PV+ 1000 No Display On Screen

Hey everyone,

Just received a call from a site where we have a SLC 5/05 connected to a PV+1000 over ethernet via a switch. THey had a power outage over the weekend, and when coming abck online they do not have anything displaying on the screen, it is completely black.

Typically, the screen saver will kick in and the AB logo will move around, but in this case nothing is coming up. The screen is completely black. The power, etc. was checked on the unit and everything seems to be OK in that sense. On the back of the unit, the COMM light is SOLID GREEN, and the FAULT light is BLIKING RED (slow blink).

Has anyone had this happen at all? From the AB Manual, it says with the LED light configuration as above, there is a problem with the OS/Firmware. However, I am not sure if this is something that is common with these units. Maybe the whole unit is pooched. Any ideas?

I have to head up to site in the next week or so, and any help would be appreciated. I plan on checking all the wiring again, and maybe resetting the unit and seeing if anything does come up.

Thanks!

Ask customer to reboot PanelView and if they don't see any text during boot sequence - you have to replace a back light or the PanelView. I'm not sure if its possible to replace the back light on this unit

smohamed said:

Hey everyone,

Just received a call from a site where we have a SLC 5/05 connected to a PV+1000 over ethernet via a switch. THey had a power outage over the weekend, and when coming abck online they do not have anything displaying on the screen, it is completely black.

Typically, the screen saver will kick in and the AB logo will move around, but in this case nothing is coming up. The screen is completely black. The power, etc. was checked on the unit and everything seems to be OK in that sense. On the back of the unit, the COMM light is SOLID GREEN, and the FAULT light is BLIKING RED (slow blink).

Has anyone had this happen at all? From the AB Manual, it says with the LED light configuration as above, there is a problem with the OS/Firmware. However, I am not sure if this is something that is common with these units. Maybe the whole unit is pooched. Any ideas?

I have to head up to site in the next week or so, and any help would be appreciated. I plan on checking all the wiring again, and maybe resetting the unit and seeing if anything does come up.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

A couple of years ago, there was quite a few PV700+ and the occassional PV1000+ that exhibited the problem you described. For about the past two years or so, the PV+ have been very reliable, except when water drips into them from the top.

Thats the one thing I don't understand about HMI manufacturers, they make the faceplate IP65 rated, but as soon as you open a panel door, the top ventilation grill will allow anything to drip into the electronics. We have lost two PV+ on startups due to this.

Update:

So I ended up going to site to take a look at this PV+1000 unit. 120VAC power was OK, and all the connections outside the unit were secure. I reset the unit with power on, twice with no luck. I ended up giving AB a call to find out. The resolution of this was that there was a problem with the Backlight, or the Bezel.

Fast forward to two weeks later (today). I get a call from site, that their PV+ is working! To my amazement I ask when and how it started. They noticed that the PV+ was going through its boot sequence, and then reset it and the HMI screen popped up! I couldn't believe it. Now my question is, what is the real problem? It is obviously not the display or backlight as they are able to use it now. All the configuration stayed the same.

Possible problems:
1. Internal connection between the PV+ Bezel and Logic Unit?
2. Firmware/OS problem inside the PV?
3. It seems that the RESET while power on doesn't actually clear the config. How would one clear the config then?

I'm not sure of all the intricacies and would appreciate some advice. I know it is working, but I am very curious to find the problem in cause it is an ongoing one.

Don't be too certain on the backlight not being the problem. I had a laptop that sometimes would be fine and then after a reboot the backlight would fail. To begin with I could solve it by rebooting a few times but after that I had to strip the screen down and disconnect/reconnect the backlight inverter to get it work again. You can usually tell if it is the backlight as there will be a very faint image on screen, another way to tell is to shine a bright light on the back of the screen, if you can see an image then you know that it is the backlight or inverter.

Bryan

I had checked the backlight while on site, and didn't see any type of faint screen. However, I do have to go back, so I can always check the level of brightness on the screen to see if it has changed from before that could maybe lend this issue to be a backlight.

Thanks for your reply!

Well, I know on a laptop LCD, when the backlight fails you can still see the graphic if you look closely with a flashlight.

Typically, it's the inverter that fails. Supposedly, you can hear a buzz sound from the inverter when it fails.

I have had two of the PV1000s fail like that, when I called the help line they didn't seem surprised and shipped me out new logic modules. I suspect there was a fault they should have issued a recall notice on.
Regards
Roy

Really? I wish I had the tech that you talked to!

I may have to give them a second call now that it has come back online and see what they can do.

smohamed said:

Really? I wish I had the tech that you talked to!

Click to expand...

Yes, I must have struck it lucky, I refuse to pay for a service contract (don't have much hardware) so just call the rep who supplied the AB equipment, they can't answer so allways patch me through to service. We have purchased 3 of the HMIs, all failed but the replacements seem OK so I'm convinced it was a design fault.
Regards
Roy

the water dried...

LOL