Challenger LE10 2 Post Lift Question

[mercury26]

I had my Challenger LE10 2 post lift installed this past Friday. The installation was handled by an installer contracted by the lift reseller. Overall the installation went smoothly though one item stood out at the end. The arms on the lift do not drop enough to release the safety latches that hold the arms in place. Most lifts that I have used will drop far enough to release the safety to latches to allow the arms to swing freely and then lock into place when the lift goes up. I think that arms are not down far enough in their lowest position. Would someone with the same lift be able to confirm the correct height for the arms? Also, does anyone know how to adjust the lowest position. Is it the synchronizer cable? Or do I need to deal with the hydraulics? I have an email out to the reseller and Challenger with the same question.

Thanks in advance, Chuck

 

[dagofast]

Each arm will have an adjacent shaft in the carriage and each arm has a gear. When you raise the lift, the release shaft should drop (with the help of a spring) and automatically engage the arm gear that locks the arm in place. When the lift is completely lowered, that shaft should bottom out on the base or floor plate of the lift which should raise the shaft and disengage the gear allowing the arm to swing freely.

If your lift isn't dropping low enough to do that, then the installer may have the cables adjusted too tightly. Do your cables go slightly slack when the lift is fully lowered?

If that checks out, something is impeding the lift from dropping lower. A quick visual inspection should reveal your problem. Is a concrete anchor sticking up too far? Was packing material or debris left in the bottom of a column?

Your lift should have a very similar arrangement to what you can see at the beginning of this video.

 

[mercury26]

Thanks for the note. You confirmed my suspicions, as I measured the lift pads and they are at 5 1/2" above the ground. The specs say it should 4 1/4" which is the difference between the lower part of the lift carriage and base plate.

To answer your question, the cables are tight and not loose. It looks like I can adjust the threaded rod to provide more slack in the cable. I agree that it looks like the installer has the cables adjusted too tightly.

I will call the installer or try to knock it out myself. Though feel that the installer should get it done correctly.

 

[dagofast]

Agreed the seller should stand behind their work. My guess is the installer you got wasn't well versed in installing these. Leaving no slack in the cables is a pretty basic mistake. Perhaps ask the seller to send out a more experienced installer this trip. It wouldn't hurt for that guy to give the whole lift a once over just to insure all the rest of the parts are assembled and torqued down correctly.

 

[mercury26]

The issue has been resolved. The installer came by this morning to check things out and apologized for not getting it right the first time. Also, we were both in contact with Challenger and they suggested a few things to check out. Making a long story short, the hydraulic cylinders were not set on their pin insert/correct position. The installer got them into place, made some minor adjustments to the cable and we had everything sorted out.

 

[dagofast]

Glad it all got sorted. Now go lift some cars!