Delta 20 "power fail" message doesn't clear with new battery

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11-08-2022, 04:39 PM
leeko

Delta 20 "power fail" message doesn't clear with new battery

Hi all,

I have a Clausing Kondia FV-1 3-axis CNC mill with a dynapath delta 20 controller. The mill sat for at least a year in the PO's place without power, and when I powered it up, I got a "power fail" message. The manual suggests that means the 3.6V battery on the aux board needs replaced, which I did, but the message still hasn't cleared (and the control won't retain any programs or tool offsets etc in memory between power cycles).

So far I have tried:

- replace the 3.6v AA size battery with a new one from parts and smarts
- flipped the dip switch beside the battery holder to the "on" position (it was off for some reason)
- removed, cleaned and re-seated the AUX board (which houses the battery)

After doing the above, I thought I had the problem fixed - the error cleared, and the program/offsets stayed in memory at least overnight with the power off. However, I just came back to the mill after a month or so away, and the error message popped back up. After speaking with Rich at parts and smarts, he had suggested that some unusual behaviour can be the result of running the control from a phase converter (I have a 5hp RPC powering it), and so with his help I connected the control directly to 120vac. I can now power the control on without all the servo drive circuitry receiving power. Again, it seemed to clear the error (I couldn't clear it at all before) but it returns if the mill sits unpowered for longer than a couple of minutes or so.

I'm thinking I'm going to have to send things in to Parts and Smarts for inspection/repair, but figured I'd ask here if anyone has encountered similar, or has any suggestions for troubleshooting this any further?

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer,

Lee
11-10-2022, 05:32 PM
Docter Don

Re: Delta 20 "power fail" message doesn't clear with new battery

The dipswitch may be for draining the memory support supercapacitor (useful for resetting the CMOS when things get glitched). When you switched the dipswitch to "on", you may have caused a short-circuit to it. If I'm correct about this, best case scenario is that it just kept resetting memory and it can be remedied easily. Hopefully, you didn't drain the new 3.6V battery too. This is only a guess.

Hope this helps.
11-12-2022, 05:35 AM
leeko

Quote:

Originally Posted by Docter Don

The dipswitch may be for draining the memory support supercapacitor (useful for resetting the CMOS when things get glitched). When you switched the dipswitch to "on", you may have caused a short-circuit to it. If I'm correct about this, best case scenario is that it just kept resetting memory and it can be remedied easily. Hopefully, you didn't drain the new 3.6V battery too. This is only a guess.

Hope this helps.

Oh, that's an interesting thought. It had occurred to me that the dip switch may not have needed to be "on" - I switched it to the on position during my troubleshooting. I have tried it in the off position again, but it didn't seem to change anything. There are actually 2 dip switches side by side - would anyone who has a working delta 20 be able to take a look and let me know what position they "should" be in
Thanks!
11-12-2022, 06:01 PM
machinehop5

Re: Delta 20 "power fail" message doesn't clear with new battery

Quote:

Originally Posted by leeko

So far I have tried:

- replace the 3.6v AA size battery with a new one from parts and smarts
- flipped the dip switch beside the battery holder to the "on" position (it was off for some reason)
- removed, cleaned and re-seated the AUX board (which houses the battery)

After doing the above, I thought I had the problem fixed - the error cleared, and the program/offsets stayed in memory at least overnight with the power off. However, I just came back to the mill after a month or so away, and the error message popped back up.

Lee

Hi Lee,

1st turning the control on and off over night is not a good idea. Just leave it ON 24/7 and the problems may just go away.

next I would check the Dynapath PS for correct Voltage outputs and AC ripple.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ripple_(electrical)

I think there are 3 or 4 Voltages
5vdc
+/-12vdc or 15
24vdc

DJ
11-12-2022, 07:34 PM
leeko

Quote:

Originally Posted by machinehop5

Hi Lee,

1st turning the control on and off over night is not a good idea. Just leave it ON 24/7 and the problems may just go away.

next I would check the Dynapath PS for correct Voltage outputs and AC ripple.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ripple_(electrical)

I think there are 3 or 4 Voltages
5vdc
+/-12vdc or 15
24vdc

DJ

Hi,
I could leave it on 24/7, and that would circumvent the issue sure. But, I'd like not to have to do that - this is in my home garage, and may go a month or so between uses...

I have checked the voltages, but don't yet have an oscilloscope for ripple. I'm checking with friends if I might borrow one. I did (roughly) check ripple with my multimeter on ac mode, and it reads 0.0v on each output. But, doesn't give any more resolution than that. If I understand correctly, a ripple of >0.03v or more could be problematic.

My voltages are as follows:

+5.0
+5.0
GND
GND
GND
+25.5
-15.1
+15.1

I also checked the voltage of the P.F. wire, which is plugged into a port in the centre of the power supply and runs to a lug on the backplane. It reads 4.3v, which seems low (I believe it's supposed to be 5v). I believe that p.f. stands for "power fail", which is the same as the error message I'm getting on the display. I'm wondering if that indicates the power supply is the problem after all?

Thanks again for all the help

Lee