Reviewed by Lukasz Zelezny for the Motala Hissar range. Motala Hissar is a supplier of lift components rather than complete lifts, so its parts appear under many badges. This page is aimed at engineers and technically-minded building managers: identifying the Motala Hissar component, its usual failure modes, and ordering the right spare first time. End users should not use it for fault-finding — component work is engineer-only.
Quick Diagnosis
Answer up to three questions. We'll point you at the most likely Motala Hissar fault on this page — full detail stays visible below either way.
Common Motala Hissar Faults
The motala hissar lift problems reported most often to UK service desks — expanded in the order owners typically encounter them. Several are resolved by routine Motala Hissar maintenance rather than a call-out, and the rest are far quicker to fix when you can describe the symptom precisely to whoever handles your Motala Hissar repair.
Identifying a Motala Hissar drive or machine in the machine room
Engineer onlyConfirming the Motala Hissar drive, motor, or gearless machine fitted to your lift.
Before you phone anyone about a Motala Hissar repair, work through the description below.
The drive or traction machine of a UK commercial lift is the single most expensive component in the fitting, and identifying it accurately protects the value of every spare and every service decision.
The plate on a Motala Hissar machine gives the model designation, serial number and often the maximum load — photograph it in full.
On modern MRL (machine-room-less) lifts the Motala Hissar machine is above the shaft rather than in a separate machine room. Either way, only a competent lift engineer should be inside the space.
Building operators should ask their contractor for a photo of the Motala Hissar plate at the next visit and file it with the lift's log.
Where the checks do not settle it, describe the symptom in your own words when you ask for Motala Hissar repair. A plain description helps far more than a guessed diagnosis.
Motala Hissar brake not holding or not releasing
Engineer onlyThe Motala Hissar traction brake is showing symptoms of holding failure or drag.
This symptom accounts for a steady share of the Motala Hissar repair enquiries we see each month.
The brake on a Motala Hissar traction machine is a safety-critical component: it must hold the loaded car at the floor with the motor de-energised. Must release cleanly when the drive commands a start.
When a Motala Hissar brake fails to hold, the car rolls slightly at every stop and produces the classic levelling error above or below the floor; when it fails to release.
The drive trips on over-current within seconds of the call. Both are engineer-only diagnoses on any Motala Hissar machine and both are more and more urgent.
A brake fault is one of the fastest routes from "in service" to "unsafe". Building operators noting the symptom pattern accurately helps the Motala Hissar engineer diagnose the fault at the first visit.
A short entry in the Motala Hissar maintenance log now avoids any later doubt about whether the fault was reported before the next Motala Hissar servicing visit.
Motala Hissar encoder feedback loss
Engineer onlyThe Motala Hissar drive has tripped with an encoder or feedback fault.
This is one of the most common reasons UK owners look up Motala Hissar troubleshooting in the first place.
The encoder on a Motala Hissar traction machine reports position and velocity back to the drive. It is the reference the drive uses to command the motor.
An encoder fault on a Motala Hissar drive shows up either as a specific coded trip on the drive display or as more and more erratic levelling at floors.
Diagnosis is engineer-only; the Motala Hissar drive log records the trip and the underlying cause is usually an encoder cable fault, a connector working loose with vibration, or the encoder disc itself contaminated.
Building operators seeing the same Motala Hissar trip repeatedly should pass the trip code to the contractor rather than accepting a mains reset as the resolution.
Whatever the outcome, note the date and the symptom in your Motala Hissar maintenance record. A clear history makes the next Motala Hissar servicing visit quicker.
Motala Hissar motor overheating
Engineer onlyThe Motala Hissar traction motor thermal is tripping the lift out of service.
Of every Motala Hissar troubleshooting question sent to us. This symptom is among the most frequent.
A Motala Hissar traction motor has a thermal cut-out that fault-locks the lift when the motor winding temperature exceeds its rated limit. Repeated thermal trips on a Motala Hissar motor are always symptomatic.
They can be caused by airflow to the machine or MRL space being blocked, by ambient temperatures in the machine room rising above the design limit in summer, by mechanical drag increasing the load on the motor, or by a fault in the Motala Hissar drive that is pulling more current than the motor can shed as heat.
Building operators should check the Motala Hissar machine-room airflow is clear and log any recent changes. The underlying cause is a Motala Hissar engineer diagnosis. Write down what you saw and when.
Regular Motala Hissar servicing catches most of these early, and good Motala Hissar maintenance notes shorten the engineer's diagnosis.
Motala Hissar drive tripping on over-current or over-voltage
Engineer onlyThe Motala Hissar VVVF drive is showing repeated over-current or over-voltage trips.
Read this through before booking any Motala Hissar repair. The answer is often simpler than it looks.
The Motala Hissar VVVF (variable-voltage, variable-frequency) drive protects itself and the traction machine by tripping on abnormal current or voltage.
Repeated Motala Hissar trips on the same indicator are diagnostic: over-current usually points to a mechanical load fault (brake dragging, guide-shoe seizure), over-voltage to a regenerative-braking issue where the Motala Hissar drive can't dump the energy of a descending loaded car quickly enough.
Neither is a building-operator diagnosis. The Motala Hissar drive event log is the primary source of truth.
The value of building staff noting the pattern is that it tells the engineer whether to bring parts for the mechanical or the electrical suspect.
If it becomes a repeat event, treat it as a Motala Hissar servicing question rather than a one-off Motala Hissar repair; recurring symptoms usually trace back to a missed maintenance interval.
Motala Hissar traction machine bearing noise or vibration
Engineer onlyThe Motala Hissar machine is developing a rumble or vibration that carries into the car ride.
Most people arriving at Motala Hissar troubleshooting pages describe the problem in roughly these words.
Bearing wear on a Motala Hissar traction machine is characteristically an ageing symptom: the ride quality of the Motala Hissar lift gradually degrades, a low-frequency rumble appears on travel that wasn't there at start-up testing, and vibration more and more transmits into the car.
Left alone, bearing wear ends with a machine seizure and a long out-of-service period.
The value of catching it early is huge — a planned Motala Hissar bearing service is a fraction of the cost and time of a failed-machine recovery.
Building operators should log ride-quality changes on the Motala Hissar lift on the maintenance log rather than waiting for a fault to be reported by users.
Keep the Motala Hissar maintenance paperwork with the lift. Whoever attends the Motala Hissar repair will want to see when the last service was done.
Motala Hissar repair
Before booking a Motala Hissar repair, separate the symptom from the cause. A lift component that halts mid-travel, one that will not start, and one that starts then stops are three different jobs even when they look identical from the landing. Note which of the three you have, plus the last thing that changed — a power cut, a new floor covering, a delivery knock — and hand that to whoever attends.
Anything behind a cover or panel, in the pit or shaft, or involving doors, gates and interlocks is engineer-only work. Your part of a Motala Hissar repair is to check and report: mains power on, isolator on, emergency stop out, nothing in the door threshold, and a written note of the fault code.
What Noise Is Your Motala Hissar Lift Making?
Lifts talk. Not eloquently — but a grind, a beep or an ominous silence each means something. Press play, compare, and pick the closest match.
Example sounds are synthesized approximations to help you compare — not recordings of Motala Hissar equipment.
Grinding — likely causes on a Motala Hissar lift
⚠️ Engineer only- Motor bearing at end of life on a drive unit
- Door-operator gearbox worn out
- Sheave or pulley bearing failure
Grinding from a Motala Hissar lift component in service is a bearing or gear reaching end of life — motor, sheave, door-operator gearbox, or drive input.
The correct response from a lift engineer is to spot which unit is the source (bearings and gears each have distinct signatures on a stethoscope), order the correct Motala Hissar service part, and plan the shutdown.
This is not a page for end users to work from: any mechanical work on Motala Hissar drive. Motor or door components needs manufacturer training and the correct lifting equipment.
Building managers should log the fault and route the Motala Hissar part number to their contractor.
What Light Is Your Motala Hissar Lift Showing?
Lifts also talk in light. Pick what you can see.
Steady red — on a Motala Hissar lift
⚠️ Engineer only- Drive-unit fault LED latched on the controller
- Door-operator fault indicator raised at end-of-stroke
- External enable input from the whole-lift controller withdrawn as a fault
A red lamp that stays on rather than blinking on a Motala Hissar lift points to an interrupted safety circuit or a fault the controller is holding.
Most of the time the cause is mundane rather than mechanical. Do the visible checks in order — confirm the doors close fully. That no stop switch is left operated.
That nothing visible is holding a safety contact open. If the red clears, the lift is safe to use once it responds normally again.
If it does not, stop pressing the call button, leave the power on, and email your service company with the exact indicator state.
Is It Safe to Keep Using It?
Three questions. Ten seconds. Answer honestly.
When to Call an Engineer
Stop your checks and raise a call if your Motala Hissar lift shows any of the following. Use your service provider or the form below:
- A fault that comes straight back after a reset.
- Burning smell, smoke, or damaged cables or control gear.
- Water ingress in the pit, machine space or car.
- A car travelling outside its normal range or stopping off-level.
- Intermittent operation of doors, gates or interlocks.
Motala Hissar servicing
Regular Motala Hissar servicing is the cheapest fault prevention available. A visit typically covers the drive and safety circuits, battery condition, charge points, limit and door detection, and a test of the alarm — the same items that generate most emergency calls when they drift out of tolerance.
Keep every service sheet. A dated history of Motala Hissar servicing tells the next engineer which parts have already been changed, supports any warranty claim, and is the first thing a buyer's surveyor asks for when the property changes hands.
Motala Hissar at a glance
Quick reference: how Motala Hissar lifts are built, how they show faults, and where the official documentation lives.
- Segment
- Platform lift
- HQ / market
- Sweden
- Key products
- Motala 2000, 6000
- How faults are shown
- Panel fault codes
- Coverage on this page
- System-level
- Platform / ownership
- Cibes Lift Group
- Official code source
- Cibes/Motala service docs
About Motala Hissar
Reviewed by Lukasz Zelezny for the Motala Hissar range. Motala Hissar is a supplier of lift components rather than complete lifts, so its parts appear under many badges. This page is aimed at engineers and technically-minded building managers: identifying the Motala Hissar component, its usual failure modes, and ordering the right spare first time. End users should not use it for fault-finding — component work is engineer-only.
Lift Troubleshooting is an independent resource and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Motala Hissar. See our full disclaimer.
Motala Hissar maintenance
The owner's share of Motala Hissar maintenance is observation. Listen for new sounds, watch for a landing stop that is drifting out of level, and note anything that has changed since last week. Reporting a small change early is what keeps it from becoming a call-out.
Nothing in owner-level Motala Hissar maintenance involves removing covers, entering the pit or shaft, or adjusting doors, gates or interlocks. If a check cannot be done from the landing with the equipment behaving normally, it belongs to a qualified engineer.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of equipment does Motala Hissar make?
Motala Hissar is a platform lift manufacturer active in Sweden. The ranges most often met in the UK are Motala 2000, 6000.
The fault-finding below is written around the behaviour those Motala Hissar ranges share rather than around one model number.
So start here and then confirm your exact model from the rating plate before you quote anything to an engineer. One thing worth knowing: the reference note for Motala Hissar reads "Cibes Lift Group".
This can change whose manual actually applies to your machine.
What does the Motala Hissar display or indicator tell me?
On Motala Hissar equipment the sign is described as: Panel fault codes. Codes are not standardised between makers, or even between board generations within Motala Hissar, so photograph exactly what you see.
The characters, the lamp colour, the flash pattern — and report that with the model from the plate. Read the sign; do not open the Motala Hissar controller or any panel to chase it.
What is the most common Motala Hissar fault?
The fault this page opens with is "Identifying a Motala Hissar drive or machine in the machine room". Confirming the Motala Hissar drive, motor, or gearless machine fitted to your lift.
The next most reported Motala Hissar symptom is "Motala Hissar brake not holding or not releasing".
Work through the safe checks listed against each one, note what you observe, and pass that to a competent lift engineer.
All on this page stops at check-and-report: nothing here asks the maintenance contractor to force a door, move a stalled car, remove a panel or enter a pit or shaft.
How do I get the Motala Hissar documentation for my machine?
The authoritative reference for this brand is the Cibes/Motala service docs. Motala Hissar publishes to its own channels and to registered trade accounts rather than openly.
So if you have no account, ask your maintenance contractor to supply the Motala Hissar document that covers your fitting.
Our own coverage of Motala Hissar is currently rated "System-level", so treat this page as an orientation and the manufacturer's document as the authority.
Do Motala Hissar parts have to be replaced like for like?
For anything safety-related, original Motala Hissar parts protect the compliance of the fitting as a whole. The decision always sits with the competent engineer signing the work off.
If a contractor proposes a non-original equivalent for a Motala Hissar item, ask them to record why it is suitable.