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Do you have an idea why the system failed and bent the bars and lever were damaged?
On a 55 a common reason is the bracket holding the limit switch and solenoids gets hit with road debris and bent so the limit switch is not in alignment and cannot be activated by the transverse bars to stop the action.
On an original 55 and 56 system the limit switch failing or a wire between a solenoid and control box or limit switch shorting or the solenoid sticking are the main reasons the compensator can run until the bars swap sides and try to wrap themselves around the middle.
On the sticking solenoid, some may remember a post Randy Berger made when he first started working on one of his cars. He heard the solenoid click and the car started moving on its own. That part is a normal touch up of the level but the abnormal part was the car did not stop after a second or so. He ran to disconnect the battery and was fortunate enough to catch it in time. On chasing the reason for staying active he found water had gotten into one of the solenoids and the corrosion and rust caused the plunger to stick in the on position to keep the solenoid closed. Unfortunately the fuse is heavy enough and compensator powerful enough the fuse may not blow until damage is done.
The main reason for the failure and damage in a non original system is the improper addition of an aftermarket manual switch. Too many have just added an ordinary switch to control the solenoids directly. They connect the wires to the solenoids and completely bypass the limit switches with the added wiring.
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