Ge Fanuc 90-30, noob :) Cheter cable, faults clearing...

[mijatovic]

Hello to all,
I am relatively new to the PLCs, but learning fast I hope
It is my unfortunate case, that 1st PLC that i really have to deal with is Ge Fanuc 90-30 (mounted in 1997). Would be better if it was some newer AB, Simens or even Omron.
Anyway, it runs some machine in chocolate factory.
It was running ok, but the factory was out of electricity for 3-4 days, and when it went online machine was not working.

GE 90-30, CPU 331 (still don't know what firmware it is, didn't tell me )
Led Power and OK are ON, led RUN is off.
Reading this forum (witch is probably the best GE Fanuc support site), and googling for 3 days I came to a conclusion that most likely it is not some big malfunction, and it just needs to be clear of faults, correct me if I am wrong
I have to go to the factory and do that, but am not sure if i got it all alright
I will try to make this as questions, but and some answers, like a tutorial, so others will have "dummies" solution

Since it is and old 90-30 i will probably have to use Logicmaster 90? Version 9.05 ? Do I have to apply both patches Special 1 and 2 to make it work in Windows Xp SP3? One goes in to system32 folder of windows, and the other is p30s folder of LM90.
I will have to make Cheter Cable. Will it work on some new laptop with usb to rs232 converter, or will i have to get some older pc with rs232?

Would the process go like this?

-Start LM90
-Press shift+F3 to select 90-30 series
-Press F1 to enter Programmer Package (or F2 for config ?)

-Select folder (or create).

Luckly i have original software for the machine, so when i asks me to select or create, i do select its folder.
If i didnt have that program would it be still able to work by creating some folder and then proceeding to the fault menu ?

-Press F7 to go to Programmer Mode and Setup

-Press F4 to select COM port, then enter, then ESC to exit menu

-Press F2 and set Programmer mode

-Enter ONLINE <enter>(it goes online,if connection is right?), then ESC, then ESC

-Press F3 to go to PLC Control and Status
-Press F3 to enter PLC FAULT table

-Press F9 then confirm with <Y> to CLEAR PLC faults, then ESC
-Press F4 then confirm with <Y> to CLEAR I/O faults, then ESC

Would that be all ?
Thank you in advance for answers, and i hope this tread will help someone else too.

Regards

 

[Steve Bailey]

You have done an excellent job researching what you will need to do. I agree that some fault has occurred that has caused the PLC to stop running its program. Since you didn't mention the "BATT" LED, I'll assume it is off, which is good. The BATT LED turns on when the battery is low. If it is on and AC power has been off, then there is no program or configuration in the PLC.

-Press F1 to enter Programmer Package (or F2 for config ?)

Either one will give you access to the fault tables.

If i didnt have that program would it be still able to work by creating some folder and then proceeding to the fault menu ?

Yes, you would still have access to the fault tables.

-Press F4 to select COM port, then enter

This action selects which COM port Logicmaster will use to communicate with the PLC. Instead of ENTER, you will need to either type in a COM port or use the TAB key to scroll through the options, then hit F6 (setup) to select that port. If you are using a USB/serial converter, you will need to make sure your selection matches the COM port used by the converter. Logicmaster only allows COM1 - COM4, so the converter will have to use one of those.

Would that be all ?

After you have cleared the faults, you will need to restart the PLC using the F1 key on that same page.

Once you have established communications, the software will display the name of the program in the PLC. If the name is "HHP", you will know the memory has been cleared due to the power being off. If so you will need to download both the program and the configuration to the PLC.

 

[mijatovic]

You mean i have to goto Run/STOP PLC menu ?

And there select STOP NO IO or STOP/IOSCAN ?
Is that equivalent to restarting ?

Battery led wasnt on, i asked for that too. So i hope program is still alive, just faults problem.
If i need to upload program to PLC, i go to F9 utility and
-F2 Store program from programmer to PLC.

I suppose i can create a blank new folder, and do F1 1st, Load from PLC to programer, just in case ?

 

[Steve Bailey]

And there select STOP NO IO or STOP/IOSCAN ?
Is that equivalent to restarting ?

No, you select RUN/OUT EN. That means run the program with the outputs enabled.

If i need to upload program to PLC, i go to F9 utility and
-F2 Store program from programmer to PLC.

I try to avoid the the etrms "upload" and "download" since they may mean transfers in different directions among different PLC vendors. In this case, to transfer from the PC to the PLC, you use the F2 (store) key.

I suppose i can create a blank new folder, and do F1 1st, Load from PLC to programer, just in case ?

That's always a good idea. Just remember that in the 90-30 PLC the variable names and rung comments are not stored in the PLC's memory, so when you Load from the PLC to the PC you will only see reference addresses when you view the ladder logic.

 

[mijatovic]

Yes i did read about that, is there any way that i can save comments and names ? since the comements were added later, on different language.

 

[Steve Bailey]

The names and comments are included in the files saved by Logicmaster. They just don't get transferred to the PLC.

 

[mijatovic]

So i would have to download program from pls, and then manualy add comments ?

 

[mijatovic]

I want to thank you Steve, you advice for puting PLC in to RUN state, with OUT/EN, it helped.
Al my assumptions were right, there were about 20 PLC faults, and around 10 i/O faults, I cleared the fault tables, and all went good.
We put together a cheter cable on the spot, and triple checked before even pluging
This was my 1st PLC job for "money"... cca 100$ + box of chocolate that got out 1st
Now my goal is to improve my ladder programing, since it is not that hard, on small projects anyway.

Regards
Mijatovic