Infokey lockup

[herbw]

On a recent ride, I went over a depression in the sidewalk too quickly, and was knocked off my Segway (i2). No damage to me or the Segway, except that the Segway was now in Security Mode. Problem was, I was not able to switch out of Security Mode or power of the Segway. I was able to cycle through the display settings, to view time, date, mileage, etc.

I had to have my wife pick me up, and we had to drive the Segway home, with it beeping the whole way. I left it in the garage, and went to work the old fashioned way (by car). I figured that the Segway would eventually drain the batteries, and shut down.

When I got home 10 hours later, the Infokey controller still showed a full charge, and I still was unable to get out of Security Mode or shut down.

On a hunch, I removed and reinserted the Infokey controller battery. Once I did this, the Infokey controller showed only five bars of charge, and I was able to get out of Security Mode on the first try.

So, if this every happens again, I have a workaround. My question is, has anybody else ever had a similar experience? Does this indicate a problem, or did the computer in the Infokey controller just have a bad day? Note that the Infokey battery is only a few months old, and appears to be fine. I have had no problems with my Infokey controller since this incident.

[KSagal]

My first thought is that I recall a bumper sticker that says, " S**t happens".


My next thought was that it is not too uncommon that a button gets stuck in. Generally, this is the post that goes thru the case of the info key, and it is dirty...

There have some posts and threads about this...

If I had to, I might guess yours was kind of like that, only that the inner mechanism of the info key, which can move a bit inside the case, may have shifted just a tiny amount in the fall, and that locked one of the contact points on the edge of the inner mechanism that is the info key... In other words, not the post that goes thru the wall of the info key, but the contact on the electonics inside that it pushes on...

The other buttons worked, but since the post over the security button could move but not the button itself, that contact never released. It may explain why no more machine functions could change...(No off or on, just data like date (inside the infokey) or miles (from the machine, but not requireing interaction with the machine) and no command codes...

Then when you unscrew the back, to replace the battery, it allows the inside electronic package to settle back into its proper position, and the buttons all work again, and new data (the correct battery condition) can now be accessed.

I have not had this happen with info keys before, but have seen it in other devices like watches and automotive keyless entry systems... Their basic construction is similar, and this would require a pretty good shock.

In most of these situations, it is not the fall that causes the problem... It is the sudden stop at the end of the fall that does it...

Good luck. Hopefully, then next time you fall, you can arrange to land in one of those big pits full of foam blocks that they use in kid's gymnasiums...

Keep smiling...