Greetings, All! I have just recently acquired 2 Sun SGA 9000 Exhaust Gas Analyzers from a local motorcycle dealership. One of them was used a lot and has several problems. The other one is new and has never been used or calibrated. Both have been sitting in a corner for more than 15 years. While both units power on and the pump motors run, the front LED displays will not light up. The new one, for example, will go through it's 15 minute warm up and 20 second auto-calibration, then the buttons on the front panel seem to start working, such as the pump on/off button. The pump is pulling a good suction (I measured around 20" of HG). I've tried re-seating all the plugs and the socketed chips, but the display still won't light up. I'm now taking readings off the power supplies, but I don't know what voltages would be good versus bad. I'm assuming that some of the electrolytic capacitors could have deteriorated and/or bled out, so I'm going to start looking at that next. I noticed other posts on this forum from people who've restored older Sun Electric test equipment. I'm not sure if mine is too recent for this group, but if any of you guys have any clues about this problem, could you please let me know? I am looking for service manuals of any kind that might give some clues to diagnostics. Snap-on doesn't have anything and the regional service tech can only offer me good luck, hehe. I was hoping that some field tech service website may have a link to an old copy of the service manual that someone may have just left there over the years. I do have the docs that came with the machine, including a calibration guide, quick reference guide, initial setup instructions and the operator's manual. Without schematics and troubleshooting procedures, I'm just going to start taking hi-res pictures of all the components and start identifying the boards by the chips that are on them. (The pictures will help me remember what is plugged in where and how all the DIP switches are set The overall layout seems pretty logical: power supply boards, LED display board, display logic board, sample tubes interface board, etc. I was going to start probing around with my oscilloscope and VOM from the power supply out to the boards and then start to follow traces. I should be able to get pin-outs for the chips from the usual sources on the web. Thanks in advance for any advice you may be able to offer me. This new-old machine is in too good of a condition to not fix it and start using it in my garage. I have some older BMW K-Bikes that use analog fuel injection (LE-Jetronic) where this unit would come in very handy! Thanks, Ty
a long time ago i had a sun machine [4 gas] took forever to warm up in a automotive mag was a adv for a bench rebuilder who i sent my bench and had it done after calling them i finally figured out how to get into the diagonostic mode and then calibrateit, after that everything was easy, lotsa of pots to crank on and retest Sun company sure did not want to give any help except for a lot of $$ and I am sure it was sold and is more or less extinct at this time?? and I have not seen any adv. for the company that did the repairs to the unit
I should be able to help a veteran brother. I went through the same issue and kept an eye out on ebay for a solid 2 years until I finally came accross my printed material. So long as I can locate it, I will try to assist where possible. If you prefer you can send the machine out to Gary's Autotest Products in Arizona. Gary helped me with the initial schematics I had before I purchased a printed manual. Surely, he long forgotten me, but Gary's one of the most trustorthy and helpful guys you will run across. He is extremely knowledgable and does sell o2 sensors for your machine as well, which is important for calibration since they do have a shelf life of about 6-12 months. http://www.drsmogtest.com/ Give me a day or two.
Thanks a lot for the tip, cruzju2. I had already chatted with Gary a couple of months ago. He doesn't have the Sun SGA9000 service manuals. I have all the basic manuals that came with the machine, including operator handbook and calibration procedures. What I don't have is schematics or troubleshooting procedures, so if you can get your hands on anything like that, wow, that would be a real help. I was going to get my O2 sensor from Gary for sure. He sells them on eBay as well as on his website. I have so far tracked my problem down to a bad voltage regulator on my switching power supply and have ordered a replacement. I sure hope that does the trick. Thanks for looking for the schematics. I really appreciate it. Ty PS eugene vik is the vet. (I'm just a geek.) Thanks for your response as well, eugene!
It might be worth checking with Bob Masters as well. He seems to have a lot of Sun documentation. http://www.distributortester.com
@artie alfa: That's great! Is there any way I could get a copy (PDF or paper)? Please private message me to discuss. Thanks for the post.
Just a follow-up. I got the machine working by replacing a 5 amp switching regulator in the switching power supply (LAS6351 - no longer produced, by the way. I had to get this as NOS from a vintage electronics guy). Now the displays light up and the unit functions the way the operator handbook says it should. It's going to need a new oxygen sensor and calibration, but so far, so good. I'm still looking for a service manual. I'm going to try to fix the second machine next and this guide would be very helpful. The second machine has several more problems than the first one did. As suggested by fordcrager, I had an email exchange with Bob Masters. He can't find his SGA-9000 file, but believes he may have had the manual I'm looking for at one time and will let me know if he finds it. I've also posted a similar message on garagejournal.com. Thanks a lot, fordcragar, for the good ideas! I haven't heard back from artie alfa. Artie, if you're still out there, please let me know how I can get a copy of your manual! Thanks, everyone, Ty
I have a 9000 also, mine was set up to be used by a state run emission testing, and is locked out (Need a password). I have not looked into a work around, but I am not sure even if I have the password that it would help, since it is designed to modem into the DMV to issue a sticker. Also the hoses coming out the back, appear to be dry-rotted, and I havent opened it up to check the ones inside. The last one I had, all the hoses broke apart when it was moved, and I never was able to find a manual for it. When Snap On bought SUN, the expunged all information, and the local service rep says he has the manuals, but will only do a service call, and won't let me copy the manual. To make a long story short... I am in St. Louis, and if anyone is interested in it for parts, I can make you a GREAT deal! Let me know, I can pull any parts you want off and pack them up, computer boards, pump, leads, printers (mine has two), $5 each + shipping.
Mac Vandenbrink , Kalamazoo Mich services these units and has some parts etc. Company is called DATEC, google for info.......
Hi, guys: Since my last post, I have acquired a total of 4 of these SGA 9000 units: 2 for parts and 2 for restoration. Common problems so far have been mentioned in previous posts, like faulty power supplies (with defective, hard-to-find regulators), torn rubber vibration dampeners for the pump platforms (since no one remembers to re-install the shipping screws) and brittle hoses. If you are ever considering getting your own old school EGA machine from the '90s and prior, just accept the fact that the hoses are going to be fried. With age, they all seem to turn into this yellow, brittle, waxy substance that will break and shatter with the slightest amount of vibration. On the SGA 9000, I was able to replace all of the hoses by cutting individual lengths from a single 25' roll of food grade vinyl tubing, which is available from most hardware stores for about $5. The trick is to know how to connect these hoses. If your unit arrives (as most will) with piles of rotten hose particles at the bottom of the box from all the shattered hoses, odds are you will have no idea about how new hoses should be routed or what fittings connect to what fittings, or which restrictors go inline with which hose. The hose connections are not as intuitive as you might think. Many of the hoses are for calibration and bypass circuits, flow meters and pressure switches. Others are for the actual gas sampling circuit from the intake filters to the bench and O2 sensor. Like anything else - if you screw around with it long enough, it starts to make sense, but initially, it can be a little overwhelming. Pictures of properly hosed units or diagrams in a service manual are essential guides for re-hosing these machines. Before you ever start down the path of restoring one, do everything you can to get a copy (or access to a copy) of the service manual first, or pictures inside another unit that is known to work. I was very lucky with the hose routing on my machines because one of them had never been used even once and the hoses were intact, although yellow, waxy and brittle. I picked this up myself from the same place in the shop it had been sitting for about 16 years, untouched. I took about 30 hi-res pictures and replaced them all one by one. This made a good guide for the other machines because the hoses in them were completely obliterated and offered no clues as to how they were hooked up. (I think FedEx may have dragged them behind their truck and/or bounced them down some stairs - you know, what FedEx usually seems to do with boxes labeled "Fragile".) In the end, once restored and calibrated, these machines have been working great! Ty
HI folks! I have now acquired one of these here in Ireland and would appreciate any info including photos etc. Those hoses are in tatters! PLEASE HELP! Thanks, Tom. tom046rlb@gmail.com
Here is what I am dealing with on my Sun sleuth two. Would also like some help with the hose routing.
Hello Artie! I want to fix a Sun SGA 9000, I read on this forum, back in 2011 you had a copy of a service manual. Do you still have it? And can I get it? Greetz, Emiel, The Netherlands
Hello, I'm jans de Kleine from the Netherlands and I see that you have a service manual of a Sun SGA 9000. I.m looking for this manual for a very long time and perhaps you can sell me one. My email address is: jansv12@kpnmail.nl Thanks anyway. jans from Holland
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