z axis not responding

[gene]

HELP I used my bot yesterday and all worked fine. I turned it on today and the z doesnt work . it will not go up or down so i looked thru 27 pages in troubleshooting and didnt find the answer. I have a prt alpha 2002 i swapped the wires from the y axis to the z and the motor responded fine. opened the control box all drivers have green lights on . I noticed that where the usb cable goes to the serial port there looks like a small yellow light that is not on? the x and y both work in keyboard mode but the z will not move . I also tried to do a c2 and nothing . can a usb cable go bad ? could that cause this problem?
on the back of the circuit board there is a square that looks like a readout for a number display there is a small red light on one corner that is lit is that normal? could it possibly be a loose wire? Thank you for your help

[gene]

anyone know the cost of a driver vexta asd30e-a-b1 . This is the old driver that came with the shopbot new in 2002. All the others i upgraded with the 7.21 on the x and y axis . I need one for the z axis ...

[Brady Watson]

How do you know you need a new driver? Those drivers are pretty bullet proof.

-B

[gene]

I took the ribbon wire off the circuit board for the z and put the wires on the y axis it worked correct. then I put the y axis ribbon wire on the z driver and nothing . this shows that there are no loose wires and both motors in the y and z axis work as they should. if there is another thing to test please tell me and I will be happy to do so . I do not look forward to a driver purchase..

[barrowj]

Gene,

I would call Shopbot, they will help you isolate the issue faster.
or FREE technical suport1-888-680-4466
Joe

[gene]

I think that the date i gave eariler was wrong. maybe a 2005 prt alpha

[gene]

can the connector that hooks the usb cable to the serial port go bad.

[barrowj]

Gene,

Yes, anything is possible, replacing the communications card is $200 and it also gives you more reliability and access to the latest SB3. It really helped me, I upgraded a few months back after having many communication errors and now it works great. I have the 2005 PRT Alpha machine too.

[Brady Watson]

can the connector that hooks the usb cable to the serial port go bad.


Absolutely. They not only can but do. Get a replacement : via Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/IOGEAR-Serial-Converter-Cable-GUC232A/dp/B000067VB7/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426852502&sr=8-1&keywords=GUC232A)

-B

[gene]

On the phone with Frank at Shopbot World Headquarters , literally 30 seconds later he solved the issue ! somehow the drive letter changed to A and not Z . GREAT JOB Mr. FRANK you are now my hero !