Blank LCD

[mikemi]

I have been enjoying my CW for about three years now, and have a great time with it. It is also my third machine.
I am having a problem with this one that has me stumped and I am hoping that some of you kind folks out there can tell what the problem is. Occasionally the LCD on the keyboard controller just goes blank. No, the contrast adjustment does not bring it back. It did it today on 2 out of 3 projects that I did. I was approximately 75% done with the carves and it does complete the carves.
I have tried pausing the carving and then restart but it does not help. The only way that I have found to get it to working again, is to turn the power switch off and then back on.
Hope someone has the answer. I have a couple of 5 hr carves coming up and I would hate for it to totally quit in the middle of one.

Thanks in advance,
Mikemi

[rjustice]

Hi Mike,
Does this happen while you are cleaning the machine out in the middle of a carve?... I had static buildup from my shopvac knock my display out a couple of times just like you have described. This was before i knew about the static problem a couple years ago...

Ron

[mikemi]

No it doesn't happen when cleaning out the system, in fact I won't use a shop vac to clean it out because of the static electricity the shop vac builds up. I use my air compressor, which has water traps installed.
Static elecitricity is a good point though. I life in an area where the humidity is usually very low.
Also, I wanted to let you know that the rock chuck is the very best thing that I have purchased for my CW. Thanks

[rjustice]

I would start checking for loose connections to and from the keypad next...

I am glad you are happy with the Rock Chuck System!


Ron

[Jeff_Birt]

When you restart the machine does the display come right back on? I agree with Ron that the first thing to do is check for loose connections. There is a large ribbon cable that plugs into the back of the keypad assembly, you can get to it from inside the machine. If you want to pull the keypad/LCD out unplug the large ribbon cable first and them remove the four screws from inside the machine and two from from (on top of keypad area, upside down.) When you get it taken off you can check for loose connections inside.

Unfortunately there is no way to confirm if the LCD itself is bad without replacing it. If you decide to replace it might I humbly suggest a great upgrade at the same time: http://soigeneris.com/soigenerisprd.aspx, I've been making these for a few years now and everybody who has installed one really like it.

[mikemi]

Thanks for the input, but I have alreadly taken the keypad end off to clean the carving residue out and have taken the data cable out, blown out the connection and reseated the data cable. I am also a computer tech, so I know what what kind of problems loose connections, dirt and heat can cause.

Yes, when I restart the machine, the display comes right back on.

Mike

[Digitalwoodshop]

You could have a BAD L2 on the power supply. When it happens next time can you lay the machine on it's back, muffler side, and see if the display comes back on. If it does it is most likely a L2 Coil broken wire.

Search "L2 Power Supply" with the " " to find pictures I posted many times.

Good Luck,

AL

[rjustice]

You could have a BAD L2 on the power supply. When it happens next time can you lay the machine on it's back, muffler side, and see if the display comes back on. If it does it is most likely a L2 Coil broken wire.

Search "L2 Power Supply" with the " " to find pictures I posted many times.

Good Luck,

AL

AL,
If the L2 was bad, would the machine continue and complete the carve even after the LCD goes out?...

Ron

[Digitalwoodshop]

AL,
If the L2 was bad, would the machine continue and complete the carve even after the LCD goes out?...

Ron

Missed that.... It was still carving.... Oooooops.... Wrong #2 of 2010....

Thanks,

AL

[rjustice]

To confirm..
If the machine does indeed complete the carve after the LCD goes blank, I would still consider static buildup, a ribbon cable, a connection, or perhaps the LCD circuit itself is bad. Again, static knocked mine out a couple times, and it luckily came back on after turning them machine off then back on. Perhaps your very low humidity condition is allowing a static charge to build up through some source other than the Shop Vac??

Do you recall any "snapping" sounds when it goes out?

If you are convinced that its not static, you could ohm out the cables. I think this would be a good idea, just to confirm. I have seen ribbon cables crack, and loose connection, and have a very hard time seeing the crack with the naked eye...

Good luck!

Ron