Ether1616 expansion board Fault

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DLAM
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Ether1616 expansion board Fault

Post by DLAM »

All,
A few years ago I retrofitted my lathe with Acorn with a Ether1616 expansion board and things have been working great. On Monday during normal a routine turning operation the machine stopped and fault called out. unable to restart software for any movement. After a little investigating found the power supply for the expansion board was not online. I thought power supply went bad. Ordered new power supply and installed it this morning. I still have same indications.

I removed wires the load side of powers supply and the power supply then comes online.
I re-attached the wires to power supply and disconnected the power connection from acorn board. Power supply powers up fine.
I re-attached the power connector and disconnected the connector from the inputs and ribbon cable going to output relay boards. Power supply does not come online.

I think there is a short somewhere in the expansion board. I removed and expansion board and did visual inspection and did not see and indication of faulty component (no burnt marks or any other damage).

Is there any testing I can do with the expansion board to verify the problem? I am not one for Easter egg hunting to fix a problem. I searched the forum and could not find anything similar to this. I did not attach a report because I do not think it is a software issue but a hardware problem.

Thank you for any help.
centroid467
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Re: Ether1616 expansion board Fault

Post by centroid467 »

It does sound like something was shorted on the Ether1616. That board does not have easy test points for checking the supply rails but a quick check starts with disconnecting everything from it. There will be a point labeled "GND" in the center of the board by the edge connector. Look for shorts between that test point and pins 1 and 3 of the voltage regulators. Those are the black boxes with "RECOM" on top.

If you have a short on pin 1, then one of the regulators is shorted. If you have a short on pin 3 of one of them, then there's a short on that rail. I think the first case is more likely.
DLAM
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Re: Ether1616 expansion board Fault

Post by DLAM »

Thank you for the information. I currently have:
4K ohm from pin 1 to gnd and 407 ohm from pin 3 to gnd for IC17
5K ohm from pin 1 to gnd and 414 ohm from pin 3 to gnd for U1
5K ohm from pin 1 to gnd and 413 ohm from pin 3 to gnd for u2.

I am not seeing a direct short but there is something somewhere.
centroid467
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Re: Ether1616 expansion board Fault

Post by centroid467 »

Hmm, those seem about normal. When you had it all hooked up, was the power supply's LED blinking every few seconds? If so, that would be the overcurrent or overvoltage protection - likely overcurrent in this case.

Have you tried powering it up off the machine? You might be able to find what is shorted by temperature.
DLAM
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Re: Ether1616 expansion board Fault

Post by DLAM »

When it was all hooked up the power supply light was not on at all, that is why my initial thought was bad power supply. I disconnect all the input and output and tried powering it up again and no power supply light is lit. I disconnected the expansion board and power supply light then would light. It is like something (short) is drawing down the power supply.
centroid467
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Re: Ether1616 expansion board Fault

Post by centroid467 »

That is odd. Usually these power supplies will go into overcurrent protect mode when there is a short and the LED blinks occasionally as it tries to restart. I suggest contacting tech support for an RMA number.
DLAM
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Re: Ether1616 expansion board Fault

Post by DLAM »

I tried contacting tech support and I can not get anyone to answer the phone. I would like to get a new board with out having to get all the extra stuff I dont need.
Nigelo
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Re: Ether1616 expansion board Fault

Post by Nigelo »

Send an email to DIYSales@centroidcnc.com
"You can lead a horse to water but you cannot force it to drink"
Hope this helps
Nigel
cnckeith
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Re: Ether1616 expansion board Fault

Post by cnckeith »

support@centroidcnc.com

814-353-9256 press 4

if they are on the phone it goes to next extension in support, if they are on phone it goes to VM, VM is then checked by the office staff which might take a day to get back to you.
Need support? READ THIS POST first. http://centroidcncforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=1043
All Acorn Documentation is located here: viewtopic.php?f=60&t=3397
Answers to common questions: viewforum.php?f=63
and here viewforum.php?f=61
Gear we use but don't sell. https://www.centroidcnc.com/centroid_di ... _gear.html
DLAM
Posts: 144
Joined: Thu Nov 22, 2018 6:27 pm
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Re: Ether1616 expansion board Fault

Post by DLAM »

I finally talked with tech support today. The tech was at a loss like me and was unable to help. I am trying to understand why the board failed before I go putting in a new board.
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