Yeah Power Fluctuations are Fun!!!!!! nope not really

[lilskip]

Ok Gents Needs some help. Every time I load the cutting bit I get a Power Fluctuation error on the screen. It started this earlier today on a project I let it sit for about 15min hit enter and it continued on. (wrote it off as getting warm had it going for a while) Well not the case a few carves later and it a it does it again, this time it doesn't go away. So I looked it up on the forum and took the covers off and disconnected and reconnected all the plugs hoping that it was a plug loose. put everythign back together and it still does it. So I took it all apart again and removed the Power Supply and checked all the solder points and the L2 COIL suggested by AL in numerous posts, Everything is Good. so pulled the X termination board and checked it over and all is good. Couldn't find a loose solder point on anything. So I put together a quick carve so it would ask for a bit change and use both bits. It did the carveing just fine and the went for the bit change, Loaded the cutting bit, hit enter and it did its test spin and calibration. Spindle moved to position to start the .3 depth vector path and poof Power Fluctuation error again. So here I am Stumped. Oh yeah the Y axis sounds like its clicking slightly when going to the Home position. Any Ideas? Bring the Knowledge O Guru's of the Carvewright.

This is a Reconditioned Compucarve with the CarveTight on it and I have put less that 25 Cut motor hours on.

[Icutone2]

David, I found that the L2 coil on 2 of my machines broke the connection inside the board. I layed the unit on it's back side removed the bottom plate and with a screwdriver handle pushed on the coils with the power on
and watched the led panel and it would turn on and off as I touched the loose coil. De-soldered the loose connection and added bus wire to the broken lead and re-soldered the connection. Then I used hot glue gun to secure the coil in place. Worked for mine and I have yet to see an error.
Lee

[Digitalwoodshop]

David is correct.... A Broken L2 will be hard to see since it IS broken within the board where it it bent over at the bottom of the board.

And the clicking.... How many cut motor hours? More than likely 2 bad bearings in the Y Gear Box and 600 plus Cut Hours...

AL

[lilskip]

I will tear the power supply down again and take alook at the coil I'll have to dig the goop off it. If that thing is broke in the board will it cause it to spike only when it goes to cut Because it carves fine. I have had the machine only for a few weeks and it is a reconditioned Compucarve that was shipped straight from LHR and had 0hrs on it when I fired it up. As of right now it still has less than 25hrs on the cut motor. is there a way to check the bearings in the in the Y gear box without a tear down. It acts like its trying to go farther than the track goes. do you thing recalibrating it would help if so is there a tutorial for it? Thanks guys keep the ideas coming.

[lilskip]

Ok I desoldered the L2 coil and all is well resoldered it back in and us some hot glue on it to reinforce it. Tried it and its still doing it on any operation involving Vector cuts. Carves just fine. How much does a Power supply cost and is there a way to make sure that is the problem before shotgun'n parts out.

[Digitalwoodshop]

Power Supply something like $155.00 + Shipping with a $40.00 Core Charge for returning it.

Time to order Cut Motor Brushes, FFC Cable and a Board Sensor just to save shipping...

And if you really feel Froggy.... A $75.00 Flex Shaft......

AL

[DaveN]

I had the same thing happen to me. Just before x-mas we had some bad weather and I thought it was the high winds causing it, but it kept doing it even when the weather was good. I looked at my power supply,didn't do anything to it just looked at it. I came back to the forums and somewhere here, someone posted a list of things to try and 1 of them was to reformate the flashcard. So I did and I stopped getting the Power Fluctuation error.

[lilskip]

AL,
Is there a way to load test it before I drop that much money on a machine that has less than 25hrs on it.

Dave,
I tried reformating and it didn't work either.

any more ideas?

[Digitalwoodshop]

There is no load test that I am aware of. There has got to be a loose or broken connection on that power supply.... The only real test is to swap the power supply... That is why I have 4 machines... To aid in Troubleshooting... I had the FFC cable rip out under power and short out the Z Motor.... found it in a few quick swaps..... That could have been a bear to find...Cable, Circuit Boards, Controller, Power Supply.... Expensive swaps...

Good Luck,

AL

[lilskip]

I just finished 5 carvings for the Wine rack I am working on without the Vector cuts and it worked fine. I think it has to do with when the motor changes to its cutting RPM. mSo my question is what regulates the Cutting speed of the motor. I know you have the Speed sensor on the nose of the motor that monitors it but what controls the actual speed.

[Digitalwoodshop]

That would be the Q1 and C1 on the X Termination Board..... Interesting.... It could be a SHORT or a resistor bent over on the Power Supply too..... Check your C1 on the X Term board under the machine......

The X Termination Board does 2 things.... On and Off of Cut Motor and with Q1 a basic pulse width modulation of cut motor speed if I read this right.... The other part of the board passes thought the X Drive Servo Signals.

If you Thump on the machine while it is running does it show a power problem?

AL

[lilskip]

Al,
It doesn't flicker at all it does all the carving operations just fine I only have a problem when it does regular cuts and Vector cuts. so I will dig into the X termination board some more when I get done caving the Grapes on the braces for the winerack which I have done about 3 hrs of carving with it just this morning and haven't had a problem because I removed all the vector lines from the MPC's I have been doing all the shaping of the braces and Valance with the router table and templates.

[lilskip]

Well Its fully functional again. And one of two things fixed it. The fact that I comepletely Desoldered everthing on the X termination board and Power Supply, then resoldered it all back on. Or its the screw I had left over when I put it back together. Not really sure what it was because I went the ful strip down on the boards but I Think it was the extra screw that doesn't go anywhere I can find haha. So we will see how long it works now. Yeah I get to keep my money. Thanks guys for the info and help.

Stupid Extra Parts.

Al,
I going to make some test plug to put inline so I can watch the Power signals going to everything to Decode this thing some to make this easier to troubleshot. Thats my mission now.

[Digitalwoodshop]

GOOD JOB.... NEXT... Decode the DB-25 that goes into the Computer.... It must have a data bus on it as the Tool Talker plugs into it and reads what the LCD is displaying. The Tool Talker has gone on the back burner as the Inventor has changed directions in his life. At least that is the last I knew. I have talked to him a few times.

I know that LHR uses it to do Factory checks. Having experience with Omron Program Logic Controllers and Remote Monitoring at Sony, there could be some useful info at that jack. Too bad LHR does not have a Black Box like a Flight Data Recorder where you could plug it in and it records the machine and the failures we get. Then they play it back and tell us what to fix.... OR like a Check Engine Light on a Car.... OR a USB Box that you plug into your computer while LHR tells you to do things.... While they monitor the unit.... A USB Video Camera link would be Good too....

Well that is all good ideas.... When LHR makes the 49 inch version that is not easily shipped to Texas this may be the direction they go....

AL

[Capt Bruce]

Too bad LHR does not have a Black Box like a Flight Data Recorder where you could plug it in and it records the machine and the failures we get. Then they play it back and tell us what to fix.... OR like a Check Engine Light on a Car.... OR a USB Box that you plug into your computer while LHR tells you to do things.... While they monitor the unit.... A USB Video Camera link would be Good too....

Well that is all good ideas.... When LHR makes the 49 inch version that is not easily shipped to Texas this may be the direction they go....

AL

I suspect that will go right along with the Mobile Field Team of Repair Technicians arriving on Jet Packs . . . You know the jet packs we were all going to have in that distant year 2000 when we were growing up. Okay I'm here in 2011 and I want mine now.

[dougmsbbs]

Jet Packs? Heck, where are the hover cars they promised us in the 1950's?

Of course, if they always guessed right, we'd be in the Ice Age they told us was coming back in the 80's...

[Capt Bruce]

Sorry, I guess you didn't get the memo that we skipped the Ice Age and we're going directly into Global Warming. I'm counting on having seaside property right here in Atlanta.

[TerryT]

Yes, I understand global warming caused the earth quake in Japan? Pesky global warming. I get 3 feet of snow because of it.!?!?!?!?!?

[Digitalwoodshop]

We got the highest amount of rain ever recorded in a 24 hour period since recording began....

AL

[badger2424]

Welcome, I'm praying for all. Capt Bruce, come see the mts. Beautiful. God Bless all!! If it gets deep, the mountains are the place to be. I think Al can keep us enthrolled, way too much Knowlledge for the normal person.

[lilskip]

Ok Well the Power Fluc Problem is back and it brought a Friend Error Code E06-0313. so I'm Thinking Sweet I get to take this Stupid thing apart. Not so much. Anyway Yesterday I was doing a 30min Carve and I got the Power Fluc Error once hit enter and it went on a completed the carve. Today I was setting up to do a larger carve and I got the Power Fluc Error about 1% into the carve hit enter and it came back again a long with a Error code E060-0313 for the Z axis stall. So I took the cover off and checked all the connections and took the covers off the Z Servo and checked the Disc for Dirt and checked the 14pin connector all is fine. Put it all back together tried it again and same thing. It goes through all the bit calibration just fine and the board measuring along with the test spins on bit changes. but gets both the errors when it goes to carve. Right now I just got done Desoldering and resoldering the Power supply and didn't find anything wrong. Im going to put it back in and see what happens. and I verified that I do have the new Zservo with the 14 pin connector along with the other board it plugs into on the other end. Does anyone have a new style Power Supply and Z servo That I can rent to Troubleshoot with before I waste a few more Hundred on it, or Beat it with a Hammer.....
Oh yeah I have only put 5 more Hrs on it since the last time I had to fix it so it has a total of 30hrs on it.

[liquidguitars]

David, have you removed your z truck and checked your bearings for dirt? 8ea. I can see that raster carving could work ok, but vectors cuts could give you this error as its a little more pressure on the unit..

also, I am not a big fan of removing the encoder covers on the packs, I feel once the motors are bad the gig is up and it better just to get a new one.

[lilskip]

LG,
I got this morning and Check the Truck Bearings and everthing is moving fine. when this first happened it only would do it when it would go to do a vector function I fixed that when I resoldered the whole power supply board. this time (5 cutting hrs later) it does it during both raster and Vector functions.

I'm not sure what else to do except change something. I had just spent spent $250 on Bits and Software just so I could do Centerline text because I thought everthing was alright. This machine is costing me way more than it is making right now. So if anyone has a Known Good Power supply they would let me Rent or buy for a small fee PM me. It would be greatly appreciated Just so I know it will fix it before I buy one.
Thanks Guys

[dance0001]

my machine did the power fluctuation and z axis errors and i replaced my power supply board and that fixed it.

[Marc Herring]

So, what's the deal. I have a brand new machine, 30 hours on it and now am getting power fluctuation errors. tech support says...loose wire from vibration, I open the bottom, and no loose wires. I'm thinking...peice of junk! After spending $2000.00 on a machine that seems to require lots of hands on maintenance, I'm not a happy woodworker. No support on the weekend and my machine has been down for over a week...So far, I can't rate the carve wright with high marks as it hasn't worked long enough with no problems long enough. just my $.02...sorry carve wright, but I'm not a satisfied customer :-(.

Marc Herring
Ozark Classic Crafts Mall
Hardy Arkansas

[liquidguitars]

David,

Have you checked the "on off" power switch yet you could have a short...

[lilskip]

LG,
I have read it out with the multimeter along with the 2 on the hood, and they all read fine. the only thing I haven't opened up and looked at is the brain itself. And I don't really want that to be bad with as little that I have used it. Not sure what else to try. I got to make some more Boxes to get this thing to pay for itself, right now its like my Kids, its eating the groceries buy doesn't bring home any money allthough I do love having it around I need it to start pulling its weight or my wife is going to kill me. I'm not going to trash the machine because I can see the potential it has. I bought a Refurbished machine because I couldn't afford a Version C and now I am paying the Difference.
If I order a Power Supply from the Sears Parts dept do I have to still pay the Core charge?

[liquidguitars]

The connectors are tight? I had a issue with the power switch when it started to make a "crackling sound" at one point. I re crimped the ends and that issue was gone...

[lilskip]

LG,
I'll try recrimping them and give it a try and let you know what happens. Thanks
If I order a Power Supply from the Sears Parts dept do I have to still pay the Core charge?

[Digitalwoodshop]

Edit: Looks like we are beyond troubleshooting this Power Supply... Went back and looked at past posts... It is time to replace the Power Supply.

Wrote this before re reading the long post.... But it is still good info for anyone having a Power Supply Problem....

GOOD LUCK... I know your Frustration.... When my Y Belt broke today I was just glad I did not snap a $40.00 bit too.... After that the machine carved for three two hour carves with cut paths no problem.... I have a full day's worth of carving tomorrow...

Back to the pre edit post...

AL


Not sure about the Core Charge with Sears.... Lynn from LHR might pop in Sunday and answer it.... We beat up on her on a regular basis... LOL.... She is a Good Sport....

But if you have the first version of the Power Supply with 2 metal heat sinks and a metal box for the Coils then you may have a bad L2 Coil. I have posted the pictures dozens of times.

The L2 Coil is like a big lolly pop and the vibration makes the copper wires stress like bending a wire in your hand. It turns color and snaps... It will be snapped below the surface of the board where it is bent over on the bottom of the board and soldered.

The new Power Supply has had some problems but I have only seen it in pictures. It has 3 metal bars.

And I did have a loose power switch on my first machine.... forgot about that.... Re Crimped the connectors on the switch and was back in business...

Are you using a Rock or CarveTite? The QC Vibration causes the L2 Problem.... The Coil is Glued but not enough sometimes.


Good Luck,

AL

[lilskip]

AL,
I pulled the power supply out again last night and desoldered and resolderd the L2 coil and it still did it when I tested it. I am goin to try the power switch in the morning. Thanks Guys if you think of anything else let me know.

[lilskip]

OK, so I checked the power switch and recrimped the connections. I tried to run a test project that I setup. Now not only do I have a Power Fluc error, I also have a Z axis and a X axis errors. Is this all caused by the power supply or are the Servos bad also. Is this normal to have this much stuff go wrong with one machine with only 30hrs on it. I mean really LHR is this the quality of a Refurbished machine. What a Rip off.

[Digitalwoodshop]

All Power related... Replace the Power Supply and be done with it.... Sorry... That is the Reality of Modern Electronics... If the Power Supply is bad then it shows up as Servo Errors too.... Sometimes it is hard to know when to say Enough is Enough....

Case in point..... Sirius Lifetime Radio Subscriptions.... Something they sold a few years ago desperate for money NOW...

Gave Brother a Lifetime Radio... The problem is that the Orbiter Radio ran HOT and many self destructed... You can only transfer the radio 3 times then the lifetime is Kapuut... Done... Gone.... Ended..... OVER....

SO I went to many lengths to fix my Brother's radio... It had 2 problems... A bad RF unit and a bad power supply chip.... I bought a few cheap units on eBay that worked but no subscription and used parts like the RF module to fix that part... I noticed on the 3 working units that a chip had a paint mark on it.... my broken one did not.... That was the chip that had been replaced on other radios... It had a 5 volt and 3.3 volt output I believe... Well the 3.3 ran a Micro Processor and the 5 volts ran the Antenna system.... I believe that pinched antenna wires in car doors were the problem.... The Shorted antenna wire smoked the power supply chip.... I never got that one to work as I had re soldered most of the board and messed something up.... But with this new found knowledge.... I have fixed a few... Ones that were broken but when fixed still play music... Most likely have a lifetime subscription... Or at least until the Sirius Kill Signal comes down....

I don't mess with any other model as this was sold when they had a lifetime subscription avaliable... Newer units are most likely dealer display units and will die shortly... eBay is full of Activated Radios.... but for how long.... And a broken radio is less likely to be a stolen radio...

SO I took the knowledge and used it later.... I gave up on Brothers Radio and activated another new Orbiter. And we watch out for smashed antenna wires... SO use the new power supply knowledge next time.... and get a new power supply...


AL

[TerryT]

Al,
Something for you to take a look at. I have a "B" machine, worked great until last night. It just quit, the screen was blank. I pluged it into another outlet and it worked for about 30 seconds then quit again. When I pulled the power supply out I noticed it was not supported squarely. When the screws were tightened on the black plastic strap that goes across the power supply board it warps the pc board. Tighten a little and it works, tighten too much and the screen goes blank again. Long story short... it tweaks the pcboard and causes loss or intermitant loss of power, at least on my machine. Maybe others as well? I backed off the bottom screw (with machine on it's back) and secured it with hot melt glue to keep the board from vibrating. Seems to be working well now.

[woodchip]

I have a new "c" machine 3hr max on it. I'm Having the power fluctuation problem. I -press enter and it starts for about 2% then does again. I'm not an electric expert, I don't solder nor have a solder gun...am I screwed? I realy don't want to tear apart a brand new machine (shouldn't have to). What do I do now I'm not a mach. and don't want to get in over my head.
Thanks
Don

[liebhaber]

Sorry to revive a dead thread, but I just received a second hand machine yesterday that is doing many of the same things.

It started by giving a Power Fluctuation error as soon as the bit would touch the board. I could hit enter, the motor would start and then the same error as soon as the bit touched the board. I shut it off, pulled it apart, checked the L2 coil and put it all back together. The L2 was not broken, I pulled the board out and physically tried to see if it was broken, it was not.

Now, with the same project, I can get through 2/3 of the bit calibration before I get a z-axis stall. The vector bit and cutting big calibration work fine, but as soon as I put in the 1/16" carving bit, the truck moves to the keypad side, down, and then an immediate z-axis stall. I can't get past that point anymore.

I'm assuming from what I've read that this is all related to the power supply. Are there any other ideas or fixes?

Thanks.

[SteveNelson46]

I had the same problem a while back. Replacing the power supply fixed it. It's located on the bottom inside the bottom cover.

[Digitalwoodshop]

As posted, the L2 is the most logical and highest failure item on the Power Supply Board. BUT like all electronics... It could also be something else wrong. If you have looked at the L2 and remember it is hard to see the broken part as it is inside the board thickness that it normally is broken. The a inspection of all the Solder Joints on the board as any cracked or broken connection could also cause a failure. At that point the best thing to do is swap out the power supply with LHR getting a core charge back from it.

AL

[liebhaber]

Huh, well I took the machine apart again, did a "deep" cleaning, wiggled and poked at all of the cords, and now... it works!

I'm still betting I'll have to replace the power supply sooner than later, but i'll take what I can get! :)

[fwharris]

I bet you wiggled the right loose connector!! Guessing it was the ones for the on/off switch...

[eastcutty]

Sorry to revive a dead thread, but I just received a second hand machine yesterday that is doing many of the same things.

It started by giving a Power Fluctuation error as soon as the bit would touch the board. I could hit enter, the motor would start and then the same error as soon as the bit touched the board. I shut it off, pulled it apart, checked the L2 coil and put it all back together. The L2 was not broken, I pulled the board out and physically tried to see if it was broken, it was not.


Now, with the same project, I can get through 2/3 of the bit calibration before I get a z-axis stall. The vector bit and cutting big calibration work fine, but as soon as I put in the 1/16" carving bit, the truck moves to the keypad side, down, and then an immediate z-axis stall. I can't get past that point anymore.

I'm assuming from what I've read that this is all related to the power supply. Are there any other ideas or fixes?

Thanks.

I may be off the mark here, but a different cause gave me a similar result: if two bits cal fine but the third (1/16 carving especially) doesn't- has the third been 'remounted' i.e. 'changed out' in the bit holder? Maybe shortened due to re-tooling of the bit, like if you've sharpened to repair snapped tip? If it has, make sure the length-wise positioning is correct (see manual) because the CW might think the bit is wrong for the setting, or broken, or faulty/wrong in some way because its length isn't what the machine expects for the bit you 'told it' you're using. Just an idea- happened to me once.