Power feed problems on WM LT40

[Mike_M]

I know there are a number of Wood Mizer sawyers on the forum so I thought this would be a good place to try and pinpoint the problem with the power feed on our Wood Mizer LT 40 hydraulic. I called and talked with the Service Department and they gave me several areas to try and look at. I will do the best to explain what is going on and hopefully some one can narrow things down for me. The mill is a 97 model with 600 hours on it. It also has simple setworks. When I am sawing it will be going nice and smooth and then just kind of hesitate. It doesn't happen in any particular spot along the mill, but just seems to be random. It is enough of a annoyance that it has kept me busy looking for solutions. I checked all the possible mechanical causes and did not find anything. I have narrowed down to possibly three things. 1. The circuit board 2. The variable feed switch 3. The brushes in the power feed motor. The other thing I forgot to mention is that the alternator charge light stays on and I just replaced the battery and checked the alternator. The alternator is putting out 14.3 volts. I hope someone can help me. ???

            Thanks
            Mike M.

[customsawyer]

You might give your ground wires a good looking at.
Does it seem to happen when you use something else on the mill at the same time like debarker or adjusting your forward speed?

[Tom]

I'm not too good with electricity, so, sometimes I'd wait till dark and make the mill run through the motions.  Sparks will show up on loose connections sometimes when a meter can't find them.

If it's not charging, and the alternator is putting out, it almost has to be the battery cables.  Might just need cleaning.

[Mike_M]

The first few cuts or passes I make with the carriage are fine, but then after that is when I seem to have the problem. I usually keep my fingers on the power feed speed control as I am sawing, just out of habit I guess. It does not matter if the debarker is on or off. The mill is leveled out and I always change the blades as soon as they start showing signs of dulling. I like the idea of checking the wires out in the dark, great idea Tom. I love sawing with the mill, but a problem like this just aggrivates the you know what out me.

                              Mike M.

[pigman]

Mike_ M   , This summer my Mizer started  acting like you described. :( It was one of the top carriage rollers. It seemed fine when I took the load off of it and spinned it by hand, but when the weight was put on it sometimes locked up and caused the carriage to almost stop while sawing.Until I got a new one I just swapped it with a bottom roller. 8)
Bob

[WH_Conley]

I had the exact same thing pigman had, top bearing, just like you describe check back of control panel about light.

[Mike_M]

Thanks guys,
                       I will be checking the top bearings on my mill as well as the lights on the circuit board.

[woodmills1]

assuming you figure out the problem with the charge light and still have a feed problem you might find the previous about track rollers to be the solution.  If the rollers are fine check the adjustments. T he carrage can bind if the rollers are not properly adjusted.  Follow the instructions from woodmizer in the manuel.  If that is not the problem it might be the feed chain or the double rollers the chain passes over.  Mine was out of adjustment and the chain was scraping the main part of the mill.  good luck!

[Mike_M]

Well I spent all day yesterday working on the mill. I think I got things figured out with the power feed. I checked the top and bottom rollers and the bottom inside rollers were bound up. I got them all adjusted and the carriage rolls much better. I have not cut with it yet, so that will be the real proof. I also need to adjust the saw head ever so slightly as it is off by 1/16" on the outside end of the mill. I am almost sure now that  the red alternator charge light is a seperate issue. Even though it stays on all the time, I am getting 14.3 volts from the alternator itself and at the battery. Not sure what the issue is here, but will continue to research it. I tell you the folks at Woodmizer are super, just like I have heard everyone else talk about, I finally found out for myself. Can't say enough about their customer support. Thanks again for all the input, it makes a huge difference getting input from other sawyers who have dealt with the same problems. This is a great forum.
                                   Mike M.

[Bibbyman]

Did you check the drive belt tension on the head drive motor?  Our LT40 was slugish and stoping from time to time.  Snugged up the drive belt and it's stepin' right along now.

[Mike_M]

I did not, but I will. I will figure this thing out one of these days.

[DR Buck]

I had a power feed problem this week.   :(  Found the belt loose on the feed motor.   It's the first time it has been adjusted.  Only have about 110 hours on a new LT40HDG25 and I had to put belt adjustment all the way to the end of adjustment range.  The belt does not appear worn at all and still looks new.  Is this normal, do they stretch that much, or could WM possibly put the wrong belt on?


Mike_M,

How many hours do you have on the carriage rollers?  Is this something I should be checking routinely?

[sparks]

Mike, I have to ask a silly question before I continue. When the key is on do you have a green and red light on?
If you do and you strat the engine and the red light stays on you most likely have a bad diode.
If you had a bad ground the alternator would not charge. You have out put of 14.3 so the alternator is working. It just isn't turning off your light. This is the job of the diode trio. Should be able to get it fixed locally fairly cheap.   Thanks

[sparks]

DR_Buck, call me with your customer number and I'll get you a replacement belt. You should not be out of adjustment yet.    Thanks

[Mike_M]

DR Buck,
               We have 610 hours on our Mill and have not replaced the roller bearings. They are sealed and seem fine. My carriage problem seemed to be from the lower bearings binding up, beacause when I made some adjustments the carriage has traveled just fine.

Sparks,
             Thanks for the info. on the alternator light. This light in fact does stay on even when the mill is running. I have not had any problem with the charging system. I also have a problem with the simple setworks. Every now and then when I first turn the key on I get a prompt that states that the BL module is bad. When I am sawing using the setworks, the plus and minus sighns that surround all four corners of the simple setworks LED screen will flash back and forth between plus and minus. Any thoughts on what might be going on?
                             Thanks again.
                              Mike M.

[Kirk_Allen]

Sparks,
I am having the same belt tension issue with my LT40hdg25.

I have 400 hours on the mill and it seems as if the speed the saw moves at is very slow even though its dialed all the way up.  

I dont have any more adjustment left in the belt.  I cant see it slipping but I know it is moving much slower now.  

It seems to return faster than going forward.  

Any thoughts?

[sparks]

Kirk, the reverse is 40 fpm faster than the forward motion. This is to get the head returned for the next cut faster. I think you got my email address. Email me a reminder and I'll get you another belt to try first.  Thanks