Terminator 8 channel losing 7 channels

Well moving it to slot 0 did not work.
Same result when I went to check.

Now you guys got me believing it is a programming problem also, nothing else makes any since, I am looking now to see.
But since the outputs are forced that makes no since either.

I walked through the portion of the program that controls these analog outputs and all 8 are the same, output destinations are only on 2 rungs of each ladder for all 8 plate freezers. (each plate has its own ladder and each ladder has 2 rungs that control the analog output to the motorized valves)
One rung outputs a Move to its corresponding liquid feed if suction pressure is higher than set point and the other rung outputs a MOVE to the same liquid feed if suction pressure is lower than set point.
I can find no other reference to the liquid feed destinations.
All 8 lads are written exactly the same, yet the first output on the card works and the rest die??????
Hmm...something smells fishy. (Actually everything smells fishy here but there is still something screwy going on with this AOM.)

I see no configuration for each channel of the card only a way to configure the card as a whole and that all looks good.

Well here is my latest and final theory on this crazy AOM.
Is it possible that the external power supply is going intermittent for an instantaneous second and the module channels all go to 0v output when this happens? I do not see where you can configure this anywhere but I know you can do it with AB AOM's. (Still does not explain why channel 0 always works but the rest die.....but its a theory non the less)

I figured out that when the 7 channels all go dead, if you change the analog value that a "dead channel is receiving then it wakes up again and will function for a bit, then die again.
I don't see anywhere in the program that would move a 0 to this location so an intermittent power supply and the card configured to go to 0 on power loss is all I can come up with that makes any sense.

I just installed a power supply for only this AOM and forced the value to each channel.
Its late and I have to be back on shift in 5 hours so going to call it a night and check to see if its still holding in the morning and see if I can find out more specifics on this card.
AD tech support will be open tomorrow so hopefully I can get some answers from them if this theory does not pan out.

I haven't worked with the hardware you have there, but if there's something that experience has taught me is that whenever a PLC is behaving weird, 9 out of 10 times the Power Supply is the issue.

I remember having one issue in particular with a very old GE PLC where the comms would die all of a sudden, then only coming back up after a reset. Several comms cards and CPU's were exchanged and the problem would come back every now and then.

Luckily, one night we had onboard pretty much all generations of Chief Electricians from that ship (promoted to superintendents, etc...) and we started comparing notes to what has been replaced (dating as far as 15 years back) and guess what?? The power supply was still the original. Changed the PSU, did a full reset and the system kept going for the remainder of the ship's life without issues. (another year or so)

Is checking the power supply stability possible with that hardware?

AD has a tech support person on their forums. You might try over there. Or better yet just call tech support when they open this morning.

Put a resistor in series with the power supply, wire a N.C. switch in parallel with it and introduce your own "glitches" to the module.

But I'm leaning towards a programming issue as well. We had some DeviceNet modules that would go flaky from time-to-time. It turned out that the programmer overstepped his "bounds" when he created his structure for the module preceding this one, and every so often a bit would get written to the module that would shut down the module.

I would guess that it is your Terminator base power supply. You have a power budget of 2000ma for the 5 VDC buss. If you overload this (or if the power supply is getting weak) you can have these sorts of problems. Also MAKE SURE that you have the latest firmware in the Do-more processor that is controlling this. There were some firmware bugs relating to the Terminator analog back in the earlier releases.
here is a link to the power budget info: https://cdn.automationdirect.com/static/specs/tiopower.pdf

Does this have a T1H-DM1E in the rack? or is it remote?

An insightful link from the developers site:
http://forum.hosteng.com/index.php/topic,1887.0.html

Don't forget to try AD Tech Support. They are usually very helpful. Email or call.

As another 'out there' idea, have you considered (if it's possible) swapping out the processor?

Doug-P said:

As another 'out there' idea, have you considered (if it's possible) swapping out the processor?

Click to expand...

My counterpart did this before I got here.
He worked on it for quite a while before I showed up.
We don't get much time for crossover, I get off a plane and then he gets on one a few hours later.
But he did change both the Do-More and the Terminator Controller before I got here.

jawolthuis said:

I would guess that it is your Terminator base power supply. You have a power budget of 2000ma for the 5 VDC buss. If you overload this (or if the power supply is getting weak) you can have these sorts of problems. Also MAKE SURE that you have the latest firmware in the Do-more processor that is controlling this. There were some firmware bugs relating to the Terminator analog back in the earlier releases.
here is a link to the power budget info: https://cdn.automationdirect.com/static/specs/tiopower.pdf

Does this have a T1H-DM1E in the rack? or is it remote?

An insightful link from the developers site:
http://forum.hosteng.com/index.php/topic,1887.0.html

Click to expand...

My counterpart changed the Terminator power supply before I got here.
Also this module is externally powered and has worked fine in the present configuration for over 2 years.

Thanks for the links, I will check them out after coffee. (Just getting moving again, need to go down and see if changing the power supply worked or not)

Well Isolating the AOM to its own power supply did not do the trick either.
Still doing the same thing.
Will see if AD tech support has anything to add.

what is your load resistance manual says min 4K. I know you said you tried it with no load btu am grasping at straws at this point.

labeledas said:

what is your load resistance manual says min 4K. I know you said you tried it with no load btu am grasping at straws at this point.

Click to expand...

Yes its 4k,
We have tried it with no load connections and get same result.
We have tried it with resistors across the terminals and get same result.
I have spent the morning on the phone with AD Tech Support and we upgraded the firmware, went through all the configurations, retried most everything I have been trying already and still get the same result.
Tech Support came up with the same conclusion I did...... "Something is not right".

They are handing it off to the factory and will get back to me when they hear something further.

We just left the dock and will be fishing within 12 hours so I have locked the motorized valves in the 20% position and pulled the fuses. We are going to to run the plant in a semi-automatic state so we can keep this monster moving toward the finish line.

I will say this for Automation Direct, their tech support is very good.
You call the number give your company name and 30 seconds later you are talking to a real person that knows whats going on....*For Free*.... Man if that ain't refreshing. They definitely get an A+ for customer service in my book.
I am sure I will warm up to their products and software also as I use them more and get a better feel for them.

Thanks for all the input guys, I really appreciate it.

BCS

Can you keep us posted if they ever solve the mystery