[tjamscad]

I have replaced both the pressure switch and the low lube switch in the tank. Help

[haastec]

I have replaced both the pressure switch and the low lube switch in the tank. Help

Does the system hold pressure?
Do you have power to the lube pump?
If it has power, does the pump cycle?

[tjamscad]

The has power and cycles.

How much pressure and how long it should hold it I can't seem to find out. We have three Haas's here and they all seem to act differently. The Machine in question is a VR-11 1999 year model.

[bkobernus]

The lube pump should hold 25 lbs. of preasure for a minimum of 3 minutes. If it doesn't, you will get this alarm.
Things to look for: Check every inch of all the lubrication tubes. If the preasure drops fast, you have a broken lubrication tube somewhere. If the preasure drops slow, but doesn"t hold for 3 minutes, you possibly have a bad fitting in the oiler system.
When I say chec every inch of oiler tubing, I mean EVERYinch. You have to look under All of the way covers. It takes over an hour to perform the check. You may need another person pump the lube pump as you are checking the tubing. Any small drip could cause your problem.
I'm in a shop with 13 Haas vertical mills, one with this afliction. It took us over 4 months to find the leak.

Good Luck.

Bill K

[JohnJW]

I went through a similar problem with a 06' VF-2SS a couple month ago. I had to remove all the way covers, but once the covers were removed, the source of the leak was obvious. It turned out that the x axis lube line came loose from the flexible track in the saddle, snagged, and developed a small tear.

[tjamscad]

We have a VF-6, VF-10 and VR-11. None of them hold pressure for 3 minuets. Maybe 5-30 seconds. I only get the Alarm on the VR-11. I guess I will be opening some machine covers soon.

[Machineit]

Yeah, that was bogus info on the three minutes. The machine will look for the spike that causes the pressure switch to get triggered, or I should say that the machine looks for the switch to get triggered during a time period. This must happen within a certain time period or the error is triggered. As long as the switch gets triggered it doesn't matter how long it holds pressure. Therefore, you should watch the process every once in awhile and verify that you maintain pressure for a little bit to verify that you don't have a big leak.

Mike

[haastec]

This is taken from the service manual. Although it says lathe, it applies to mills also.

2. Oil Pump - Pumps the oil from the reservoir to various parts of the lathe. Every 30 minutes the pump
cycles and pumps approximately 3cc of oil (at approximately 35 PSI). This quantity of oil is fully disbursed
throughout the lube system in 8 to 10 minutes.

I have always used the 3 minute rule of thumb also as a good guide and rarely have I seen them take as long as 8-10 minutes. That said, 5-30 seconds is not long enough to allow proper lubrication to the machine. Prior to the grease systems, the metering units used in the oil line rely on that pressure to give proper oil dosage at the specified rate. Some metering units can take 5-30 seconds just to deliver one drop of oil.

In my opinion, if you loose pressure within 5-30 seconds, you have an oil leak.

[tjamscad]

This is from my book. But, my machine parameter 117 is set at 108000 should it be set back to the factory 90000.

" The lubrication system is a resistance type system which forces oil through metering units at each of the 16 lubricating points within the machine. The system uses one metering unit at each of the lubricating points: one for each linear guide pad, one for each lead screw and one for spindle lubrication. A single oil pump is used to lubricate the system. The pump is powered only when the spindle and/or an axis moves. Once powered the pump cycles approximately 3.0 cc of oil every 30 minutes throughout the oil lines to the lube points. Every lube point receives approximately 1/16 of the oil. The control monitors this system through an internal level switch in the reservoir and and external pressure switch on the lube panel.
The Maintenance Schedule gives information on maintaining the lubrication system."

"There is a low lube sense switch in the oil tank. When the oil is low, an alarm will be generated. This alarm will not occur until the end of a program is reached. There is also an lube pressure switch that senses the lube pressure. Parameter 117 controls the lube pressure check. If Parameter 117 is not zero, the lube pressure is checked for cycling high within that period. Parameter 117 has units of , 1/50 seconds; so 30 minutes gives a value of 90000. Parameter 57, bit "Oiler on/off", indicates the lube pump is only powered when the spindle fan is powered. The lube pressure is only checked when the pump is on."

[bkobernus]

"The lube pump should hold 25 lbs. of preasure for a minimum of 3 minutes. If it doesn't, you will get this alarm."

Yup. No so bogus info

tjamscad, Did you find your leak yet?
Should you set your parameter back to 9000? Yes, but you will get the alarm more often. You gotta find the leak.

Again, Good Luck.

Bill K

[tjamscad]

I adjusted parameter 117 to 90000 and parameter 57 bit is "1". I have not found a leak nor is it using alot of way oil.

[Precision MT]

If your waylube tank is full and you get a 121 alarm, you have a leak. Flow restrictors plug up, they don't start dumping oil. Also, Haas machines don't suffer from excessive oil consumption, even if there is a leak. Maybe if the lube pump output on the I/O was bad, but besides that I've never seen it happen. Check under the right side X axis waycover. Check where the lube line comes up through the saddle casting and where the lube line moves as it goes into the cat track to lubricate the X axis. Keep in mind the lube line has an outer hose on it to protect it.

Good luck

[tjamscad]

Found it, leak for sure Z axis the top side run from left to right. I also had a clog in the X axis line that runs in the channel. I replaced that too.

[bkobernus]

Hey Look at that. I knew you could do it. Only took 2 months to find that leak. Not bad.

Soon you will qualify as a Haas repair tech.

The next problem you will have is the x axis always goes to the right and then the machine Alarms out. (It's the Axis home switch under the way cover sticking.) haha

Hope you have continued success with your Haas.

Bill K

[tjamscad]

Yes that is common on our VF6 or was until I replaced the old switch.