[Jeff G.]

Ok -- I have a G540 -- I got everything correctly wired and turned on and got the red light-- instructions said to turn off charge pump switch and i did and got green light.

Instructions said to check holding torque with motors connected The motors have the correct resistors and are all set, so I connected them and got red light then shut off the charge pump switch and got green light -- holding torque --- and then lights faded and everything released and now I get nothing--- It never seemed to work right in the first place -- I never got a green light without shutting off that switch.

I am just sick I don't know what I have done other than it seems that I have destroyed everything --- I don't know what to do at this point--- the instructions on the 540 seem to talk about removing the cover and replacing the fuse, but I don't know how to get the cover off and just don't want to screw anything else up-- I am just lost. Does anyone know how to get the cover off?

What do I do at this point? Is there anyone in Austin or somewhere near that i can bring this to for assistance -- does anyone know what I should do now? Have I destroyed my motors too? Now checking the power supply I may have screwed that up too.

Any ideas on what to check first?

[CoAMarcus]

Jeff,

What is your power supply voltage? You can check the fuse by removing the cover; it is held in by tension and can be removed by prying it apart. The fuse will look like a green 1/4W resistor.

If you like you can send the drive back here for evaluation and we can look at it. All evaluations and repairs are performed free of charge provided everything is fixable, which it generally is. Just go to our website and fill out the form located here in PDF format and send it with the drive to the address listed at the top.

Marcus

[ger21]

There was a recent post on the Mach3 Yahoo group about a bug in the charge pump output. That's probably why you couldn't get the charge pump working. It's supposed to be fixed in the next release.

[dmauch]

From what you write I suspect your power supply may be bad. Measure the voltage at the V= and V- terminals.

The reason that you have to shut off the charge pump switch is because you either don't have the PC bios set to the EPP mode or you do not have the proper mach3 config file. You can d/l the correct one for Geckodrive.

Dan Mauch
Camtronics, inc. -- CNC with Dan Mauch

Ok -- I have a G540 -- I got everything correctly wired and turned on and got the red light-- instructions said to turn off charge pump switch and i did and got green light.

Instructions said to check holding torque with motors connected The motors have the correct resistors and are all set, so I connected them and got red light then shut off the charge pump switch and got green light -- holding torque --- and then lights faded and everything released and now I get nothing--- It never seemed to work right in the first place -- I never got a green light without shutting off that switch.

I am just sick I don't know what I have done other than it seems that I have destroyed everything --- I don't know what to do at this point--- the instructions on the 540 seem to talk about removing the cover and replacing the fuse, but I don't know how to get the cover off and just don't want to screw anything else up-- I am just lost. Does anyone know how to get the cover off?

What do I do at this point? Is there anyone in Austin or somewhere near that i can bring this to for assistance -- does anyone know what I should do now? Have I destroyed my motors too? Now checking the power supply I may have screwed that up too.

Any ideas on what to check first?

[tommylight]

Did anyone notice he was switching the charge pump on while the 540 was POWERED???
I owned several G540 and still own 1 and torture on daily basis and they never failed, i am very good at electronics but i NEVER move a switch while on power if i don't know EXACTLY what that switch does.
I doubt it is due to this but it is a red flag that you did not follow procedure since i am certain i read somewhere to move that switch only while the power is OFF.

[restless1]

I turned the switch on while mine was powered...
And yes it fried right after...
Been working for a good six months ...
Gecko replaced it but said I probably hook the power supply up backwards..
Funny thing is...
It had been wired for six months and worked..then I flipped that switch while it was on and it fried...
Got the new one ..no wiring changes and put it in...
It's been working since...
I think gecko should try it(I won't) and put it in there documentation if this is the case...
And I am not in the habit of for the fun of it switching power leads around and all my wires are labeled with shrink tube labels for what pin they connect to..

[Crevice Reamer]

G540s are hard to destroy. Most likely the internal fuse will blow. Best to keep a supply of spare fuses just in case. About $5 for pack of 5 shipped USPS:

Digi-Key - F2318-ND (Manufacturer - 0251007.MXL)

CR.

[dmauch]

I just tested a G540 and with the X axis motor runing turned on an off the charge pump switch 10 times. No problem. Everything works fine. The reason that I felt confident in turning the charge pump on and off with a load is simple. All it does is detect if a charge upm signal is present. If it isn't it will fault. If it fault then it shuts the outputs off.
I also disconnected my PP cable and with the CP switch in the off position green light and a motor connected to the X axis I then switch it to the CP on position and the red light comes on and the outputs shut off just like it is supposed to. I did this 10 times with no damage to the G540.

Dan Mauch
Camtronics, inc. -- CNC with Dan Mauch
kits, custom and assembled stepper and servo systems using wonderful Gecko products.

I turned the switch on while mine was powered...
And yes it fried right after...
Been working for a good six months ...
Gecko replaced it but said I probably hook the power supply up backwards..
Funny thing is...
It had been wired for six months and worked..then I flipped that switch while it was on and it fried...
Got the new one ..no wiring changes and put it in...
It's been working since...
I think gecko should try it(I won't) and put it in there documentation if this is the case...
And I am not in the habit of for the fun of it switching power leads around and all my wires are labeled with shrink tube labels for what pin they connect to..

[dmauch]

I think the bug with the charge pump was the one that I brought up in the yahoo Mach3 group. But the bug was not with the G540 . The bug was with Mach3. Mach3 was only putting out a 6.5KHz signal whereas Mach3 should be putting out an 11 Khz signal. The G540 wan't affected because it would accept a wide range of signals. The only requirement for the G540 was the amplitude of the signal needed to be 3V which could be a PC problem.

Dan Mauch
Camtronics, inc. -- CNC with Dan Mauch
kits, custom and assembled stepper and servo system using wonderful Gecko Products.

There was a recent post on the Mach3 Yahoo group about a bug in the charge pump output. That's probably why you couldn't get the charge pump working. It's supposed to be fixed in the next release.

[restless1]

Thanks for the test then I am stumped why mine went bad...
Chalk it up to fine metal particles from the enclosure is all I can think of but the g540 is pretty well sealed...
But I must say the return process was top notch ....
Just missed out on getting a stuffed gecko though