You may have the wires wrong at the plasma cutter. Red should be - (torch) and black should be + (work clamp)
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Ding. Of course. The clamp is a WORK clamp not a ground clamp.
I think you are correct, I believe I have the leads wired backwards at the machine… I will look into that.
Alright I confirmed that the wiring is in fact correct, red (+) is going to the clamp black (-) is going to the torch.
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Just use a ohm meter and make sure pin 1 is going to the clamp and pin 2 is going to the torch at the arc connector as I have seen them hooked up and/or labeled wrong. If you put a volt meter from pins 1 and 2 then fire the torch you should get voltage.
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I did use an ohm meter to confirm that pin 1 is going to the clamp and pin 2 to the torch. I now need to test the voltage itself.
Alrighty… I finally was able to get back to the machine as I had a project to cut. For the fun of it I ran the test again ad got the same result which was it did not sense any voltage. I then attempted to cut my project and the torch fired but then stopped immediately. I received a message that the “LS-THC has detected the torch moving before sensing cutting voltage”
As suggested by the message I manipulated the pierce delay setting but this did not help at all.
Also as suggested here I tested the voltage coming out of the plasma when cutting is 159 volts and 2 volts coming out of the VIM.
I have tested and retested the wiring and cannot find any problems there.
Obviously I have a wiring problem of some sort, I just don’t know what. I am considering taking the plasma apart and see if the connection on the inside is having issues. The pins are correct or were at least.
Once again, any help is appreciated.
if you follow the trouble shooting flow chart on the forum it will tell you how to check for voltage inside the control box. if you have voltage everywhere else the problem has to be in the control box…
the message you are getting is because fire control can’t see your voltage. you can turn the thc off and cut your projects.
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Thanks I will have to consult the flow chart.
it is pinned in the ls thc section of the forum. sorry that was you can turn off the thc and still cut your projects. it was a typo.
Not exactly sure what you mean here “sorry that was you can turn off the thc and still cut your projects. it was a typo.”
I have already cut one project with it about it a week ago when I found out that the THC wasn’t working, however now I cannot so anything, it fires and then stops and gives me a message.
you can turn off the thc and it will cut just fine fire control just won’t adjust your cut height while cutting.
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Thanks and actually you reminded me of the fact that I could turn off the THC which I just did and cut my project. I will keep trying to figure out the THC issue.
That’s great! If you have voltage up to the enclosure. The problem has to be inside. Are you sure you have the thc board seated good?
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At this point I am not sure of much so I would say “no”. I am going to pull the enclosure and open it up and check probably tomorrow.
I’m not sure on this, but should the output be 2 volts? The VIM box applies a 50:1 division after receiving raw voltage right?
Where did you test the voltage coming out of the VIM? Was it at the screw on aircraft connector after removing it from the enclosure?
The VIM box actually applies a 73:1 division to the raw voltage input, so 2.178 volts would be correct.
Something is probably wrong inside the electronics enclosure. The troubleshooting guide indicates that he should check the wires on the back side of the connector in the enclosure to make sure they are connected and not cross wired. It also indicates that he should check the white connector that connects those wires to the main board.
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I checked the wires at the aircraft connector. I am going to open up the box and see what is going on there.
Ok so I pulled the enclosure cover to start with and looked at all of the connections, nothing appeared out of place or loose really, however I tried the test again and again it failed.
I followed the flow chart but in the end did not make any progress which included removing the enclosure from the leg of the table. I have ordered a USB isolator and some ferrite chokes to see if they help.
A question for the experts; as I am looking at the mother board inside the enclosure I see 3 LED lights, there is the solid green at the USB connection, there is a semi solid red on the THC module and then there is a rapidly blinking yellow at the top of the board. I know that the green and I think the red are normal but not sure about the yellow.
Just for reference, I am using a HP all in one computer/monitor which I currently have on a stand away from the table somewhat (restricted by the USB cable length).
I have read where it is not recommended to have the VIM near or on the enclosure which is what I have/had only because the output wire is too short to allow it to be mounted elsewhere. I do have another wire that is longer but I will have to solder it up to the AC connector.
Are you sure you are using the right wire for the PV out to the THC connection? Mine is about 5 feet long.
Did we ever establish that you have a THC connection in Firecontrol?