Vantage Vue rain detector repair

[Meteosat]

Good day folks,
I am one of those rare but unfortunate folk in the UK who have had three failed rainfall units for the Vantage Vue. So when Davis service in the UK sent me the last replacement I took advantage of the situation to do my own checks. I take the ISS apart and replace the transmitter kit).

By tracing the reed switch on the external PCB to the ISS transmitter module I was able to demonstrate that the reed switch was failing to produce a reliable closure to tell the ISS that the bucket had tipped. The last replacement unit had lasted about 9 months. The reed switch connections can be traced to pins 1 and 4 on the ribbon cable. By hand connecting the solder points where the ribbon enters the sealed transmitter I was able to get reliable readings on the console.

So when the switch fails again, as I am fairly sure it will at some point, I'll replace the reed with an RS components one. It will mean cutting through the protective plastic, but I can make that good after.

Please see the attached picture.

Cheers

James

[Dennisdg]

Thank you for that useful information.

Cheers

[Meteosat]

Glad to be of help. I have got the disassemble/reassemble down to half an hour now!
Cheers