Questions and Troubleshooting 7th

Questions and Troubleshooting

1. Power Supply
(1) Power does not turn off when pressing ON/OFF key
• Press and hold the key until the LED color changes from green to red.

(2) Few splices can be made with a fully charged battery pack
• If the power saving function is not enabled, battery power degrades quicker. See page 87
[Machine Settings]. Always enable it to conserve power usage.
• If degradation appears (memory effect), or if the battery pack is stored for an extended
period of time, completely discharge it. Seer page 95 [Battery Discharge]. After
discharge completion, recharge the battery pack.
• The battery pack has reached the end of its service life. Install a new battery pack.
• The battery pack uses chemical reaction. The capacity decreases at low temperature,
especially at lower than 0 degree C.
• At high altitude, the arc discharge current is increased. In this condition, battery power
degrades quicker due to large power consumption.
• The AC adapter does not charge the battery pack correctly. See next item.

(3) “CHARGE” LED on AC adapter blinks during battery recharge

• The battery pack has a fault or has reached the end of its service life. Install a new
battery pack. If the LED blinks again after install, contact the authorized distributor.
• The battery pack has been used under the environment (especially 40 degrees C or more)
where temperature is high, or direct rays.

(4) Method to change the power saving function settings

• See page 87 [Machine Settings] function.

(5) Battery indicator is not displayed / Power saving function does not work
• If using the AC adapter, the function does not work.
• Battery pack indicator on the battery pack does not work correctly.

(6) Incorrect indication of battery indicator

• The indicator display serves as a reference only.
• Battery Pack Indicator on the battery does not work correctly. Discharge the battery
pack completely and recharge it.

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Questions and Troubleshooting
2. Splicing Operation
(1) Error message appears on monitor
• See page 102 [Error Message List].

(2) Inconsistent splice loss / High splice loss

• Clean the V-grooves, fiber clamps, wind protector mirrors, and objective lenses. See
page 52 [Maintenance of Splicing Quality].
• Replace the electrodes. See page 57 [Electrode Replacement].
• See page 102 to the “High Estimated Loss” error message section in the [Error Message
List].
• If the fiber has curl or bend memory, position the fiber so the crown (curve) of the
memory is turned upward.
• The splice loss varies according to the cleave angle, arc conditions and fiber cleanliness.
• If the splice loss is still too high or inconsistent after performing the above-mentioned
remedies, contact the authorized distributor Regular service (at least once a year) is
recommended to maintain high splicing quality.

(3) Confirmation of splicing procedures

• See page 26 [Basic Operation].

(4) Monitor suddenly turned off

• The power saving function is automatically enabled when using a battery pack. The
splicer switches to the power saving state after an extended period of splicer inactivity.
Press any key to return to the normal state. To change the length of time before the
splicer switches to the power saving state, See page 87 [Machine Settings] on.

(5) Splicer power suddenly turned off without “Low Battery” message
• The power saving function is automatically enabled when using a battery pack. The
splicer turns the splicer power off after an extended period of splicer inactivity. Press
ON/OFF key to turn on the splicer again. To change the length of time before the splicer
turns the splicer power off, see page 87 [Machine Settings] function.

(6) Method to initialize arc condition of Splice mode

• See page 63 [Referring or editing splice mode].

(7) Method to change error thresholds for Cleave angle, Splice loss and Fiber angle
• See page 63 [Referring or editing splice mode] when using the SM, NZ, MM or AUTO
mode. There is no fiber angle threshold in these modes.
• See page 63 [Referring or editing splice mode] when using the OTHER mode.

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 Questions and Troubleshooting
(8) Error message can be over-ridden
• See page 84 [Splice Settings] to not allow error message override.

(9) Unable to change Arc Power and Arc Time

• The settings cannot be changed in FAST or AUTO modes.
• Performing [Arc Calibration] maintains adequate arc power in these modes.
• If using the “Other Mode”, the Arc Power and Arc Time may be locked by administrator,
preventing them from being changed.

(10) Method to set Pause

• See page 58 [Splice Menu].

(11) Method to display Cleave Angle, Fiber Angle and Core / Cladding Offsets
• See page 84 [Splice Settings]. The fiber angle is not displayable in the SM, DS, MM or
AUTO mode.

(12) Incorrect splice mode selected and used in AUTO mode

• The AUTO mode can detect only standard SM, DS, MM and NZDS fibers. When
splicing specialty fibers, the AUTO mode may identify them incorrectly. For other
possible troubles in AUTO mode, see page58 [Splice Mode].

(13) Mismatch between Estimated splice loss and Actual splice loss
• The estimated loss is a calculated loss, so it can be used for reference only.
• The optical components of the splicer may need to be cleaned.
• When splicing specialty fibers, adjust [MFD-L], [MFD-R], [Core Step] and [Core
Curvature]. When splicing dissimilar fibers, adjust also [Min. Loss] and [MFD
Mismatch]. To adjust these parameters, refer to parameter settings of the other splice
modes stored in the database area.

(14) If using the non-auto mode, Re-arc discharge becomes intermittent

• Set the [Arc2 OFF Time] to “OFF.”. See page63 [Referring or editing splice mode].

(15) Method to operate Focus motor after splicing

• Use the [Motor Drive] function in [Maintenance Menu] while in [PAUSE1], [PAUSE2]
or [Finish] states. Press Up/Down Arrow key to adjust the focus.

(16) Realignment performed after manual aligning in Pause2

• To disable the realignment, see page 84 [Splice Settings]. An alternative option is to use
the manual splice mode. See page 69 [Manual Splice Mode].

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Questions and Troubleshooting
3. Tube-heating Operation
(1) Fiber protection sleeve does not shrink completely
• Extend the heating time. See page80 [Heater Mode].

(2) Heater LED on panel keyboard blinks

• Pressing the HEAT key during heating causes the LED to blink. The tube heater is
turned off if the HEAT key is pressed again. If, after 2 seconds have gone by without
pressing the HEAT key again, the LED stays on continuously and the heater returns to its
normal state. The LED will turn off when the heat cycle is completed.
• If the heating temperature does not reach its inputted setting, the LED blinks and the
alarm sounds. If this happens, contact the authorized distributor.

(3) Fiber protection sleeve adhered to heating plate after shrink

• Use a cotton swab or a similar soft tip object to push and remove the sleeve. If the black
coating is removed, contact your authorized distributor.

(4) Method to initialize heating condition of Heater mode

• See page 82 [Referring to or editing Heater Mode].

(5) Method to cancel heating process

• RESET key does not cancel the heater. Press HEAT key twice to cancel the heating
process.

4. Supervising
(1) What functions can be disabled
• See page91 [Menu Lock Settings].

(2) Method to lock “selection” or “editing” of Splice or Heater mode

• See page91 [Menu Lock Settings].

(3) Method to set parameters of Splice or Heater mode from a PC

• Refer to the communication software “FSM Data Connection” included in CD-ROM.

(4) Forgot password

• Contact the authorized distributor.

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 Questions and Troubleshooting
5. Other Functions
(1) Method to hide messages on [READY] screen
• Change the fiber image from X/Y view to X magnified view or Y magnified view by
pressing X/Y key.

(2) Too many repetitions until “Test Finish” indicated in [Arc Calibration]
• The splicer needs to repeat the arc calibration after replacing the electrodes or when the
environmental conditions change drastically (page87). The number of arc calibrations
can be set to a specific amount. When the splicer completes the set amount of
calibrations, it indicates “Test Finish”. However, this does not mean it is completely
calibrated.

(3) “Test Finish” is never indicated after many repetitions in [Arc Calibration]
• Execute [Stabilize Electrodes] function in [Maintenance Menu]. If the splicer still does
not indicate “Test Finish”, replace the electrodes. See [Replace Electrodes] section.

(4) No arc power change after [Arc Calibration]

• An internal factor is calibrated and adjusted for the specific arc power selected. The
displayed arc power in each splice mode does not change.
• The calibration results affect all splice modes.

(5) Method to input different comments after each splice in splice results data
• See page 79 [Splice Memory Comment].

(6) Method to download splice results from splicer to PC

• Refer to the instruction manual “FSM Data Connection” included in the CD-ROM.
Press [F1] key after installing the software to display the instruction manual.
Contact the authorized distributor for further inquiries.