584,837 active members*
5,372 visitors online*
Register for free
Login
IndustryArena Forum > MetalWorking Machines > Milltronics > Centurion V won't boot up
Results 1 to 11 of 11
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Posts
    6

    Centurion V won't boot up

    Hello,

    I'm new to cnc and just bought a Supermax mill with a Centurion control.
    I had the machine running a simple program one evening and everything seemed fine, shut it down and went to restart it the next morning and it would not boot up right. It comes to a screen that says:

    Centurion V system shell version 1.12
    copyright 1991
    sram (B freespace = -1

    *A:\>

    When I hit F1 and then check the sram I get a message that says
    "General failure error reading drive B"

    I found the battery on the board and checked it with a voltmeter and found it to have 4.6 volts, looks like it might have been replaced.

    If anyone can help me with this I would greatly appreciate it!
    Thanks, DEAN-O

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Posts
    89
    Same boat as you. I've got the shop machine turned on, in hopes that there is another battery that will take a charge somewhere.
    Exact same messages.
    IIRC the last time I ran into start-up issues, I reloaded the saved parameters off the disk, and it fixed things up.

    Gotta brush up on my DOS commands again.

    Yours been turned off for a while? Ours was powered down over Christmas, about 10 days,more or less.

    Ugh!

    Cheers
    Trev

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Posts
    179
    The SRAM Freespace = -1 alarm can be caused by several things:
    1.) Simdisk battery dead. The battery should measure 3.6VC, if not replace the battery.
    2.) One or more of the capacitors on the simdisk have failed and/or leaked. Repair of the simdisk would be required.
    3.) Simdisk board is defective. Replacement of the simdisk is then required.

    I hope some of this helps you.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Posts
    89
    Thanks!

    I'll start with a meter, and pull the board to have a look to see what can be seen.

    A quick check of the battery shows a little crusty corosion n one of the leads, so maybe worth a deeper look.

    Cheers
    Trev

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Posts
    89
    So. Battery is kacked. Less than 2 volts for the couple seconds that it held it's charge for.

    Any info on the pinouts for J10, the external battery connector, would be a help!

    The jumper to switch from internal to external battery is clearly marked.

    Just guessing, but if I jumper over to the external setting, I should get a voltage off the correct pins to connect the new battery to, yes? Figuring that the new battery will recieve a charge from the Mobo while the box is 'running'.

    I'll blunder through and see what comes up!

    Thanks!

    Cheers
    Trev

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Posts
    89
    Found the battery on the SimDisk board, spoken of above. Flatlined. Trying to find one.

    The CMOS battery on the MoBo was crusty. External battery sorted that, but did not fix the simdisk issue.


    LTC-7P Keeper II, FWIW.

    Cheers
    Trev

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Posts
    6
    I hate to sound like a complete idiot, but which board is the simdisk? I found the short round battery on the bottom of the board at the back of the cabinet and it measures 3.6V. I haven't found the other battery yet nor do I know what it looks like. Help!!!!!!!!!! Want to try to avoid a trip to Milltronics if possible. Thanks, Dean-o

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Posts
    89
    Short round one at the bottom of the board, is the motherboard Real Time Clock battery.

    The Simdisk is one of the long boards (off the top of my head, the third board over, from the left) secured in place by a screw at the bottom. I had to remove one ribbon connector, and a two conductor lead marked "keyboard" to access the simDisk board. If you look at it's surface with a flashlight, pretty much the whole thing is little rectangular IC chips. About half the SimDisk chips on ours had paper labels marking the version on them.

    The battery is located at the same end as the screw and retainer plate/bracket thingie on the end of the card. It is a black rectangle without any "legs" out it's sides. The polarity is marked, as is the part number and name, as per my last post.

    From what I could see, the changeout will require desoldering 4 points, two of which are the terminals.

    http://ca.mouser.com/search/ProductD...nu%252btznWw==

    Cheers
    Trev

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Posts
    7

    Re: Centurion V won't boot up

    Quote Originally Posted by trevj1 View Post
    Short round one at the bottom of the board, is the motherboard Real Time Clock battery.

    The Simdisk is one of the long boards (off the top of my head, the third board over, from the left) secured in place by a screw at the bottom. I had to remove one ribbon connector, and a two conductor lead marked "keyboard" to access the simDisk board. If you look at it's surface with a flashlight, pretty much the whole thing is little rectangular IC chips. About half the SimDisk chips on ours had paper labels marking the version on them.

    The battery is located at the same end as the screw and retainer plate/bracket thingie on the end of the card. It is a black rectangle without any "legs" out it's sides. The polarity is marked, as is the part number and name, as per my last post.

    From what I could see, the changeout will require desoldering 4 points, two of which are the terminals.

    LTC-7P Eagle-Picher | Mouser Canada

    Cheers
    Trev
    I know this is an old thread, but thanks so much for posting this information! Based on this thread I was able to identify my Simdisk and order the correct battery.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Aug 2020
    Posts
    1

    Re: Centurion V won't boot up

    Quote Originally Posted by Turbo67 View Post
    I know this is an old thread, but thanks so much for posting this information! Based on this thread I was able to identify my Simdisk and order the correct battery.
    Great forum and very useful post!

    I have a few questions:
    - Should Voltage be 3.5 or 3.6? (thread says 3.5 but picture says 3.5)
    - Where can I buy or import the battery? (I'm from Chile).
    - Is there any alternative/compatible battery for replacing the original one? (in case it is available locally)

    Thanks in advance!
    David

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Posts
    7

    Re: Centurion V won't boot up

    Quote Originally Posted by dlaram View Post
    Great forum and very useful post!

    I have a few questions:
    - Should Voltage be 3.5 or 3.6? (thread says 3.5 but picture says 3.5)
    - Where can I buy or import the battery? (I'm from Chile).
    - Is there any alternative/compatible battery for replacing the original one? (in case it is available locally)

    Thanks in advance!
    David
    David,
    The nominal voltage for the battery is 3.5V.
    .1 volt is not going to make any difference.
    I bought my battery from this Canadian Company and it is the company listed in the earlier posts: https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail...rrencycode=USD
    Mouser #:521-7P
    Mfr. #:LTC-7P
    Mfr.:Eagle-Picher
    Description:Electronic Battery 3.5V 750MAH BLK CASE
    Since I was able to order this battery off the internet from Mouser, and it was only $17 US dollars, and it was the correct battery, I did not look for an alternative. They are a Canadian company, I am in the US, so there was no issue with me ordering from them.
    Go to https://www.mouser.com/ set your site for Chile and I suspect you will be able to order from them.

    It works great and my machine is back up and running.
    Post back here and let us know if it works for you.

Similar Threads

  1. Please help about centurion VI
    By freemanxxx in forum Milltronics
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 03-28-2012, 10:56 PM
  2. centurion 6
    By markjb in forum Milltronics
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 08-10-2011, 01:45 AM
  3. Centurion IV
    By cncdiag in forum Milltronics
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 01-14-2010, 03:37 PM
  4. Centurion 5 vs. Centurion 6 and validation codes
    By Turbo VW in forum Milltronics
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 02-11-2007, 09:35 PM
  5. I'm Considering a Centurion 1
    By TZ250 in forum Milltronics
    Replies: 9
    Last Post: 09-07-2006, 08:30 PM

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •