Problem- haas mini mill

[johnmckeown]

have a 2001 mini mill i am getting a alarm at start up that the battery is going out needs to be replaced.any info would be helpfull

thanks john

[Geof]

Don't turn the machine power off. Save all your programs, Parameters and Settings. Call your HFO to have a technician come and replace the memory battery.

If the battery goes dead you lose everything and if you no longer have the hard copy of Parameters and Settings that came with the machine and have lost the floppy that they are on which also came with the machine you have a problem.

[rider23]

We have some haas mills and ive been told that if you lose the battery or change the battery incorrectly that you could also lose the ladder for the controller also.

[xiondavis]

Had the same alarm on my 2006 Mini Mill. The batteries are soldered onto the board. Called the local HFO and they sent me a replacement battery for $50.

The replacement battery just plugs into the pin header next to the soldered batteries. problem solved (for now). Next time, i'll have to consider that removing the battery might cause data loss.

Agree with previous poster - back up your parameters and programs asap - its easy.

-J

[plastibob]

What is reasoning behind soldering batteries?

[xiondavis]

Originally Posted by plastibob What is reasoning behind soldering batteries?

I wondered the same thing - HFO service team told me that the battery life depends heavily on the amount of time the machine is Idle. Mine was only 2 1/2 years old when the battery ran out. HFO guy said it will probably have to be replaced multiple times over the life of the mill. Why they soldered two lithium batteries to the board and left a pin header for an external battery is beyond my comprehension.

[rider23]

I was told that the pins are for a temporary battery to supply power to the board when the dead battery is being removed, and then replaced with a fresh one, Then the temporary battery is removed. That way you always have power being supplied to the board so you dont loose any programs or parameters.

[johnmckeown]

i have just added the replacement battery to the external pins and i am still getting the same alarm. any advice?

john

[xiondavis]

All I had to do was clear the alarm... I think there is only one way to install the battery on the pin header.

[xiondavis]

Just remembered - when i had this alarm, the first thing the tech had me do was delete all the programs in memory (after backing them up of course). Apparently, this alarm can happen when the battery is fine but the memory is full.

[Geof]

Originally Posted by xiondavis Just remembered - when i had this alarm, the first thing the tech had me do was delete all the programs in memory (after backing them up of course). Apparently, this alarm can happen when the battery is fine but the memory is full.

You can also get this when using the SELECT BLOCK/COPY function in the editor if your block is too long and you hit copy twice. The fix is the same; Save All to disk, Delete All, Reload All

[JoBwan]

Great Information Guys!!