Tripped Circuit Breaker

Troubleshooting a tripped treadmill ON/OFF circuit breaker or facility power distribution panel circuit breaker. Review the electrical requirements, see Power Requirements and Power Entry Assembly Wire Diagram.

It is extremely important to know whether the tripped circuit breaker is the treadmill ON/OFF circuit breaker or the facility wall outlet circuit breaker. It is also extremely important to know when the breaker trip occurs, note which one of the following events best describes when the circuit breaker tripped:

  • Immediately on power up
  • After the belt starts but before the exerciser walks onto the belt
  • After the exerciser walks onto the belt.

If the facility outlet circuit breaker trips

  • Measure the facility wall outlet voltage. If the is approximately 0 Vac, the wall breaker has tripped.
  • If there is power at the wall outlet, inspect the power cord, if damaged, replace the line cord. If the line cord is not damaged continue with the following steps.
  • Verify whether there is more than one treadmill using the same outlet circuit breaker. This will be especially evident if two or more treadmills shutdown at the same time. To verify if multiple treadmills are sharing the same wall breaker, manually switched OFF the facility outlet circuit breaker. If more than one treadmill loses power, the treadmills are on the same breaker:
    • If YES, advise the customer to have the facility wiring upgraded to provide one individual branch circuit outlet per machine, see Precor specifications, see .Power Requirements.
    • If NO, continue Troubleshooting.

IMPORTANT: If the ACAlternating Current: electric current which periodically reverses direction between positive and negative polarity. circuit providing the treadmill power is found to be a non-dedicated branch circuit or a circuit equipped with a capacity of less than 20 amps, the AC circuit must be corrected before any reliable Troubleshooting can be performed. More importantly, a non-dedicated branch circuit may constitute a safety hazard to the treadmill operator .

  • Verify the wall outlets do not share neutral wiring and that each wall outlet is on an individual branch circuit. An individual branch circuit will have its own load line, neutral line and ground line. Have a certified electrician verify that each treadmill is powered from an individual branch circiut, see Power Requirements
    • If YES, advise the customer to have the facility wiring upgraded to provide one individual branch circuit outlet per machine, see Precor specifications, see .Power Requirements.
    • If NO, continue Troubleshooting

CAUTION: The treadmill requires a 20-amp individual branch circuit grounded per NEC (National Electric Code) guidelines or local region electric code.
  • Measure the AC input voltage with the treadmill running and no exerciser on the belt "unloaded." Then repeat the voltage measurement "loaded", an exerciser on the blelt during the measurement. The difference between the two measurements should be no more than approximately 6 volts RMS and ideally less:
    • If the voltage variance is more than 6 volts RMS, the distance from the outlet to the power distribution panel circuit breaker may be to long or the wire gauge diameter may be smaller than required. Request the facility to have an electrician verity the circuit wiring from the outlet to the power distribution panel.
    • If NO, continue Troubleshooting.
  • Overloading is the most frequent cause of a tripped treadmill ciruit breaker. Overloading is most often caused by worn belt/deck excess friction. The circuit breaker tripping point can also be increased by poor input line voltage. Overloading most often occurs with heavier exercisers running at high speeds, but never when lighter exercisers are walking. Verify the deck and belt wear, replace as needed. The treadmill tripped circuit breaker event is often accompanied by "Drive Motor Current Overloading" error codes 27, 28, or 29, see “ Error Code Troubleshooting Guide” .

If the treadmill ON/OFF circuit breaker is tripped:

  • Verify the wall outlets do not share neutral wiring and that each wall outlet is on an individual branch circuit. An individual branch circuit outlet will have its own load line, neutral line, and ground line. Have a certified electrician verify the treadmill is powered from an individual branch circuit:
    • If YES, advise customer to have their facility wiring upgraded per Precor specifications.
    • If NO, continue Troubleshooting.

CAUTION: The treadmill requires a 20-amp individual branch circuit grounded per NEC (National Electric Code) guidelines or local region electric code.
  • Verify that the wire gauge is not to small to carry the required 20 amp load for long distance input power wire runs, the distance from the outlet to the facility power distribution panel:
    • If YES, advise customer to have their facility wiring upgraded per Precor specifications.
    • If NO, continue Troubleshooting.
  • Verify that the input line voltage is not below the minimum required voltage level. For 120 VACvoltage in an alternating current circuit (U.S.) installations; the minimum acceptable line voltage is 108 Vac. For 240 VAC installations (international), the minimum acceptable line voltage is 200 Vac. Measure the treadmill input voltage with the circuit breaker switched "ON" and the running belt stopped. Record the voltage. Then measure the voltage again using the instantaneous voltage drop using the min/max function on your volt meter while someone is running on the treadmill at 7.0 MPH or higher:
    • If any measurement is below 108 Vac (US -120 Vac) or 200 VAC (International - 240Vac), advise the customer to have the facility wiring inspected by an electrician.
    • If the measurements are at or above 108 Vac (US) or 200 Vac (International), continue troubleshooting.
  • Does the treadmill ON/OFF circuit breaker trip immediately on power up:
    • If YES, it is likely that there is a shorted electrical component, inspect the input line filter and lower control module for faulty/shorted wiring.
    • If NO, continue with the following steps.
  • Does the treadmill power up normally and then the ON/OFF circuit breaker trips after the motor is started:
    • If YES, it is likely that there is a defective roller or a bad drive motor.
    • If NO, continue with the following steps.
  • Does the Drive Motor start up normally and then the ON/OFF circuit breaker trips after an exerciser walks/runs on the running belt:
    • If YES, overloading is the most frequent cause of making the treadmill shut down. Overloading most often occurs when heavy exercisers are running on a worn belt. Tne deck/belt friction issue is also worsened by poor input line voltage. Overloading is often accompanied by error codes 27, 28, or 29. Verify the running belt condition.

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See Also

System Troubleshooting Procedures

 

 

 

 

Contact Precor Customer Support (Ph 800.786.8404) with any questions.

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