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Katie m Pierce
04-07-2018, 2:44 PM
The cw3000 water chiller for my laser stopped working suddenly. I was fixing the hv wire, got everything working beautifully and as I'm running my 4th test I get error message for water chiller. I look and both lights (normal and alarm) are flashing. I turn off the chiller and turn it back on and no beeping just flashing. The water doesn't seem to be flowing ??? Any thoughts as to why

Bill George
04-07-2018, 4:20 PM
Its not really a refrigerated cooler, it just has a radiator like a car, fan and a water pump. If its low on water or the flow is blocked like a pinched hose or etc. It should sound an alarm, I do not have one, mine is a more expensive model with a refrigeration system.

Matt McCoy
04-07-2018, 5:29 PM
Did you recently fill the tank or disconnect the hoses and spill water on the electronics?

Katie m Pierce
04-07-2018, 6:50 PM
I did not refill it or anything , it was working then it just wasn't . I went through and looked at all the line but can't see anything unusual. I haven't spilled water or anything. Strange. If anyone knows of this issue or a fix I would be very appreciative. I did change the hv wire out as it came spliced and was arcing.

Dave Sheldrake
04-07-2018, 7:14 PM
Is the inbound flow towards the hot end of the laser? (usually the right side from the front of the machine)

Does the machine have a water flow sensor?

John Lifer
04-08-2018, 7:55 AM
Dave might have it, did you disconnect an electrical line from cooler?

Matt McCoy
04-08-2018, 10:17 AM
You may have shorted the PCB. The chiller is dumb and won't know if it's connected to the laser. The outgoing signal wire simply opens the circuit to kill power to the tube when the chiller's flow sensor stops or temp exceeds the limit. If there is no alarm noise and both lights are flashing, I would:

- Check water level.
- Check power cord.
- Disconnect from laser and attach short piece of hose to both the inlet and outlet of the chiller to isolate.

- Determine if the pump is working.

Kev Williams
04-08-2018, 12:00 PM
I have a 3000 and just played around with it- Doesn't matter if the water sensor wire/plug is connected or not, it operates the same either way, which is: switch on, get a sort of double-beep (loud), temp display comes on, fan and water pump start up, and both of those aren't exactly quiet, easy to tell if they're running. If the temp is out of range (in my case, too cold) the display will blink and the machine beeps LOUDLY at one second intervals...

OP's unit just flashes the red and green lights- obviously getting power...

My only ideas are the unit's too low on water, or something else- pump or fan- has failed...

Katie m Pierce
04-08-2018, 3:36 PM
I checked the water flow, the fan comes on but there doesn't seem to be a flow of water when I tested it with the small tube to the in/out. Maybe the pump? It's not connected to the laser except the tubing. Later in the evening the circuit flipped and I had to push the reset button on one of the outlets . I plugged it in to a different outlet but same result. It's frustrating as I just got the laser running again after the hv wire and then the chiller died. I quit my job and have to get to work, I told the manufacturer I bought it from and have not heard back yet. I took off the cover to see inside for any obvious problem but couldn't tell anything. The lights don't beep when I turn it on, they just flash and the fan comes on.

Bill George
04-08-2018, 5:13 PM
How do you know you have enough water and when was the last time it worked? The CW 3000 is just a fan, radiator and a pump. You can put a submersible pump in a 5 gal pail of water and run for a while until the water got too warm.

Matt McCoy
04-09-2018, 9:33 AM
If water is not circulating, it's likely that the pump is faulty or there is an impairment in the lines causing the motor to overheat. The pump is probably drawing too many amps and tripping the breaker. This is assuming all basic checks have been vetted. The flashing light issue with no alarm might mean a short or damaged PCB. You'll probably have to use a multimeter if you want to isolate the issue(s) and where I would start to troubleshoot.

Kev Williams
04-09-2018, 11:57 AM
With mine, if I squeeze either water line to impede the flow, the alarm sounds.

Katie hasn't yet said whether she's actually checked the water level :) -- could be a slow, un-noticeable leak has slowly emptied the tank...

Matt McCoy
04-09-2018, 1:01 PM
The alarm should sound when the tank is low, but there may be more than one issue.

Wilbur Harris
04-11-2018, 7:17 PM
All centrifugal pumps draw less current when there's no flow...until they begin to seize or overheat. What I'm saying here is that if the breaker tripped it wasn't directly related to no flow. I'm thinking your pump has failed but all the suggestions above remain valid. Screw the cap off and check the water level!

Bill George
04-11-2018, 7:23 PM
So today is the 11th, and she has not been back.