10 exam-style questions with answers and explanations, straight from our 1,030-question bank. Tap an answer to check yourself. When you're ready, take the scored version in the free practice test.
The QEI exam has 160 questions and runs 8 hours.
These 10 free QEI questions are organized by exam domain, so you can see how each part of the Qualified Elevator Inspector blueprint is tested. Reveal the answer and explanation under each question.
A direct-acting hydraulic elevator continues to drift steadily downward after a qualified technician isolates the jack-side circuit from the control valve with a verified, leak-tight shutoff. Oil temperature is stable, no movement is commanded, and no external leak is visible. Which explanation is best supported by these findings?
Correct answer: B - Leakage within the isolated jack-side circuit.
At a landing entrance, the hoistway door closes and its interlock contact permits normal travel even though the locking member has not engaged. The light curtain reopens the doors correctly when interrupted. The successful reopening test does not resolve the defect in which function?
Correct answer: A - Mechanical locking and electrical proving of the hoistway door.
During a scheduled fire-recall test, an elevator leaves normal service, ignores hall calls, and returns to its designated recall landing with the doors open. Drive power remains available; no power-disconnection initiating device has operated. The owner's representative requests an immediate shunt trip because 'a recalled elevator should have no power.' Which response is technically correct?
Correct answer: A - Power may remain available during Phase I; recall is not shunt-trip disconnection.
An elevator's approved Class C2 loading plan permits 150% of its 10,000-lb rated load while loading or unloading, but only rated load during travel. An industrial truck and its operator weigh 4,200 lb and carry 9,200 lb of freight onto the car. The truck and operator then leave; only the freight travels. How do the two weight limits apply to this move?
Correct answer: B - Both stages comply: 13,400 lb during loading and 9,200 lb during travel.
An inspection worksheet lists a traction elevator's car speed as 600 ft/min, twice its 300 ft/min rating. The technician obtained 600 ft/min with a calibrated instrument measuring suspension-rope speed at the driving sheave. The elevator has 2:1 roping, and the reading was taken during steady travel without slip. How should the speed entry be corrected?
Correct answer: C - Enter 300 ft/min; the rope moves twice as fast as the car.
An existing elevator was approved under an earlier installation code. Its jurisdiction has since adopted an A17.3-2023 door-protection retrofit that expressly applies to this elevator, and the compliance date has passed. The retrofit is absent. The owner presents the original approval certificate as an exemption. What should govern the finding?
Correct answer: C - The adopted retrofit remains applicable despite the original installation approval.
An auditorium's relocatable platform lift is positioned on a verified 4% slope. Its transport wheels remain deployed, although their brakes are locked. The supervisor argues that the slope is below 5%, so the lift may operate. Under ASME A18.1-2020, which conclusion addresses the overlooked condition?
Correct answer: C - Operation must be inhibited while the transport wheels remain deployed.
Available fault current at an elevator controller is 14 kA rms symmetrical at 480 V. The controller has a 5 kA short-circuit current rating (SCCR) at 480 V, and its upstream breaker has a 22 kA interrupting rating at that voltage. No evaluated protective-device combination increases the controller's SCCR. What is the correct assessment?
Correct answer: D - The controller's SCCR is inadequate for the available fault current.
A mechanic is preparing to open a hydraulic line beneath an elevated car. The pump disconnect is locked open and absence of voltage has been verified, but the car is supported only by trapped oil. Which additional protection is essential before the line is opened?
Correct answer: A - Use approved mechanical support and control trapped hydraulic pressure.
A technician recommends replacing a suspension-rope set after obtaining an undersize diameter reading. A photograph shows the caliper jaws seated in opposite valleys between the strands, rather than on strand crowns. No other rejection condition has been found. Before deciding whether diameter requires replacement, the inspector should:
Correct answer: D - Re-measure across opposite strand crowns using the applicable inspection method.
The QEI exam also covers these domains. Drill them in the full free practice test:
The full bank has 1,020 more QEI questions with explanations.
Continue in the free practice test →
View plans