Powerflex 525 Fault

fredjohns822

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Join Date
Mar 2021
Location
Pennsylvania
Posts
3
We have a powerflex 525 VFD and today got a F012 Fault on it which is HW over current. I am not really sure what a Hardware Overcurrent fault is or what do do to correct it. The drive is set correctly for the motor it is connected to. Can anyone explain to me what exactly a hardware fault is and what i can do to correct it.
Thanks
 
VFDs try to control current as much as possible, but it is done by the microprocessor seeing, calculating and reacting to it by changing the output parameter in accordance with how you programmed it to respond. But that takes time for those calculations to be made and responses to be determined.

HW over current means that the load attempted to pull more current than the drive is designed to handle, at a speed too fast for the microprocessor to react to the change. So to prevent damage to the power components, there is a set of hardware components on the PCB dedicated to this task; they do not wait for the microprocessor to act, they take action immediately. In other words the Rate of Rise in current, as well as the Amplitude, exceeded the threshold of this dedicated hardware on the PCB and shut down the transistors before they blew up. The Fault indication is just this hardware having told the microprocessor why the drive is shut down. There is no programming or settings that you can use to affect this action, it is basically a "safety valve" in the hardware.

What caused that rapid increase in current is something you need to discover.
 
HW over current means that the load attempted to pull more current than the drive is designed to handle, at a speed too fast for the microprocessor to react to the change. So to prevent damage to the power components, there is a set of hardware components on the PCB dedicated to this task; they do not wait for the microprocessor to act, they take action immediately. In other words the Rate of Rise in current, as well as the Amplitude, exceeded the threshold of this dedicated hardware on the PCB and shut down the transistors before they blew up. The Fault indication is just this hardware having told the microprocessor why the drive is shut down. There is no programming or settings that you can use to affect this action, it is basically a "safety valve" in the hardware.

This is correct, especially with powerflex drives. From my experience they are pretty good about not letting themselves destroy the transistors.
A few good checks for you:

-If it tripped immediately measure the resistance of the motor windings and compare them to the motor specs, for smaller motors the winding resistance will be higher (~30 Ohms). Also check the resistance to ground as well, this reading should be OL or at least in the 100K+ ohms range.
-remove the motor from any load (gearbox, pulley, etc) and run an autotune cycle, this will allow your motor to set its own safe running parameters. on a 525 I think its P040 and you should set it to 2 to start the autotune.
-Make sure the brake (if you have one) is functioning properly and not too tight
 

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