LaserUser.com Forum (formerly RDWorksLab)

Thanks for the input, Jeff!

Jeff, we do have well-updated electricity in our shop. I checked the continuity of the ground and it is good. I feel like there is something really obvious that I am missing. Wouldnt take much for me:) I'll keep tinkering carefully! I really appreciate all of the input from you and Gene.

I have the feeling that you are passing over the arc problem... that is where to start. As Jeff sez- replace the HV wiring with quality wire and connectors and route it very carefully. HV can mess up a lot of different areas that you would not suspect. I have spent months chasing HV problems.

I'm sorry if you folks feel like I am not taking heed. The truth is I'm just not real sharp. In trying to figure out what changed, I reversed the wires on the ma meter I installed and the arcing seemed to stop. I ran a small scan increasing the power incrementally. no arcing but no action on the ma meter either. but when I got 30% something squealed and smelled burnt so I shut it down. not sure what happened.

Hello Matthew

I’m sorry you are having so much trouble with this. Arcing and burnt electrical smells are never good when it comes to these machines.


Could you please answer the following questions….

1) Did you replace the power supply with the exact same model/part number?

2) Did you make any wiring changes to the green connectors that plug into the HVPS (high voltage power supply)?

3) My understanding is that you did not replace the red high voltage wire that is attached to the laser tube, is that correct?

4) Can you post a picture of where you saw the arc? Draw a line on it showing the points that the arc jumped from and to.

5) Did it leave any black marks? AKA Skid marks.

6) When you hooked up the mA meter and when it showed movement did the needle swing to the right? If so you had it hooked up right, if it swings to the left you need to reverse the wires on the back of the meter.

7) Did you reused the wiring from the low voltage end of the tube to the mA meter or did you splice in another piece? In the picture it looks like the white wire was from the HVPS correct?

8) Did you do a sniff test (with machine off and unplugged) to determine what component, connector or wire that might have let the “magic smoke” out?

9) Did you plug an outlet tester (see picture) into the receptacle you are using to see if it is wired correctly?
10) Are you using a spike bar, multi outlet strip or an extension cord with this?

11) If you answered yes to question 10, did you try the tester in question 9 in the spike bar, etc.?

I await your reply.

Frank

I saw this on AliExpress which shows how the high voltage connector goes together. You might want to check the connections by pulling on them to see if they pull apart or take them apart to see if they are made up correctly.


Only strip the wire enough to make the connection. Extra bare wire is a bad thing as it could allow an arc to jump to anything grounded.

Wow! i just saw you reply Frank let me see if I can answer.

1) yes
2) No
3)yes correct
4) The picture I posted earlier of the power supply connector was where I saw it arc back to the the PS
5)no black marks, but then the case is black i might just not be able to see it
6)when I hooked the AM up. that's when i really noticed the fireworks, After more googling i determined i had it hooked up backwards. the wire from the tube was going into the negative side. I reversed the wires and now I do not see any arcing anywhere
7)Yes i reused existing wire and connector
8) i could not really determine exactly where the smell was coming from I suspect the PS but cannot say definitively
9)No I didn't I don't have one like that
10) using the same EXT cord we have used for the last year
11) NA

I appreciate everyone's help. I feel very unqualified here. Hope to get our local electrician to look into it soon to see if he can discover anything.

Matthew

The answers to the questions on the list help me more than you may expect. Because I can’t be there I am trying to figure what your next move might be.

If you don’t have a receptacle tester, get one. It does not need to be exactly like the one I posted. What I’m trying to do is eliminate potential problem areas. I use one of these almost every day as I’m a state electrical inspector and you would be surprised how many miss wired receptacles I find.

The assembly and mating of the high voltage connector is very important. See the picture I posted.

I would recommend that you unmate the connector, slide the black caps back a couple of inches, grasp the connector half and the red wire and push the red wire into the connector half. This in turn should reveal the metal connector pin or sleeve depending on which half of the connector you are taking a part.

What you are looking for is that the wire is not stripped back any more than needed to make up the connector and that the screw is tight on the wire. If ok pull the red wire back to allow the metal contact to be fully seated in the connector body.

As an extra measure put a dab of clear silicon rubber caulk inside the black cap and slide it back over the connector body. The silicon has high dielectric strength which will help to keep the high voltage in…. Lol.

Ok now to the power supply, disconnect the plugs and remove it from the machine.

At this point do a sniff test around the vent holes, if it smells burnt, replace. If not and if you feel comfortable doing this remove the 4 or so screws that hold the cover on and take it off.
DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING INSIDE WITH YOUR FINGERS OR TOOLS. There could be stored high voltage in there. Try to take some clear pictures of the inside, close ups would be good. Put the cover back on. Do the same with the old HVPS as well. Post the pictures here, please note which power supply is which.

I purchased one of the same power supplies and there was a broken part rattling around inside it. I opened it up, took pictures of he broken part and the insides and sent them to Cloudray where I purchased it from. They sent me a new unit and they did not want the bad unit back.

One last thing, could you post some detailed pictures of the wiring to, at, and from the mA meter? Thanks

There is your home work, I look forward to hearing from you.
Frank

Thanks Frank this may take some time for me to get to all of this, but at least I have some sense of direction. Thanks for getting back to me!

Frank, I still don't have everything on the list but here's a start I'll post more later as I get a chance to mess with it. I bought the plug-in circuit tester and everything checked good.

I took the old power supply and took a few pictures of it.

I'm having trouble getting the connectors apart on the high-voltage connectors they seem to already be silicone together I'm afraid to get them apart I would tear them up.

More info to follow later thanks for all your help.