Beginner Question Fanuc Basic contact coil not functioning

[herman_swartz]

Hello,
I have Fanuc 90-30 with cpu-331 and ic693acc300c switch input test module and ic693mdl740c 12/24 output control module. Entered simple -||-----( )---- ladder program. The contact is %I00001 and the coil is %Q00001. Program compiles and loads to the PLC ok. I am using VersaPro v1.5.

Several months back I tried doing the first program as above and found out the firmware needed to be upgraded. I bought firmware upgrade and installed upgrade.

The switch contact and coil contact color is red. I thought this meant both were active (1). The output contact is switching a light bulb, or should I say it should switching the light bulb but is not.

The bulb doesn't light when the PLC is taken out of RUN state and told to make all outputs high.

I must be missing something real simple.......

Herman

 

[rsdoran]

With GE you store the program to the PLC and load it to the PC. Once a program is stored then you put it back in Run. The outputs will never physically come on if it is Stopped.

FYI, it is good to upgrade for future use but VersaPro options can be changed to allow access to old versions. Look under Tools>Options>Communications.

If you just want to see the output ON, then remove the input in front of it. This assumes you have or do not have a switch to use to test it. To see it in action actually connect something as an input.

VersaPro also has a Toggle command (F12) that can be used in monitoring mode while online to toggle a bit on/off. If you can not find the instructions for Toggle then go to Help and do a Find for toggle, in the list you will see "To toggle or override a reference".

 

[Steve Bailey]

The outputs require an external power source. For your application you could use the 24 VDC on the power supply module. It's good for up to 625 mA. The MDL740 is a sourcing output, so connect the + side of the DC supply to terminal 10. Connect the - side of the power supply to terminal 1 and to one side of the lamp. Connect the other side of the lamp to terminal 2 for the first output on the card.

Did you create a configuration file for the modules? In the absence of a user configuration the 90-30 will autoconfigure. It will assign 32 I/O points per slot. In your case, the CPU slot will be assigned addresses %I001 - %I032 and %Q001 - %Q032 even though there are no I/O modules in it. The slot to the right of the CPU would be assigned addresses %I03 - %I064 and %Q033 - %Q064, etc. Again, this assignment is in the absence of a configuration created by you. You can assign any valid I/O address to any slot as long as you don't assign the same address to more than one slot.

 

[herman_swartz]

Yes I created a config file for the modules. Doesn't seem like memory locations for the contacts and outputs are mapped to the modules correctly. Both the contacts and the outputs are red. I take that to mean they are on. The bulb is on no matter which position the switch is in.

The third slot is IC693ACC300C (16 toggle switches) and fourth slot is IC693MDL740C.

Herm

 

[Steve Bailey]

I'm assuming VersaPro is connected to the PLC, in a "Logic Equal" state and the PLC is running. Along the bottom of the VP screen you should see "Run Enabled", "Connected", a scan time in milliseconds, and "Logic Equal". You are correct that red indicates a true state when VP is connected and shows a "Logic Equal" state.

When you are monitoring the program with VersaPro can you see the input change state when you flip the switch on the ACC300 module?

If you can't see your %I0001 contact change color when you flip the switch, then either the ACC300 module is bad or it is not configured to be at %I0001 - %I0016.

Right click on the contact instruction and then click on "Toggle" to change the state of the contact. If you can't change state by toggling, try clicking on "Override" first and then toggling. If you can only change state when you have overridden the address it indicates that some module is turning it on (or off). If you can toggle it on or off at will without overriding it indicates that your configuration is not what you think it is.

Is the A1 LED on the MDL740 on? If the bulb wired to the output is on, but the A1 LED is off, you've probably miswired the output. The bulb should go off when you take the PLC out of Run mode (VP displays "Stop Disabled").

 

[herman_swartz]

Yes to questions in paragraph 1.

No, switch state does not change when switch is toggled.

How do I verify if it configured to be at %I0001 - %I0016?

The ladder contact changes state only using override.

All the lights on the MDL740 are on. ????

All the outputs have voltage on their output contact.

Looking at contact schematic on the plastic cover door it shows a plus sign on contact 1 and a minus sign on contact 10.

Herm

 

[herman_swartz]

Oh, yes, on the hardware config window there is a thick blue line on the left side of the MDL740 output module. This must mean sometning but could not find in the Help.

 

[Steve Bailey]

Why don't you make a backup of the folder and post it here. I can open it and look for any obvious problems.

To download the configuration to the PLC, the PLC must be stopped. When the PLC is stopped, you are given three options of what to download. You can download any combination of logic, configuration, and stored values.

The blue line is normal. AC modules get a red line. DC modules get a blue line.

You said earlier that the ACC300 module is in the third slot and the MDL740 is in the fourth slot. The autoconfiguration addresses for those slots would put the ACC300 module at %I0065 - %I0096 and the MDL740 at %Q0097 - %Q0128. Is the slot between the CPU and the ACC300 module blank? Try modifying your program to:

%I0065           %Q0097

--] [--------------( )-

and then see if you can see the input change state in VP.

You could also create a reference view table and include several rows of inputs in it. Each row contains 64 consecutive inputs. Watch the table while you flip the switches on the ACC300 module to see where they are addressed.

 

[herman_swartz]

By backup I assume you mean zip file and then attach it to my post?

I did stumble onto creating a reference view table. The bits that represented the %I00001 local variable contact (and a few other bits representing other contacts) contained 1's. This matchs up with the ladder diagram showing the contact is closed even though the switch was actually not closed. That is what made me think about (you mentioned in an earlier post about mapping the contacts into memory) the contact in the ladder diagram was not referencing the right memory location.

No, the slot between the power supply and the ACC300 is not blank. I can't count .

Double clicking the slot on the hardware display shows an assignment screen where the module can be mapped into different memory space. Does that mean a module can be plugged into any slot and be mapped into a segment of preassigned real address space for %I inputs?

 

[Steve Bailey]

By backup I assume you mean zip file and then attach it to my post?

There is VersaPro procedure to make a backup. Click on the "Folder" menu and then "Backup". It creates a file with the extension .bak

No, the slot between the power supply and the ACC300 is not blank. I can't count .

With the ACC300 module in the second slot and the MDL740 in the third slot, the inputs will autoconfigure to %I0033 - %I0064 and the outputs to %Q0065 - %Q0096.

Does that mean a module can be plugged into any slot and be mapped into a segment of preassigned real address space for %I inputs?

Yes. The only restriction is that the starting address for a slot must fall on a byte boundary (%I001, %I009, %I017, etc). If you try to assign a starting address of %I005, VP will correct it to %I001.

If the address assigned to your input module falls within the range of the reference view table, you should be able to see an address changing between 0 and 1 when you flip a switch on the ACC300 module.

 

[herman_swartz]

About which slots the modules are in, I was counting the power supply as a slot, the CPU as a slot and then each module as a slot there after. Using that basis, the ACC300 is in slot three and the MDL740 is in slot four.

Double clicking on a module in the hardware configuration shows what look to be assigned addresses. When I added each module to the hardware config I assumed it assigned a default address. Is that so?? If so, they were not the addresses you mentioned. ???

The file you requested is attached. Just rename without the .txt extension.

I will check out the other addresses as you recommend.

Thanks Steve

 

[Steve Bailey]

VersaPro will assign addresses in numerical order starting at 1. The first input module you put into a configuration file will get starting address %I0001. If it is a 16-point module, the second input module will be assigned a starting address of %I0017 and so on. Output modules will follow the same order. The autoconfigure addresses I mentioned will be assigned if you fail to download a configuration file from VP to the CPU. For the purpose of autoconfiguration, the power supply slot does not get addresses assigned, but the CPU slot does. The reason for counting the CPU slot is because the is a model (CPU311) where the CPU is simply a chip in the backplane and all five slots are available for addressable I/O modules.

I'll take a look at you folder and comment a little later.

 

[Steve Bailey]

Herman,

Have we talked before? I already have a VP folder named GEP1 that shows an ACC300 module, an MDL740, an ALG221, and an ALG391 module in a ten-slot rack.

The _MAIN block has two rungs of ladder logic just like yours.

At any rate, if you successfully downloaded that configuration to your PLC, the switches on the ACC300 module should show up at input addresses %I0001 - %I0016. The fact that they don't, suggests to me that you either did not download the configuartion, or you tried and it was unsuccessful.

 

[herman_swartz]

I moved the ACC300 Input device through a number of memory ranges while viewing RVT. Each and every time the module is moved to a different memory location all 16 bits at the new memory location show high. Toggling the switch doesn't change the value, all bits are always on.

I did a search for overrides and each time no overrides were found. So the switch values are not being overridden. Is it possible the ACC300 us bad???

 

[herman_swartz]

Yes we have. You told me the VP v1.5 would not work the firmware version. I took a long time to decide to buy the firmware upgrade. Just recently picked back up on learning more about PLCs.