New Nova DVR XP getting Fault Low Voltage

[Keith Harrell]

I just got my new Nova DVR XP and tried turning a scrap piece of wood and it faulted after a three minutes with a Low Voltage fault. I have call Teknatool and we determined it has a new type of controller that is suppose to fix all these low voltage issues. They are going to call me in the morning after discussing it with the tech support group. The lathe does allow me to it off and then on to resume turning which is good. I have measured the voltage in and it's 120.2 and have even tried a number of different outlets which are all wired for 20 amp service.
I guess I'm wondering if anyone else with a new Nova DVR XP is having this issue. I like the lathe but after pulling the trigger to replace my shopsmith I just want to be sure I didn't make a mistake. Thanks.

ps, Does anyone know if this low voltage is internal or looking at the source 110v. I can run it on 220v which I was planning on later.

[Josiah Bartlett]

Did you measure the voltage with the lathe running or off? Open circuit voltage doesn't tell you enough- you need to check it at the outlet with the motor running under load. You may have a high resistance in the circuit that drops the voltage too much with the motor load on it.

[Alan Zenreich]

I recently purchased a DVR XP, and although mine does not turn off after 3 minutes as yours does... when flipping the power switch down (off) I get the same low voltage message.

Is it possible that you are actually losing voltage to the AC socket?
Can you plug a lamp into another socket on that same outlet and make sure that the lathe is actually getting power correctly?
Have you tried plugging into a different socket?

It's unlikely that it's an AC power or socket problem, but that would be the first thing I'd try to rule out.

[Joe Luzich]

I had the same problem. I got no satisfaction from Tim. I talked to the owner at the woodcraft where I bought it and he told me to bring it to the store. He changed three circuit boards and after three weeks it finally got running. If it wasn' t for Chris at woodcraft, I don't know what I would have done. This should not happen. I hope you have better luck with Nova. I was not real happy with them. Good luck with the fix.

[Keith Harrell]

I have tried it on working circuits that both my Shopsmith and Dewalt planner use. I will check the voltages with the lathe turned on.
My Nova does display this low voltage also when I turn it off so I guess that's normal. It does work most of the time but seems to fail when it's under a load or if I take a deep cut. If I take light cuts it seems to not have a problem.
I have also tried to just slow the lathe down by holding another piece of wood on the bowl as it turned but couldn't seem to create a fault. It only occurs during the turning process from time to time.

[Narayan Nayar]

If it's giving you that message, there's a good chance that it is, in fact, not getting enough power.

I got that message once and through troubleshooting found out two things I was doing wrong:

I had the lathe connected to the outlet with an extension cord
I had a couple of 100W bulbs also connected to the outlet (don't remember whether they were connected via the same extension cord or not)


I then connected the lathe directly to the outlet (with a surge protector in between), moved the lamps to another outlet (on a different circuit) and haven't seen the message since.

I ordered the 220V upgrade kit but haven't yet installed it.

[Keith Harrell]

I wonder if running it on 220 would solve the problem. It appears all that is needed is to remove the jumper and change the plug. The manual talks about needing something special for 220v in the US. Has anyone done a change to 220v on these new units?
Thanks again.
I really hate to take this all the way back to Raleigh as I live 6 hours away and bought this visiting while I was there.

[Sid Matheny]

I have had mine a few weeks running on 120 without any problems but as Alan said "when flipping the power switch down (off) I get the same low voltage message" is the only time I have seen that..

[Dolan Brown]

I wonder if running it on 220 would solve the problem. It appears all that is needed is to remove the jumper and change the plug. The manual talks about needing something special for 220v in the US. Has anyone done a change to 220v on these new units?
Thanks again.
I really hate to take this all the way back to Raleigh as I live 6 hours away and bought this visiting while I was there.

I got mine in July '09 and have converted it to 220v and have not had the problem with low voltage on 120 or 220v.

You also have to change the toggle switch and add another wire short wire to control both hot legs of the 220v. The new versions (al least my version) does not have the jumper.

[Alan Trout]

I have mine on 220V and all of them will show low voltage when powered off because of course the voltage drops when you power the machine off. The side switch is what provides the power to the electronics and the the machine is turned on and off through the electronics. To convert to 220V you do need a single throw double pole switch to properly protect the unit, remove the jumper, another wire for the second leg, and appropriate surge protection. The power on 220V is very nice.

From what I understand there are capacitors in the unit. I have heard that this fault can show up if they go bad. I have herd of capacitors on DVR's that were DOA.

I have had questions in the past and have had good success/service with Tim. I have always called him very early in the morning. About 7:00 AM. I would try to give him a call. This is the number I have always reached him at. 304-295-8166

By the way I really love mine. It is has been a great lathe. You will be very happy when you get your problem figured out.

Good Luck

Alan

[Keith Harrell]

Thanks for the name and phone number of Tim. Is adding the second wire to the new switch something I should see when I pull the cover. I'm good with electronics and the the schematics I should be able to find it I guess. The procedure on the web site did mention much about this second wire that needed to be added.

[Scott Conners]

I agree with what a few others have said. Try and get someone to watch your voltage meter while you turn. If the circuit your lathe on is far from the panel, or if any part of your service has wire that's on the edge of too small, your voltage can drop signifigantly when under load. The more current the motor demands, the lower the voltage will drop, because the resistance increases. This would make sense with the way you said the problem manifests - it only stops when you load it up with a particularly heavy cut.

[Keith Harrell]

It measures 119.2 when it faults according to my meter. I can't tell if it dropped lower as my meter doesn't capture min/max. If I hold another piece of wood on the bowl I can get it to drop to 118.5 without faulting.
I have spoke to Tim and he told me this is a voltage from internal and not from the source. He has been very help in trying to resolve. We are waiting for Australia to wake up to ask the enginneers a few questions. They offered me the option to wake one up as it's 2:00pm there but I declined and suggested we wait to later this afternoon.