It determines direction of rotation of my forklift steering.
I assume it's a magnetic type but weirdly it glows orange from the top.
Can't be optical though as the working end is solid.
Definitely!
Forklift is 2006. Not much use - been reliable for the 6 years we have had it.
I was outside with it one Sunday. Just locked up totally. NOTHING will work. You would think lowering the mast and load would be a safety requirement.
A mate of mine had to come down and use his forklift to lift the back of mine and shunt it back into the warehouse.
Had the same type on a track system with sections that slid in and out of the track. It didn't need much movement to stop them working, set up was a right pain.
Hall or not, it's inductive so might have a reed relay or transistor output, and if the led works wonderful, dangle a bit of steel in front of it to check it lights up. They rarely fail, and are generally cheap to replace.
It could be using infra red, with the casing transparent to infra red but opaque to visible light. What does the moving part have on it to trigger the sensor? A reflective material, or a magnet, or teeth varying the field induced by a magnet in the sensor.
Thanks for that.
I found a YouTube video showing one in action.
I powered it up with a pp3 battery and it works fine.
Looks like it is the motor encoder that's gone. £110 for a new one.