R2E3 Boss 8 Display says E!!!! WAIT

[hrhoward]

I have a Bridgeport Boss 8 R2E3 that on power up the control panel has all the led's lid and the two line display reads E!!!! on the top line and WAIT on the bottom line. The FMDC's led's are doing this, 1-blinking, 2-off then on, then off, not blinking like led 1, 3&4-on, 5,6,& 7-off, 8-on.

Any clues? What do I need to check. Unfortunatly I do not have a maint. manual.

I am new to this board and would really appreceiate any advice.

Heath Howard
Hardy Machinery
Huntsville, AL

[machintek]

A wait state typically has a number behind it. If it can show that correctly, the Epson 2 line display and driver board may be OK. Locating one may be a real chore as they are obsolete. I saw a pile of them on Ebay about 2 years ago. If I had the money to buy them I could retire with the price I could get for each one from desperate machine owners. Maybe EMI can help you.
The FMDC software is on PROMs and does not need to load from a different source. Thus if the first 2 green LEDs are blinking ( yes at a rate different from each other) then it has passed its self test.
Check the LED on the EAF board.
Check the power supplies (yes, plural. There is on in the wire way to the front panel) for correct voltages. That may also be a problem. Make sure the lithium battery on the EMC3 and the FMDC has not leaked. They are pretty old now.
You will need a manual. Check machinemanuals.net for some on CDROM. Is this a series 1 or a series 2 machine? Since you are in rocket city and I in Hoover, I know most Boss 8 machine in my territory.
The manual will show you how to use K3 on the FMDC to access a event log and real time event and board status monitor. Very handy for diagnostics.

George