Sawstop PCS Won't Start

[Dave Avery]

All,

Went down to the stop and found my PCS DOA. No lights, no nothing. Electrical circuit is fine. Per the manual, I made sure that the electrical connections are OK and that the brake had not triggered. Anyone have this problem? Any ideas? Many thanks. Dave.

[Mac Cambra]

Did you check the spacing between the brake and blade? No more than the thickness of a nickel, right.

I have an ICS, there are also some interlocks that need to be set on the cabinet for the saw to start, make sure the are set properly and the enclosure is closed up properly.

[alex grams]

Mac, The brake spacing wouldn't cause the saw to show no lights. For brake spacing it would cause solid red/dashing green codes on the start box. Not sure how you check the electrical circuit, but any error code would be shown in a light combination on the box. Your situation makes me think that maybe you lost power somewhere on the unit. Not sure if there is a fuse in the control box, or if there is a power shutoff on the side of the PCS like there is on the ICS.

Maybe take the brake off, remove it and reengage it?

[Tim Orr]

Did you check the thermal overload? Try reseting it. It is the red button on the side of the electrical box. Push it in, it should click or snap as it resets if it was tripped.

Do you have another brake cartridge? Might try swapping it.

Did you have recent lightning storms or power outage? A surge might have nuked something in the control box. Not having a schematic, tough to tell what it could be.

I have a Sawstop contractors saw, but have always had the lights come on. The only problem I've had was low voltage on start up sometimes causing it to fault and shut off the motor (at the time running the shop on a single 20A circuit a long way from the main panel).

Good luck!

Tim

[Don Bullock]

Give SawStop a call. Their customer service is excellent.

[Dave Avery]

So the resident handi-woman took at the saw this afternoon. Apparently the circuit breaker to the blade brake mechanism is fried - which should be a simple fix if parts are readily available. Thanks for your helpful suggestions. Best.... Dave.

[Steven Hsieh]

So the resident handi-woman took at the saw this afternoon. Apparently the circuit breaker to the blade brake mechanism is fried - which should be a simple fix if parts are readily available. Thanks for your helpful suggestions. Best.... Dave.

How long have you been using this saw?

[Kyle Iwamoto]

INteresting problem. I'd like to know what caused it. Power surge/brownout?

[Dave Avery]

Steven,

Interesting that I was a beta tester for the PCS. As part of the program, they sent several replacement parts, one of which was a new paddle switch box that was installed about 6 months ago. Should have stayed with the original that gave me several years of trouble-free service.

Kyle,

Don't remember a power issue and no other electronics were impacted.

[Dave Avery]

Finally got around to calling SS. As suggested earlier, their customer service is first-rate. After sequentially determining that the problem could not be fixed by us, they volunteered to overnight a new starter unit. I'll be cutting tomorrow night. Thanks, again, for your thoughts and suggestions.

[Chris Tsutsui]

That's some good service. If you get around to seeing this question, I'm curious how old your unit is and if this was a warranty fix, or are they THAT good? Thanks

[Dave Avery]

Chris,

I should have mentioned - I've had the saw 3 years - the part and shipping cost me nothing.

[alex grams]

Sawstop Customer Service has always been first rate in my experience. the hydraulic unit on my saw was leaking some and I called to ask what could be the problem and how I could fix it. They shipped me a new unit free of charge no questions asked. Their Customer Service is top notch enough that if they offered other items other than their saw I would give them heavy consideration.

[Prashun Patel]

I'll also vouch for their customer service. I ordered an old style replacement brake cartridge to replace mine, unaware that there are two styles. The retailer is not allowed to take returns of open-package brake cartridges for obvious reasons. When the Sawstop tech discovered my mistake, they offered to replace the cartridge for me for me, and even offered to pick up the shipping both ways. Little things like that go a long way in my book - especially since they really have me now as a 'captive' customer and can afford not to cater to my mistakes.

[mreza Salav]

Yes, I've found their customer service EXCELLENT, at the very top (along with Lee Valley). I've found they are very well informed about their product and can diagnose issues quickly and typically go beyond what you expect them to do.