"New" G202 dead...

[braidmeister]

I've got 4 G202s that only have about 2hrs total on them. They were all working perfectly on one CNC (this is my 'test set'). I took them out of the control box and put them in a new machine that I am working on. When I rewired the drives and turned on the box, I heard an arc/spark coming from one of the drives. Turns out the 2nd X motor drive has a bad connection.(they sit XXYZ in line) The power light went out on that drive & only came back on when I pressed down on those CHEAP blue connectors. I shut everything down and clocked the connector 90° to it's alternate 'vertical' position and everything works fine now...BUT, the Z axis drive is dead. It shows the power light and everything is wired up properly...however, the connected motor has zero holding torque. I popped the case looking for a fuse of sorts in the event that the connectors caused it to blow.

My wiring is correct...I know how they hook up...this is my 3rd machine running Geckos.

Any ideas? Anything I can do to check this myself before I call Gecko? (email doesn't seem to be very efficient) Anybody else experience problems with the blue connectors & arcing or lost connections? Anybody else experience the power light on but no holding torque?

TIA
-Brady

[todd_p]

I had the same problem on one of my three 202s. Actually saw the failure as I tightened the screws down to my cooling plate, proper torque and it started to flicker, back off the screws and it was ok. Turned out that it did cook itself and I did manage to get a replacement thru Gecko (yes, took so long that I purchased one to keep me going, and the replacement arrived 10 weeks later) I can send some pics if that will help. Not really sure why, can only assume a tolerance stack on some internal components as my plate is machined flat.
Good luck

Todd

[braidmeister]

The drives are on the same sink (AL extrusion) as the other CNC they came off of...So that blows that theory...but I wonder if all of this is a result of poor quality connectors. I think somewhere Gecko had a problem with the blue ones and switched to black ones...My G340s have black ones.

More as things develop...

Thanks!
-B

[jimglass]

I had a similar problem with the Gecko 202. The problem was my own electrical service. I failed to connect the safety ground. Not sure why that was so important other than safety. I started at my main disconnect and tightened the connections. Splices between the switch box and outlet at the machine are all soldered connections.

Not a bit of trouble since I did that. The machine is 100% reliable now.

My experience,
Jim Glass
Genoa IL

[braidmeister]

Jim,
Thanks...but I've got 3 other Geckos in the box operating just fine. I swapped out the dead one with my spare and it works fine & has been for weeks. Gecko e-mail response sucks. Sorry to say, it's a good valued product, but 3 e-mail requests to Gecko support and I have heard absolutely nothing.

-B

[jimglass]

Best way to contact Gecko is by phone. I found them to be very helpful on the phone.

Does the red light still work (but dim)on the dead Gecko. Send it to Gecko and I'll be they will fix it for free. I got one dead Gecko to come back to life by connecting it to a real small stepper motor. Something clicked and it came back to life.

Send it to me if you are going to scap it.

Jim