L-80 XP drive malfunction

The very FIRST thing that you need to do is to have it serviced immediately by qualified service personnel.  An ultracentrifuge that has been sitting for about 6 years should never be used without having it serviced first.  This is especially true considering your current problem.  Was the centrifuge still in place or did you have to relocate it?  If you relocated it, who reinstalled it because there is more to reinstallation than just plugging it into the wall outlet.  Do yourself and the centrifuge a big favor and just get it professionally serviced.  Your D61 error code is telling you there is a problem that you can do nothing about.  There were many service updates relative to this problem that only Beckman Coulter service engineers will be aware of so choose your service provider carefully.

Thank you for your input. I understand that the unit needs service, which is why I am going through tthe unit thoroughly. I am have worked on Beckman ultras before, but I am not familiar with this unit. I have thus far reset the bios due to a dead battery and removed the sliding door for a thorough cleaning of the underside. I did install the unit, and it may need to be leveled more accuately.  Would this cause the drive error? Thanks-

The leveling of the centrifuge will not be the cause of the D61 error code.  There literally were several attempts to identify and fix the ongoing D61 problems.  The service engineer that shows up should be aware of all of the issues relative to this problem, assuming that he has been in the field for more than 2 years.  There were changes to oil levels, type of oil, removal of the oil heater resistor in the drive and I'm not really sure if they ever came up with the ultimate fix because I retired 19 months ago.  I would really like to help you more but without news of the last updates there really is nothing else that I can help you with other than telling you the Beckman's current hourly cost is $372/hr portal to portal.

Don

Don,

I thought it might be something to do with rotor sensing since it was spinning up without a rotor installed, which won't happen with any of the other Beckman ultras I've worked on. It sounds like there is a design flaw that could be difficult to remedy definitively...and a non-definite fix is the worst. I'm in OC, so I can at least minimize the cost to get Beckman out here, but if they don't have a definite solution I'm reluctant to get them involved- Thanks again for your input!

Do you know the correct amount of oil for the diffusion pump and the drive?