Board Sensor Bad

[JamesHuntsville]

I was carving three 55" x 5 1/2" boards for valences to go over curtain rods and managed to get only one carved when I kept getting board sensor problem message at the key pad. It would not measure either of the other two boards. I checked the sensor on the bottom of the truck and one of the diodes sensors was full of sawdust. I removed the two small screws to take the sensor out to check if there was any way to clean it and several pieces of plastic fell from it when I removed it. I contacted LHR this morning and got the runaround about a core charge which is $5.00 for the sensor. I don't mind the five dollars but it will cost more for me to send it back than $5.00. I bought this machine on May 5 2008 and I thought it was under warranty for 200 hours or one year. I only have approx. 60 hrs on the machine. Can anyone please tell me just what is covered by the warranty on this machine? They sure had a better attitude when I drove from Houston to LHR and gave them $2800.00 for this machine and all the accessories. I just want a new board sensor or I can pack the machine back in the box and store it in my basement because it is useless like it is. Does anybody else make a sensor that will work on this machine that you are aware of. So much for the warranty and service. I wish I could go back three months and know what I know now. Maybe I can figure something out. Is it possible to jumper the board sensor out so I can continue using the machine and jog to the starting point? I guess I should have stayed at the Holiday Express last night.

James
Huntsville

[Jeff_Birt]

Huh, I can understand your frustration with having a failed sensor but I think your looking at things all wrong? Many (most) companies that provide parts under warranty will encumber your credit card for the entire price of the replacement part until the receive the old one back. Many will even require that you send the old part in BEFORE they will ship a replacement. All this is done, of course, to keep folks from improperly taking advantage of the warranty and getting all sorts of parts they didn't need for free. (About a year ago there was a guy selling all sorts of CW parts on eBay; wonder where they came from??)

To me it seems that CW has tried to reach a happy medium; they don't encumber your credit card with the full price of the part, they don't require that you send the bad part to them first, and they insure they can get the failed parts back for their engineering staff to evaluate. Sounds like a pretty fair plan to me...

Postage to send the sensor back will cost maybe a buck, you can even reuse the padded envelope they send you.

[twinpeaksenterprises, LLC]

Correct me if im wrong... But i think the way a core charge works.. is that they charge you the $5.00.. then when you send the part back you get your $5.00 refunded... I keep a spare and the $5.00 is worth it to me to have a backup plan.. Could you post a pic of the board sensor? I never heard of one actually breaking..only getting a little dusty... Jeff is right, you got to think a few people that take advantage and abuse the warranty makes it hard on the rest of us.. It is fair though that i cant just call and say hey everythings broke send me all new stuff when my stuff really isnt broke, then i got free spares.. Its dishonest but some people are and thats a sad fact of reality. Good Luck and dont give into your frustration.....Matt..

[JamesHuntsville]

I talked to Lisa Andre and got everything resolved. New sensor board on the way for just the $5.00 core charge and no return of the old part. Just delete the original post if the way I feel is upsetting to anyone. Sorry if I upset anyone.

James
Huntsville

[Jeff_Birt]

Glad you got it all sorted out James. I don't think you upset anyone :), for myself, I was just trying to help put things in perspective.

I've dealt with getting warranty replacements from a variety of companies over the years (for work). I think all things considered CW's policy is pretty fair.

The new sensors are sealed to prevent dust from getting in, and i understand that the LEDs are also potted in place to prevent problems from vibration. I ordered one as a spare last week and you can see the sealing compound used, so I would suspect that this new generation sensor will last far longer. (I would also suspect that it was the returned 'core' parts that led to the design improvements.)

[Digitalwoodshop]

Something I discovered is the back side of the board detector has that black plastic piece attached to the main black plastic piece. It has some glue on it now sealing it better. I am going to add a piece of masking tape to the back side of the board detector after installation to help seal the sides of the plastic to metal joint to prevent any dust from getting in the window. Should help with the dust issue.

AL

[ChrisAlb]

The new sensors are sealed to prevent dust from getting in, and i understand that the LEDs are also potted in place to prevent problems from vibration.....)

Well...lol...they may be sealed but the dust sure still gets in. I have two new ones and every time they fail, I know exactly what it is...DUST..."inside" the plastic window. For the first few times I was taking one out, put the other in and then taking apart the failed one and cleaning it out. Worked pretty well always having a clean backup.

Now that the CRUNCH to get things done yesterday is on...lol...I've discovered that when it fails, I use a mirror and a couple short, well aimed blasts of air from the front and across (parallel) with the bottom face and PRESTO...http://www.carvewright.com/forum/images/icons/icon10.gif....working again without taking it out. You can see the dust move with the mirror. Haven't had to "remove" one since.....http://www.carvewright.com/forum/images/icons/icon14.gif

[Jeff_Birt]

Is the sawdust inside or just on the outside of the plastic window?

[Amonaug]

Is the sawdust inside or just on the outside of the plastic window?

The dust is inside the plastic window. They sealed all around the sensor EXCEPT the little platic window. Fine dust can get in there. Keep meaning to send an e-mail or call LHR but keep forgetting.

[ChrisAlb]

Yep, definitely on the inside. Every time I clean it after every carve, I use a shop vac with the soft brush attachment. That doesn't get rid of it and neither does a toothbrush or Q-tip. Take it apart, wipe the inside and it's clean.

The air I mentioned works very well as long as it's at the right angle.