Machine fails as soon as it starts with E03-E0400

[peep]

I get E03-E0400 as soon as I do a board measurement.

Oh the maintenance.....Now what :(

[chypes]

is it giving you an axis stall error? the codes don't mean much when troubleshooting...which axis is having an issue?

[peep]

When I do a measurement of a board it comes up right away E03-E0400

I tripled cleaned the machine. No go
I used a mirrow and seen that the sensours are clean and used light compressed air. No go
did the measurement tests. Everything passed, but sensor is at 15-19 when moved.
Put white tape on board edges, now get 30.

I wold find it hard to believe that after every second carve I have to replace a piece. Does anyone have a suggestion before we suspect the photo sensor?

[bergerud]

Just seems like a bad board sensor.

[mtylerfl]

E03 - Board edge detection failure
This error is shown when STOP is pressed after the "Clear Board Sensor" message is displayed.
See the “Clear Board Sensor” troubleshooting section for more details. The “Clear Board
Sensor” error occurs during the length (or X) edge find. After the roller releases the board sensor
was not able to find the edge within approximately 4". Can also occur when the board sensor did
not detect a large enough transition to define an edge (usually happens when the material is very
dark or there is dust on the sliding plate).

E04 - X axis stall
Description of Issue
An “X-Axis Stall” will happen when the machine is not able to move the board in and out of
the machine when commanded.

Possible Causes
An “X-Axis Stall” can result from excessive head pressure, rolled up sandpaper belts, a
wedged board, a board that has a significant thickness taper to it, a gear set that has too much
slop in it, a slow running cut motor, or a gear set that is out of alignment.

Troubleshooting Steps
1. Check to see that the sandpaper belts are not rolled up. This will have the same effect as
the varying thickness board. This is almost always the case so double check it.

2. Check to see that the board you were carving was not wedged in the machine (it will
wedge if the width of the board varies significantly along its length). Do this by slightly
cranking up the head and moving the board in and out of the machine along its length
looking to see if it wedges between the squaring plate and the sliding plate.

3. Check to see that the board you were carving does not vary in thickness over its length. If
it does it will wedge between the upper compression rollers and the belt drives and
overload the X gears.

4. Check that the head pressure is between 75 to 85 lbs. If the head pressure is lower than 75
lbs or higher than 85 lbs, it could well make the x-gears to stripe or brake. Please see the
“Checking the Head Pressure” document on the CarveWright website for continued
troubleshooting of this issue.

5. Check the spacing of the metal gear on the X belt drives. When the machine is apart to
replace the X gears make sure that the spacing on the metal drive gear attached to the belt
tray roller is correctly spaced out from the end of the tray. You can see instructions for
checking this in the document titled “Replacing the Sandpaper Drive Belts”. In place of
the spacer mentioned in that document use a stacked penny and dime.

6. Verify that the cut motor is not getting bogged down or stopping during the project. If the
bit is not cutting it will cause increased force on the gears.

7. If none of the above steps solves the issue consult CarveWright.

[chypes]

I would agree....your board sensor reading are very low....if you cleaned the sensor and are using a lighter colored wood...board sensor may be failing or could have debris / dust inside the sensor interfering with the readings...

[peep]

Head pressure is 81lb
did the test for x,y z and cut motor all passed.
new board with masking tape. same issue.

Hope its no to hard to change the photo sensor.

[peep]

Anyone know the link to replacing the photo sensor?

[bergerud]

It is easy to change the board sensor. Be careful that the wire plug does not scrape on the little circuit board on its way in or out. It can shear the small C6 capacitor right off the board.

http://www.carvewright.com/assets/service/Service_instructions/CarveWright_service_replace_board_sensor.pdf

[liquidguitars]

Also check the flat cable " FSC" on the back of the truck for damage.

[Digitalwoodshop]

Like LG and others... FSC Cable.... The Board Sensor Signal goes through the FSC Cable....

Use the Sensor Data with the head cranked down on a board with a sheet of copy paper on top. 156 good reading... NOW use your fingers to flex the cable... Bet it flickers and goes out... bad cable...

AL

[peep]

Grrrr not the FSC cable, have changed that twice already!

Ok who ever said changing the board sensor was easy.....well both screws were ceased! It to me hours to get them out. No good when your as broken up as me.

It fixed it. Oh ya!

Thank you everyone once again.

[Digitalwoodshop]

Good job !!!!

Al

[Jlavoie]

Does anyone know where to purchase a replacement FFC cable? It is listed as 'no longer available' at LHR/Carvewright.com web store. I found it is a Parlex 100R14-635B type FFC cable, but that seems to be obsoleted by the manufacturer. Mine would only work if I had it bent in a certain position, so I hot melt glued it that way, but I know this is a very short term fix.

[mtylerfl]

I don't think that's correct. I believe the cable is still available. If you can't locate it on the website, give them a call. I'm sure they can get one for you.

[bergerud]

He is right about the message but I think it is just out of stock.

[Jlavoie]

The 'contact us' page goes to error 404 now. I emailed 'marketing' at carvewright.com. I hope the FFC cable is available still... otherwise I will be modifying my machine with molex connectors and solder. The acrylic etched cable seems really fragile... I think a multi-conductor instrumentatioin cable with molex connectors might work better.