TREADMILL REPAIR
PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE
The first and most important part of owning a treadmill or any equipment is preventive maintenance. If you are not currently doing this, get started today!
Items needed for a good preventive maintenance program on your treadmill:
vaccum cleaner
Screwdriver – philip’s and flatblade
Sockets and Allen keys according to your model Grease cleaning cloths
Now let’s get started!
ALWAYS UNPLUG THE TREADMILL OR ANY EQUIPMENT BEFORE SERVICING!
Remove the hood or engine cover. There are probably between 2 and 8 screws. Now vacuum the dust around the engine and powertrains. What you can’t get with the vacuum cleaner, use a small cloth or brush. A clean engine won’t stall or overheat.
After you’ve cleaned around the engine, look for the grease nipples – these are usually found on commercial-grade units, but yours might have some too.
For those of you who have never seen one, they are the size of a pencil eraser and have a hole at the end. they are generally found in bearings. If you don’t have a grease gun, you can purchase a small grease gun at your local auto parts store for less than $ 10.00.
If your unit is chain driven, clean the chain of excess dust and apply a small amount of grease to the chain, also grease the drive chain and lift chain as needed. Use white lithium grease if available.
Check all drive belts for wear, look for cuts and nicks, and replace as necessary.
Loosen the walking belt, most treadmills have a bolt or screw on each side at the rear of the unit. Loosen them, push the rear roller towards the walking platform until the belt is loose enough that you can look down.
Raise the belt and inspect the underside for wear. If it looks worn or burned, you need to replace the belt.
Inspect the walking platform for wear, you can tell if it is worn. If it has small worn grooves or is stained, it should be turned over or replaced.
Today, many treadmills have walking platforms that can be flipped. If your platform is worn, turn it over, but it is recommended that when you turn the platform over, you replace the walking belt.
Clean the platform and the underside of the belt with a soft cloth; Depending on the model of your treadmill, you should lubricate the walking platform at least every 6 months. Some units use silicone gel or spray. Others use wax. Consult your owner’s manual for the manufacturer’s recommendations.
After cleaning the belt and platform and lubricating the platform as necessary, center the belt on the walking platform and tighten the screws on the end of the treadmill.
Turn each bolt the same amount to keep the strap centered. Tighten the belt until it does not move freely over the rollers. Then, with CAUTION, straddle the belt and turn on the treadmill at a low speed.
Wait for the belt to start moving and then stand on the belt. If it stops, it is not tight enough. Take off the belt and tighten each side 1 turn and then step on the belt again.
Repeat as needed.
Once you can walk on the belt at a low speed without stopping or slipping, increase your speed to 3 miles per hour. This should be a quick hike. If your unit has side rails, hold the rails and try to stop the belt with pressure.
IF OK, increase speed to 5 MPH. Run on the treadmill, if you feel it slipping, tighten the screws an additional 1/2 turn each. Repeat if necessary.
If the belt is not centered, stand behind the treadmill and run the belt at full speed if the belt drifts to the left. Tighten the left bolt or screw 1/2 turn and loosen the right bolt or screw 1/4 turn until the belt is centered.
IF the belt is moving to the right, tighten the bolt on the right side or screw 1/2 turn and loosen the left bolt or screw 1/4 turn. Repeat as needed, this should center the walking belt.
Always clean the treadmill after each use, perspiration is very corrosive.
If your treadmill tilts, increase the elevation to the maximum and vacuum underneath.
If it doesn’t lean, take it out and vacuum.
Most operational problems are easily seen, detected, and repaired. If the cause of a problem is not obvious, follow a logical process of checking each component of the system.
Repairing your treadmill
It would be impossible for me to list all the issues for each manufacturers treadmill in this report, but here are some common issues:
The walking belt is not centered. See the preventive maintenance procedure to center the belt.
No power, verify unit is plugged into a live outlet, ALWAYS USE CAUTION when dealing with electricity. Try another outlet if necessary.
If you know the outlet is live, unplug the unit and check the fuses, you may need to lift the cover for this.
IF you have power but the motor does not turn, it is because you have a bad power source or the motor brushes are worn out. Contact the manufacturer for information.
If the engine is spinning, make sure the drive belt is not loose or broken. Tighten or replace as necessary.
The walking belt is moving, but there is a loud squeak.
Loosen the belt and see if the noise goes away, if it does, you may have a faulty front roller. Sometimes you can spray the bearing onto the roller with a lubricant like WD40 and this will solve the problem, but the roller may need to be replaced.
If the noise doesn’t go away, the motor bearings are probably bad and the motor will need to be replaced.
Lift does not work, unit does not raise or lower, or is stuck in raised mode.
Unplug unit and check lift motor fuse, replace if necessary. Check the lift system for broken chains or cables, make sure nothing is caught in the gears.
If your unit is equipped with limit switches for the raise and lower limits, check them to make sure they are not connected. These are usually small microswitches located around the lifting gears.
ALWAYS LOOK FOR LOOSE OR BROKEN CABLES FOR ANY PROBLEMS YOU’RE HAVING.
You have power for the treadmill, but the control panel is not working.
If your unit requires a key or magnet, make sure it is inserted correctly.
You may have a faulty control panel and will need to replace it.
Check for loose or broken drive belts under cover.
The treadmill will run for a short time and then a fuse will trip, cut out, or just stop.
The belt or platform or both are probably worn and need to be replaced. Try lubricating the deck first. If this does not help, you will need to replace the worn parts.
Perhaps the belt is too tight and is causing the motor to draw too much current. Try the belt adjustment procedure under preventive maintenance.