IO Problems with ArmorStart VFD

[SirCharmington]

Hello, I'm trying to commission several Allen Bradley ArmorStart VFDs. The part number I'm working with is
284ES-FVD2P3S-10-RRG-SBG-DB1-EMI-00

These drives have 4 built-in discrete inputs for sensors etc. Using a brand-new drive, when I connect a sensor to one of the inputs, I can see the indication light turning on and off. This tells me that the sensor and cable are working, and the input is working electrically.

Next, I connect the drive to my PC over ethernet and use BootP to set the IP address. I power cycle the drive (control power and main power), and the input still seems to be working.

Next, I connect the drive to my PLC over ethernet, and the input is still working. However, once I power cycle the drive with the PLC connected, the input stops working. The sensor is still powered but the light next to the input on the drive doesn't turn on anymore. I also can't see the input in the PLC.

My theory is that the PLC is somehow loading some configuration into the drive. Then when the drive is reset (power cycle) some configuration is changed which disables the input.

I checked for a firmware mismatch but that doesn't seem to be the problem. I also performed a factory reset of the drive by setting the switches to 888, power cycle, 999, power cycle, and repeat all the steps above. Same problem.
I am able to see live data from the drive on the "Module Info" and "Status" pages of the Add-On-Profile.

Any suggestions for next steps?

 

[DarrylR]

Maybe check the user I/O parameter 32. This allows you to set the digital inputs as either sink or source. Sink is default.

 

[mylespetro]

I haven't worked with ArmorStart VFDs, but on PowerFlex drives there's an option for Automatic Device Configuration (ADC). Could that possibly be set up on these drives? It does essentially what you're describing, on a powerup (I believe) of the drive, when the PLC sees the IP address, it sends the configuration to the drive.

 

[SirCharmington]

We have been looking into Sink/Source. I did try it the other day but not very thoroughly. Will try that again today.

@mylespetro, I'm not aware of that feature specifically. How do you turn it on/off on the PowerFlex drives?

 

[mylespetro]

We have been looking into Sink/Source. I did try it the other day but not very thoroughly. Will try that again today.

@mylespetro, I'm not aware of that feature specifically. How do you turn it on/off on the PowerFlex drives?

If I recall correctly, I believe that it's set in the PLC. You would go to the drive in the controller I/O tree and look at the configuration there, if you're using an AB PLC anyways.

 

[SirCharmington]

Update: It was the Sink/Source setting. The Inputs are working now. Thanks for the help yall.