gripper fingers failed to open/close on agilent 1100's ALS

[ntruong]

Hi all,
The gripper fingers seems to die on me since it is not picking up sample vials. I called agilent and was told that I need to replace the Transport Assembly. Has anyone replaced this before? Is it easy to replace?
Thanks in advance,

[Peter Apps]

Before you spend your money on a whole new assembly check all the wiring connections and that the fingers are not just jammed.

Peter

[ntruong]

Thanks Peter,
I have the instrument down for a month because I didn't have time to fix it. You did save me over $1800 for part because the fingers really got jammed, not the whole transport assembly.
thanks again,

[fbreton]

how did you manage to fix it?
just curious

[ntruong]

Hi,
I removed the gripper arm, rotated the shaft to ensure that the gripper fingers opened and closed freely. Re-installed and aligned it. It seems to work fine at least for now. However, I still think the motor might be the culprit because I didn't really do anything other than "rotating the shaft" to release the lock.
Regards,

[rnelson]

Transport assembly replacement is not too hard. The worst part is getting to it, removing other components, removing cover, removing other parts that are in the way. The actual assembly just snaps into place.