500Z Owner's Manual & Troubleshooting
Z TROUBLESHOOTING & OPERATION NOTES:
Low Batteries & bad battery connections are the #1 cause of scale malfunction and inaccuracy
! We
test all of our scale returns from consumers. Fully 60% of consumer returns are battery related
problems. This sounds silly but it's true! A scale will perform slowly, or read inaccurately when it has low
batteries. Please replace the batteries often (and only use good quality batteries). We include good
quality batteries with all of our scales but batteries can run low in storage. If your scale simply won't
turn on while on Battery power, this is often caused by loose battery connections. Battery prongs
(terminals) are made of metal. They must be making good contact with your batteries in order for the
scale to power on. You can use a paperclip to slightly bend the battery prongs to make them have a
better connection. Also some poorly designed batteries have recessed or partially obstructed battery
terminals. This may cause your prongs to be touching the plastic housing of the battery instead of the
metal battery terminal.
1) If the Display ever becomes locked showing "Out2", please recalibrate the scale as outlined in the
manual
2) If the Display ever becomes locked on LLLL or EEEE, this indicates that the scale was shocked, dropped
or otherwise damaged and the delicate weighing sensors have been damaged. You can try recalibrating
the scale (If the sensor has not been hurt too badly it will work again after recalibration). Otherwise you
will have to follow the warranty instructions that came with your scale.
3) If the display becomes locked on 8888, this often indicates low batteries. However sometimes it also
may indicate a serious zero mark error. This means when you turn the scale on, it can't determine what
zero is (a slight zero mark error will cause situation #1 above) Thus, if new batteries do not fix this error
the scale will have to be sent to us for replacement under our Lifetime/30 year warranty program.
4) If the display shows UNST, this means the scale is not stable. Please try operating the scale on a more
stable surface and be sure nothing is on the tray or stuck under the tray when you turn it on. If this
situation persists, it may be an indication of fatal load cell damage. Try calibrating the scale - if this does
not work please follow the warranty instructions.
Although the Z is designed to be extremely durable, It’s important that you never overload or
drop/shock the scale. Scales are delicate instruments and unlike Cellular phones, scales have delicate
sensors that determine how much an item weighs. If you drop or shock your scale, these sensors "feel"
the shock and are sometimes destroyed. This happens with all digital scales. We design our scales to be
as resistant to shock or drops as possible, however there is no way for us to protect 100% against load
cell or sensor damage. A well-treated scale will provide years of reliable and accurate weighing.
However an abused scale will only work until it’s sensors are damaged.
