C990 does not power on.

edited February 2018 in Treadmill Problems
I have a treadmill (Nordictrack C990) less than 14 months old and when I went to use it, it wouldn’t power on.

I performed all the “troubleshooting” steps available on the Nordictrack website and still cannot power it on or point to an obvious cause so I can order the parts.

What I can say so far:
- Turning the power switch from off to on(reset), nothing appears to happen. If left on for a while and turned off the speakers in the console make a small pop sound.
- The android based tablet/display/controls do not start up.
- None of the console controls such as speed, incline, or fan do anything.
- The LED on the control board lights up with no signs of a code. None of the other components in the base seem to be activated, but they could just be waiting for a signal.
- The wiring harness leading to the console is intact with no damage or pinching. There is voltage flowing to the console connector.
- Inspecting the inside the console reveals that there is power being supplied to the display area, as a green/yellow LED can be seen through the backside of the venting for the display.
- There is a small circuit board In the top corner that has a red LED blinking in a repeatable pattern of four blinks then a pause. Nordictrack customer service is unwilling to assist in telling me what this is.

I have my own thoughts, but would like to hear from others what might be needed to be serviced.

Comments

  • You have the safety key in place?
  • edited February 2018
    yes. I wonder why this is always suggested, as having the key sitting in one of the cupholders never stopped it from turning on, just stopped it from actually running.

    Typically if I were to leave the safety key detached, the machine would power up, and the main display would've to go through its Android start up routine, and then once the display had started, it would begin a count down to enter a sleep/standby state. Once you add the key the screen would turn back on. None of this is happening, the machine acts as if there is no power despite the lit up LEDs under the panels.
  • You do have 8 to 12 vdc on the red & black wires in the harness going up to the console?
  • You do have 8 to 12 vdc on the red & black wires in the harness going up to the console?
    After testing it again I can confirm that is the voltage.
  • Sounds like a console is bad.
  • Did you ever find a solution for this?

    I have a C990 with the EXACT same symptoms. Won't turn on; LEDs light up; repeated 4 blinks from the red LED on that little PCB on the corner of the top console.
  • Yes we think the console is bad on the one Robert asked about - did you check your voltage from your harness to your console?
  • edited October 2020
    Yes. It was reading 13 volts (not under load).

    I was also thinking that the console is bad. Are there any tips in troubleshooting it? It looks like a full console replacement would cost almost as much as the treadmill itself.
  • What is your complete model number?
  • C990 Model No. NTL19815.0
  • to double-check the first steps we did not discuss - did you make sure outlet has power - make sure plug is secure - make sure safety key is in place - make sure all wires are securely plugged in?

    you have already checked for voltage - if you have voltage - it's a bad console, and if you do not, it is a bad controller

  • Yes I did all the obvious things - many times.

    I guess I'm just going to junk it (unless you have any further suggestions). A new console will cost too much compared to a brand new treadmill.

    Thanks for your help.
  • New treadmills are expensive!

    The great news is that with the holidays coming up you will be able to find a good deal!

    Best of luck!
  • I'm posting my fix here in case it might be helpful to some of the googlers who may end up on this page.

    I had a similar issue with my C990 3.0CHP model NTL19815.5 with a lower control board MC1648DLS. Mine has a different model number and some different symptoms.

    Long story short: I unplugged the fan from the upper control board inside the console and the console can power up again, and everything went back to normal.

    My C990 came to a sudden stop when in use. I bought it in 2019 but didn't use it much since then (like most ppl I guess : ). I guess the overall use time is at most 40-50 hours.

    The symptoms include no console startup, pulsating fan moves (more later), flashing red and green LED on the lower control board, and no 12V between black and red wires connecting the lower board to the upper board. The voltage was pulsing with a max of 1.5V.

    When the upper board is unplugged from the lower board, the red and green LEDs stopped flashing (and the 12V might be normal too but I didn't measure it ). This leads me to believe that the upper board might have shorted the lower board's 12V. And out of luck, I unplugged the fan from the upper board. The fan in my console was physically stuck between two green ground wires and was never able to spin from day one.. So I started to remove it first. This magically made the red/green LEDs stop flashing and my theory is that the fan went faulty and somehow shorted the 12V on my upper board.
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