300+ hours and my first problem

[Griz64]

Well folks I was in the middle of running a project when I had to flip the board to carve the front. As with any project, I took the time vacuum and blow the dust out of the unit. I then proceeded to load the board and went thru my preflight checklist. Closed the cover and was ready to continue on with my project and went to hit enter to continue..but wait..it still says please close cover...oh ok...wait it IS closed...son of a ..... Ok so I take the hood off and start looking loose wires and other things that maybe wrong. I cant find any so I make the call to LHR. I get a guy who I explain things to and how far I have gotten. He tells me to short out the switch and see if it says closed. I do and it does. Less than 5 minutes on the phone and he is sending me a new switch. I was more than pleased with the situation and resolution of said problem. He said he thinks I should have it by the end of the week but I am not really sure I can wait that long as this is a 200 dollar project. My question is would it be ok to bypass the switch for time being or will that mess something up in the long run? Wow just read my post....sorry for being so long winded.

[BBrooks]

Stay bypassed and run. Be safe, wear hearing and eye protection and keep a closer than normal eye on the machine.

Cheers

[Ike]

Well folks I was in the middle of running a project when I had to flip the board to carve the front. As with any project, I took the time vacuum and blow the dust out of the unit. I then proceeded to load the board and went thru my preflight checklist. Closed the cover and was ready to continue on with my project and went to hit enter to continue..but wait..it still says please close cover...oh ok...wait it IS closed...son of a ..... Ok so I take the hood off and start looking loose wires and other things that maybe wrong. I cant find any so I make the call to LHR. I get a guy who I explain things to and how far I have gotten. He tells me to short out the switch and see if it says closed. I do and it does. Less than 5 minutes on the phone and he is sending me a new switch. I was more than pleased with the situation and resolution of said problem. He said he thinks I should have it by the end of the week but I am not really sure I can wait that long as this is a 200 dollar project. My question is would it be ok to bypass the switch for time being or will that mess something up in the long run? Wow just read my post....sorry for being so long winded.

Griz, this is a very common and easy fix! Sometimes it is a loose switch or a chip of dust or a loose plug. When it happens to me I quickly close the cover several times and and let it drop and I get the enter to continue message.

If that doesn't work order a new switch along with a board sensor and anything else you want to have on hand to justify the shipping cost! Then remove the head cover and while you remove the old sensor install the new. That way you remember and see how it goes back correctly.

I have replaced a couple!

Ike

[TerryT]

Here is something to try until your new switch arrives just take the old one out, unsnap the two halves, run a tiny strip of 400 or 600 sandpaper between the contacts. Snap it back together and re-install it. That worked for me and I have about another 300 hours on the switch without replacing it.

[Ike]

Terry that is different! What does that do? Is there a spacer in the switch? Again I learn something from the forum!! Thank you Terry!

Ike

[DocWheeler]

Ike,

It cleans the contacts. When the cover is used to stop the machine there will be arcing and a buildup of non-conductive material that the low-voltage will not penetrate well. Fine abrasives will restore the switch most of the time.

[TerryT]

Right on Doc! An old (and I do mean OLD) hot rodder trick to keep from replacing the points in the car too often. In fact, I don't think my 47 Plymouth ever saw a new set of points.

[Griz64]

excellent suggestion in the using of sandpaper to clean the contact points. Thank you all that responded. As always any and all help is greatly appreciated. I am gonna give a couple of them a try tomorrow and maybe I will be up and running again soon. Its kind of funny because I found myself chomping at the bit to be doing something in the garage so I did a little housekeeping. Its amazing how much you miss it when its down.