commonly available controller that can control this. The first order of business, however, is to find out why it isn't working, and the first step to doing that is to check each and every cable and connector - visually for good, clean contacts and electrically for continuity. Unfortunately, I have no idea where you can find a wiring diagram, so it's probably best to follow up on rlnguy's suggestion. Ciao, Lenny

[thraex]

Have you actually tested the batteries & that the connections to same are good... after charging... because neglected powerchairs are frequently left to sit & that ruins even good batteries. Any chairs are very hard on batteries to start with. Most chairs have a charging inhibit so they can not be operated with the charger connected, so you can't use line current to test. And typical auto chargers will fast charge & cause SLA batteries to leak acid.

I have not tested with a multimeter, I don't have one currently. I used a trickle charger to charge the batteries and then used each of them to power an electric boat propeller for over an hour and recharged, then mounted on wheelchair, controller wouldn't turn on and the power button didn't have any audible or tactile "click" sensation which I have no idea if that's normal or not, but I disassembled it and didn't notice anything unusual. I'm going to buy or borrow a multimeter to test more in depth.

[Burgerman]

I used a trickle charger to charge

Well that will ruin them very fast! But isn't likely the problem. But if you do that to sealed deep cycle batteries a few times than they are only any good as anchor weights.

[Sully]

Are you using 2- 12 volt batteries in parallel for a 24 volt system? That would do what you seem to be saying happens. Probably a useless question, but I was just curious.

[Burgerman]

2x 12v batt in parallel will still give 12v but double the Ah.

2x 12v batt is series gives the same Ah as one battery, but 24v.

Both contain the same total amount of watt hours.

[thraex]

Are you using 2- 12 volt batteries in parallel for a 24 volt system? That would do what you seem to be saying happens. Probably a useless question, but I was just curious.

I don't know if they are in series or parallel. It has x2 12V "Gel" batteries.

[Burgerman]

All chairs with 2 batteries are series. Makes no sense to do parallel for a number of reasons.

[apm36]

The Omegatrac and the Liber T control system is definitely a unique unit and not one that you could replace. As already mentioned the Omegatrac has a one of a kind transmission where one motor is the drive motor and the other motor is for steering. The Liber T controller was specifically designed for this transmission and, unfortunately, is no longer available.

Does your joystick give you anything? Lights, error code or anything to make it seem that it is getting a signal? If not, i would probably look at the cable that plugs into the joystick pod. Be very careful! The plug should have two bigger prongs and 4 smaller prongs. They are very easy to break and will render the chair useless. Not sure if Next Mobility would have any of these cables to sell you or not but it is definitely not a standard connection. I've looked and looked with no luck.

The problem I have also encountered is that the Liber T parts are not all compatible for some reason. I also have one with a broken pod and I thought I could just use the Liber T pod off my other chair but doesn't work. They look exactly the same which leads me to think there must be some differences in the programming that makes them non compatible. I did end up buying a new joystick to put in the busted pod. That got the chair moving but the new joystick must not be quite right. The electronic brakes don't work right and it can give me over voltage errors if I'm not careful.

Feel free to describe what is happening in more detail and I'll let you know if I have any ideas. I do have a pdf of the Liber T control system that I could send you. It isn't anything real helpful but does list what all of the error codes mean. Also let me know if you are interested in selling it either before or after you fix it.

[thraex]

[/quote]

The Omegatrac and the Liber T control system is definitely a unique unit and not one that you could replace. As already mentioned the Omegatrac has a one of a kind transmission where one motor is the drive motor and the other motor is for steering. The Liber T controller was specifically designed for this transmission and, unfortunately, is no longer available.

Does your joystick give you anything? Lights, error code or anything to make it seem that it is getting a signal? If not, i would probably look at the cable that plugs into the joystick pod. Be very careful! The plug should have two bigger prongs and 4 smaller prongs. They are very easy to break and will render the chair useless. Not sure if Next Mobility would have any of these cables to sell you or not but it is definitely not a standard connection. I've looked and looked with no luck.

The problem I have also encountered is that the Liber T parts are not all compatible for some reason. I also have one with a broken pod and I thought I could just use the Liber T pod off my other chair but doesn't work. They look exactly the same which leads me to think there must be some differences in the programming that makes them non compatible. I did end up buying a new joystick to put in the busted pod. That got the chair moving but the new joystick must not be quite right. The electronic brakes don't work right and it can give me over voltage errors if I'm not careful.

Feel free to describe what is happening in more detail and I'll let you know if I have any ideas. I do have a pdf of the Liber T control system that I could send you. It isn't anything real helpful but does list what all of the error codes mean. Also let me know if you are interested in selling it either before or after you fix it.

Joystick does not give me anything, no lights, sounds or anything to indicate it is getting any kind of signal. I took a closer look at the the cable and it does have 1 of the 4 smaller prongs on one end broken off, would 1 broken prong really be enough to kill all communication? Pretty silly to build such a tank of a wheelchair with such an easily damaged piece. Not sure if you are interested in purchasing the whole chair or the joystick but feel free to PM me an offer, I may be interested in selling the whole chair as is but take into consideration freight shipping would likely be around $500. Sent a PM with my email if you'd like to send me that pdf, it may help if replacing the cord works and it has any error codes.

[Burgerman]

would 1 broken prong really be enough to kill all communication? Pretty silly to build such a tank of a wheelchair with such an easily damaged piece.

Absolutely! It may be +5V or 0V and so no circuit. Or may be a Serial Data line so no comunication. Or some equally important thing.

[rustyjames]

Quote: "look at the cable that plugs into the joystick pod. Be very careful! The plug should have two bigger prongs and 4 smaller prongs. They are very easy to break and will render the chair useless. Not sure if Next Mobility would have any of these cables to sell you or not but it is definitely not a standard connection. I've looked and looked with no luck."

Sounds like the same cable that's on my Quickie 626 and 646 chairs, commonly referred to as a "Redel" cable.

[rlnguy]

The cable used on 626 and other chairs with P+ controls were often called Reidel cables. If I recall, they used a connector made by Hiroshi, or something like that. Those cables are still pretty available. Quickie, Pride, Permobil and others all used them back when Pilot + was used. Each manufacturer had them made to a different length, depending on chair configuration.
I don't recall, but I don't think I ever saw an Omega Trac with Pilot + control system, though.

[rustyjames]

Here's the manufacturer of the cable that I was referring to: http://www.lemo.com/en/redel/redel

[nvohz]

do you still have this chair

[Gnomatic]

I have one in storage. It works.

[biscuit]

Excuse me for butting in from a state of total ignorance of your chair... My granny chair often shows all the signs of being stone dead, but it comes to life quite happily again if I press the reset button on the battery a couple of times. So before checking all your connections on the chair (which I have done twice, durr ) if it has a reset button, try that, maybe you will be lucky!

[Burgerman]

Your reset button is a resettable fuse. Actually its a combination of thermal and current fuse. And they fail and trip sooner as they age due to contact resistance which warms them up faster. Replace it with a real fuse and problem goes away.

[weelz58]

This may or may not be off topic here. However, would anyone have a copy of the owners manual for the Omegatrac that they could possibly send me via email? I did have a copy, but somehow lost the file. Also would you or anyone else possibly have a service manual that could be said to me as well. Really appreciate it. Many thanks