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VF3 refusing to start

Drewdt3

Plastic
Joined
Oct 13, 2019
Location
Stoke on Trent
Hi All. We have just purchased A VF3 year 2000 but after installing into the shop and turning on all we are getting is some random numbers in the top left hand side of the screen. The keys bleep when pressed but doesn't change anything on the screen. The only thing I can find is when I tested the low power supply the 12v and -12v readings are a bit low at about 11.5 and 11.7? We saw a video of this machine working before purchase. Any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers

Drew
 
Random things you can try (after shutting down power):

Carefully remove and reseat circuit boards and cable connectors to make sure electrical contacts aren't compromised. Can use contact cleaner as needed, but make sure it's safe for any plastics in the area.

Check backup battery voltage, ensure it's to spec (contact local HFO for value).

Check old threads like this: https://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/haas/2009-vf-2-suddenly-wont-start-322998/#post2804463

Good luck...
 
there is a possibility your keyboard is bad if your getting random numbers/ letters and nothing else is working. could also be video board as all the key functions go thru it. would be a good idea to look in the stack and reseat all of your connectors. the 11.5vdc is fine. if it were 11.25 or less then I would be concerned.
 
by the way any alarms that wont reset ??
No alarms as such, it doesn't get to that stage. The random numbers and letters at the top left are always the same amount of letters and numbers with same spacing. We press and hold the program button then press start and it gives info about memory then error 68882 no coprocessor found?
 
that's normally the screen you get when your reloading new software. there is a key combination that brings that screen up. but I haven't loaded software in about 10 years and that combo eludes me at the moment. have u checked your processor battery? it may have went dead or below 3 vdc
 
yes that looks familiar to a software load. back in the electrical panel check the processor its the rear board upper left in the the board stack. there's a series of small red lights that you should be able to see any of them lit or blinking?
 
yes that looks familiar to a software load. back in the electrical panel check the processor its the rear board upper left in the the board stack. there's a series of small red lights that you should be able to see any of them lit or blinking?

If I switch on normally all lights are lit but the PGM light is blinking. If I turn it on whilst pressing the program button the RUN and PGM lights are off and the halt light is dim and the rest are on.
 
Your voltage ranges are to low. The low voltages can cause random alarms and possibly problems such as yours. If you still have the problem after fixing the voltages, then I would suspect the keyboard.

LVPS voltage ranges.jpg

BTW - What are you trying to accomplish by starting up holding the program button? Not criticizing, but you can mess up your machine if you are not careful in that mode. So I am just curious is all.
 
Your voltage ranges are to low. The low voltages can cause random alarms and possibly problems such as yours. If you still have the problem after fixing the voltages, then I would suspect the keyboard.

View attachment 267261

BTW - What are you trying to accomplish by starting up holding the program button? Not criticizing, but you can mess up your machine if you are not careful in that mode. So I am just curious is all.

Hi, thanks for the reply. My son found a similar fault to ours and they more or less found the same screen. We haven't entered anything after the dos prompt as not a clue what we are doing. Any ideas where we can get a replacement low voltage power supply? Can they be repaired?

Thanks again

Drew
 
Hi, thanks for the reply. My son found a similar fault to ours and they more or less found the same screen. We haven't entered anything after the dos prompt as not a clue what we are doing. Any ideas where we can get a replacement low voltage power supply? Can they be repaired?

Thanks again

Drew

depending on what version power supply you have. that vintage machine should run with any AT / ATX power supply found in older computers. but needs to be 250 watt +. I could be wrong but I'm thinking from my past experience ( 10 years as a haas tech) I'm not so sure the power supply is the fix. normally they work, or they dont. but hey I have seen stranger things happen. so we will see.
 
We have got a bit further with this now. We have cleared the bbu memory and suddenly the machine came on. We areave re-entered the machine model. The machine regen on top starts to glow orange now after about 15 secs.
No alarms showing on screen. I'm thinking maybe all parameters require resetting after clearing the bbu ram? Something there is causing the vector drive to send current to the regen. The processor board light look normal now.
Any suggestions greatly received.
Drew
 
Hi, thanks for the reply. My son found a similar fault to ours and they more or less found the same screen. We haven't entered anything after the dos prompt as not a clue what we are doing. Any ideas where we can get a replacement low voltage power supply? Can they be repaired?

Thanks again

Drew

in the back cabinet or in the machine manual should be either a floppy or usb with the factory parameters. it's very important you load them before trying anything. have you ever loaded a file in a haas before?
 
in the back cabinet or in the machine manual should be either a floppy or usb with the factory parameters. it's very important you load them before trying anything. have you ever loaded a file in a haas before?

We have some floppy discs but never loaded any software on before.
 
Hi, thanks for the reply. My son found a similar fault to ours and they more or less found the same screen. We haven't entered anything after the dos prompt as not a clue what we are doing. Any ideas where we can get a replacement low voltage power supply? Can they be repaired?

Thanks again

Drew

are the floppy discs the 1s that came with the machine ? if so on 1 of them ( actually haas only gives you 1 disc) is a file called (the SN of ur machine I'll use xbox since I don't know ur SN) xxxx.par so go the program list first. then to your parameter screen. you should see at either the bottom or top of the screen F2 and F3 if not it may not take the parameters. if so type in the SN xxxx.par then hit F2 . this should load your original parameters at this point. also you will need to go after this to the diagnostic screen and page down to see if the machine has software in it. it should either match or be higher than what is listed on the inside back door. I use to have most of the software's on floppy. but I'm not sure were they have gotten to over the years. then there is always are the floppies still good?
I hope this helps you. if not you may need haas to come in and load software for you.
 
Hi, thanks for the reply. My son found a similar fault to ours and they more or less found the same screen. We haven't entered anything after the dos prompt as not a clue what we are doing. Any ideas where we can get a replacement low voltage power supply? Can they be repaired?

Thanks again

Drew

you can also load in your settings in the same fashion.
 
We have got a bit further with this now. We have cleared the bbu memory and suddenly the machine came on. We areave re-entered the machine model. The machine regen on top starts to glow orange now after about 15 secs.
No alarms showing on screen. I'm thinking maybe all parameters require resetting after clearing the bbu ram? Something there is causing the vector drive to send current to the regen. The processor board light look normal now.
Any suggestions greatly received.
Drew

There seems to be more going on here than just parameters. I won't say it's not possible, but I have never had a regen glow like that after initializing a machine or clearing bbu like you did.

Load the parameters like Hoss710 described. If after loading the parameters and you still get the same condition with the regen, then I think you have something shorted or wired incorrectly somewhere causing power to be dumped to the regen. If this is the case, then it may be time to bite the bullet and call your dealer in. If for nothing more than to get the software and parameters all set back to a happy place.
 








 
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