Check Tracking Roller

[colokidd]

Hello everyone,
I have read quite a few of the forum posts and tried some of the tips to get my machine to run again. I had a board jam up in the machine and after that I can't get past the width measurement part. When it starts to measure the length the machine stalls. I get the message to check the tracking roller. I have tried the masking tape, I have checked the little rubber piece under the brass roller. I found the belts to be rolled under and took them out and fixed that problem, but I still get the check tracking roller message and if I abort without continuing I get the error message 319. Is there anywhere that they list the error messages so that you can see what they mean.

Thanks for any help.

Mike

[fwharris]

Mike,
Sorry to hear you are having some problems.

When the board jammed up did you hear any grinding noise? It is possible that you could have stripped some of the x gears. With the power off and the head raised, with both hands try moving the sandpaper belts by pushing on one of the belts to see if they move freely with out any grinding sound. If they move OK and now bad sound you are ok..if not the gears might be stripped..

When you checked the tracking roller did you verify that the O ring was on the roller? Also have you done a sensor check on the tracking roller to verify you get a reading?

As for the list of errors, no there is not one..

[colokidd]

No I have not done a sensor check yet, have been fustrated for the last two days and was going to wait until morning to due anything else. I have not checked the belts yet either. Althought I didn't see any damage when I corrected the folded over belt.

Thanks for the advice, will check in the morning.

Mike

[colokidd]

I have checked the oring. It is there and doesn't look like it is flat or damaged either.

Mike

[Digitalwoodshop]

Sounds like the X Gears driving the sand paper belts have broken. It is designed to snap the gears when it jams and the current sensor does not catch it first...

The other option is the X Motor and the Driver Transistors inside the computer.... We are talking $100 to $300.00 in parts... So a $5.00 Gear was a good design....

Make sure you clean all the parts of the stripped gear from the old gears.

My pictures show the old single gear but they have a new double gear package.

AL

[buffybuttons]

I have had this problem several times and solved it. This message is sometimes misleading as it may have nothing to do with the tracking roller.
I would check for a stuck compression roller switch. just do a quick sensor check with the machine head up.
To enter sensor check mode
1. turn the machine on,
2. press 0 button
3. press 7 button
4. press the down arrow once.
The front and rear rollers should read released. If you place a board in the machine and crank the head down they should both read compressed. If they dont then sawdust is probably compressed and stuck in the roller switches.

[Icutone2]

Is the color of the wood to dark for the sensor? My machine gives me that error when I use dark stained wood.
Lee

[colokidd]

I pulled the gear cover off and while rotating the belts I saw a spot where there are three flat teeth on one of the gears. That is probably the problem. I guess I will have to order a gear and I think I will upgrade to the new belts while I have it apart unless someone doesn't recommend the upgrade.

Thanks for the help and suggestions.

Mike

[fwharris]

I pulled the gear cover off and while rotating the belts I saw a spot where there are three flat teeth on one of the gears. That is probably the problem. I guess I will have to order a gear and I think I will upgrade to the new belts while I have it apart unless someone doesn't recommend the upgrade.

Thanks for the help and suggestions.

Mike

Mike,
Sorry to hear that it was the gears. There are several good posts on the X gear drive and the replacement of, well worth the read.

I do not have the upgraded belts but reports from those that do are very good. Read through the replacement pdf for the change over a couple of time as it does require a little bit of machine modification for the install.

Since you will be taking the machine apart it would be a great time to do deep cleaning and the roller switches that Buffy mentions would be an area to clean out. If you have not done so before you might be surprised.

Good luck..

[Ike]

Mike check your belt trays too, take a bar clamp and compress the tension and set a nail in the holes on each end and remove the nails with the bar clamp attached and slowly release the pressure. Then check to see if the tray has sprung, the rods should be attached to the frame. I had a gear go out on my brand new CW Rev C, it was tearing up belts and I thought it was the board. So I removed both trays and replaced both belts, I think I must have replaced the bad tray on the opposite end, because I recently had the NEW belt rip again. This time I noticed it was completely sprung.

So it must have been on the verge of going and causing too much pressure and having a hard time turning. The trays have a metal gear and the others are plastic so it wore down the inside plastic gear. So if I were you check both trays and if you remember what tray was making contact with the stripped gear double check that one!

Ike

[Digitalwoodshop]

Mike GO for the new belts. Don't forget to re position the Brass Roller like the instructions say. When a board is cranked down in the machine the belts flatten and bulge and touch the brass roller causing a problem.

Also order some Cut Motor Brushes now to save on Shipping. You will need them at 250 + cut motor hours.

Good job finding the gears.... I would also order a second set now to save on the $15.00 shipping for next time...

AL