CPT Maintenance & Troubleshooting 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A conveyor belt is tracking to one side and riding off the pulley. What is the FIRST corrective action to take?
- Replace the conveyor belt immediately
- Check and adjust the tail pulley alignment (Correct answer)
- Increase belt tension on the drifting side
- Lubricate the idler rollers
Correct answer: Check and adjust the tail pulley alignment
Belt tracking problems are most commonly caused by misaligned pulleys, so adjusting the tail pulley is the first corrective step.
Question 2: Which maintenance strategy involves monitoring equipment condition in real time to predict failures before they occur?
- Corrective maintenance
- Preventive maintenance
- Predictive maintenance (Correct answer)
- Run-to-failure maintenance
Correct answer: Predictive maintenance
Predictive maintenance uses condition monitoring data (vibration, temperature, oil analysis) to forecast failures before they happen.
Question 3: An electric motor runs hot and trips its overload protector repeatedly. Which fault should be investigated FIRST?
- Incorrect nameplate voltage rating
- Blocked ventilation or cooling airflow (Correct answer)
- Worn motor brushes
- Loose terminal connections
Correct answer: Blocked ventilation or cooling airflow
Blocked ventilation prevents heat dissipation and is the most common cause of motor overheating and nuisance overload trips.
Question 4: What does a high vibration reading in the axial direction on a rotating machine most likely indicate?
- Mass imbalance
- Misalignment (Correct answer)
- Bearing wear
- Looseness at the base
Correct answer: Misalignment
Axial vibration is a classic signature of shaft misalignment between coupled machines.
Question 5: A pneumatic cylinder moves sluggishly and its speed has decreased. The most likely cause is:
- Excessive air pressure
- Worn or damaged piston seals (Correct answer)
- Incorrect cylinder bore size
- Faulty solenoid coil
Correct answer: Worn or damaged piston seals
Worn piston seals allow air to bypass the piston, reducing the effective force and slowing the cylinder stroke.
Question 6: Which tool is used to measure the internal diameter of a bore to check for wear beyond acceptable tolerances?
- Outside micrometer
- Dial indicator
- Telescoping gauge with outside micrometer (Correct answer)
- Feeler gauge
Correct answer: Telescoping gauge with outside micrometer
A telescoping gauge captures the bore diameter and is then measured with an outside micrometer to obtain a precise reading.
Question 7: During a troubleshooting process, after identifying the root cause of a failure, what is the NEXT logical step?
- Return the equipment to service immediately
- Document the failure in the maintenance log
- Develop and implement a corrective action (Correct answer)
- Perform a root cause analysis for all machines
Correct answer: Develop and implement a corrective action
After identifying the root cause, the technician must develop and implement a corrective action to resolve the problem before returning equipment to service.
CPT Maintenance & Troubleshooting 2
A conveyor belt is tracking to one side and riding off the pulley.
What is the FIRST corrective action to take?