What's new
What's new

Fanuc 0i-Mate TC Doesn't Boot

RC Mech

Stainless
Joined
Jul 21, 2014
Location
Ontario, Canada
I recently purchased a 2007 Racer Machinery CNC lathe w/a Fanuc 0i-Mate TC control for a steal from an auction. The issue w/the machine is that with the breaker on, the fans in the rear cabinet are active, but pressing ON on the control does nothing.

The machine was purchased in 2007, connected to power and never used. The A98L-0031-0026 LiIon battery behind the display may be dead- I've procured another for the time being. But I don't believe a dead battery would cause the control not to boot.

Any ideas?
 
Start by checking the power supply. Make sure there is 24 volts at CD1 on the CNC. It's probably something simple like a breaker or something came unplugged.
 
If the battery is replaced while the machine is under power there shouldn’t be a problem. Either way I’m positive that battery is dead.
 
if you have not, you might also try pressing "On", if it does not load, press "OFF", and repeat several times. I have an old 10T that has required this for years. It is a board issue and at some point will not load, but until then I will just ride it till it goes.
 
if you have not, you might also try pressing "On", if it does not load, press "OFF", and repeat several times. I have an old 10T that has required this for years.

IME, this ^ behavior is almost always a power supply problem. Usually the smallish one along the side of the CRT near the keyboard, but sometimes the main one (big black brick) on the mother board. Replace all the electrolytic caps on those power supplies and it will very likely work fine first time, every time.
 
IME, this ^ behavior is almost always a power supply problem. Usually the smallish one along the side of the CRT near the keyboard, but sometimes the main one (big black brick) on the mother board. Replace all the electrolytic caps on those power supplies and it will very likely work fine first time, every time.

Such a power supply problem would be applicable to the older controls with the CRT's only?

Another question for those who know: would there be any other battery in the rear cabinet? I read about servo batteries- there is no indication of a battery in the rear cabinet or anything obvious near/in/on the Fanuc red cap Z servo. The 2nd photo are the axes power supplies. Removing the top cover from the large yellow box to the middle left, there is no obvious battery within.
IMG_2223.jpg
IMG_2215.jpg
 
If the battery is replaced while the machine is under power there shouldn’t be a problem. Either way I’m positive that battery is dead.
I would agree but at this point your control does not turn on and may not technically be under power.

I don't see typical battery that's covered by grey plastic cover, Look around to see if the machine has that larger black box that holds 4 D batteries.
 
Such a power supply problem would be applicable to the older controls with the CRT's only?

Your CRT needs 23.2 volts DC or it will not power up. I had this problem on a machine about a year ago with a power supply that only put out 22 volts. The newer power supplies are adjustable. Check if the power supply has 120 volts AC and that it is putting out 24 volts dc.

Daryl
 
Updating this thread with new information and my fix for the time being. Lathe has a short in the 24 VDC control circuit. IO does not power. Closing a 24 V disconnect in the cabinet causes a voltage drop from 24 V at the + side of the transformer to approx. 8 V.

Racer Machinery does not retain (if they ever had in the first place) wiring diagrams for these machines, nor parameter lists. They claim 2007 is far too old. We're going to try to boot the control w/a 24 V supply and see if the control functions before investigating further. To prepare for the worst-case scenario we are actively looking for anyone with a similar machine who can back up the parameters.

Thank you to all who replied here.
 
For a short on the I/O side I start by pulling off the connectors that go the the sensors, switches, relays, solenoids etc. Then most of the time things will power up. If it does there will be alarms and such but at least you know the control is most likely OK. Then just connect one connector at a time to see which one pulls it down and then you have narrowed down the problem considerably.
 
Update - 01/06/2019

Thank you Biker, the issue has been narrowed down as follows:

The control will boot when the below drive has the CXA 19A cable disconnected. I believe this is the X-axis servo drive. The control boots, and shows an alarm [5136 FSSB: NUMBER OF AMPS IS SMALL] in the operator messages. All parameters are there, we have values for the work offsets, ballscrew comp values etc. Someone in the past has disabled the parameter write protect.

IMG_2639.jpg

A cursory look on the 'Zone shows a member who had the same alarm and traced it to an encoder short. I believe the CXA 19A cable is the optical encoder for the X servo- if this is correct, disconnecting the encoder from the drive would point to a fault in the cable?

Another issue is the keypad on the control. Whether it's a fault mode on the cheaper Fanucs, I'm not sure. The key that lights does not correspond to the key pressed. Pressing X1 Handle Override illuminates the SPDL Up+ button. Pressing X10 Handle Override illuminates the SPDL Fwd button. Pressing X100 Handle Override illuminates the SPDL Stop button.

IMG_2693.jpg

Additionally, turning the feed override knob to 0-20% lights up the REF X LED, 20-60% lights Lube Low LED, 60-100% lights REF Z LED.
 
CXA19A is the 24VDC power for the drive control circuit, not an encoder connection. The control boots with the message 5136 FSSB: NUMBER OF AMPS IS SMALL because with no power to the drive control circuit the CNC does not "see" the drive on the serial bus (FSSB) at boot up.

If the drive is pulling the 24VDC down then you need to find a new/rebuilt drive or possibly dig into yours if you have pretty good electronic troubleshooting skills.

The indicator lights being on at the wrong locations could be, as Perry H suspects, that the ladder is corrupt. I'm leaning more to a couple connectors being plugged into the wrong places. Not knowing what prior work and messing with the machine has been done makes these just WAGs though.
 
Thank you both, I've ordered a known good Fanuc drive slated to arrive this week. I'll keep this thread updated. Occam's Razor- my hope is also that the confused keys are a result of a wayward connection.

My electrical troubleshooting skills on the IC level are lacking (along with my patience for Racer branded machinery), but I can swap a drive.
 
.....my hope is also that the confused keys are a result of a wayward connection.

Based on your comment in post 12 about the builder not having electrical diagrams, I'm guessing the ones that came with the machine have been lost?

You should put a bunch of effort into finding a set. Without those and a copy of the ladder diagram it's going to be really tough to get, or keep, this machine running. Used machine without diagrams is pretty much scrap value once you have electrical troubles.

Above you mentioned someone posting about a bad encoder. The encoder is connected to JF1. If you disconnect that and re-connect CXA19A and it powers up with a different alarm, then you may have a bad encoder or cable.
 
Last edited:
Update

Hello all,

I've replaced the servo drive and now have a new alarm. The ladder diagrams are on the control, the user can scroll through them. Pretty slick bit of kit. Attached below are the ladders that have obvious connection with the issues at hand. Preferential is getting someone out here and just paying them to fix this but I've been hung out to dry by "CNC Works" here in the GTA, and no other contractor can get out here in under 4 weeks, hence my queries here.

We no longer have the serial bus alarm, rather an E-stop alarm. Looks like chasing an E-stop open circuit is in the cards. The alarm code is in the next post, 071 BP/S.

IMG_2723.jpg
IMG_2726.jpg
IMG_2727.jpg
IMG_2729.jpg
 








 
Back
Top