Re: [foxboro] FBM04 lockup

  • From: "tjvandew@xxxxxxxxx" <tjvandew@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: foxboro@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2008 07:51:50 -1000

Corey,
    Incredible timing on your report of this.  In my new life in Hawaii 
we just completed a Bailey to Foxboro migration as a cold cutover of 
about 2400 I/O points.  We had the symptoms you describe occur on 4 out 
of 41 BASIO3 cards that are a Bailey to Foxboro multiple input type of 
card that can handle 16 thermocouple, RTD, or multiple VDC input 
ranges.  We discovered the first 3 problems before we started up but 
later found another after we were on the way up.  It was very alarming 
and the managers were also very concerned as anyone would expect.  
Foxboro was on site and immediate troubleshooting of the problem began.  
They reproduced the problem by lowering the +15VDC voltage to the I/O 
card back in Foxmass and we did the same thing on site.  By configuring 
an AIN block to the cold reference point built into the card and 
connecting that point as a cross-reference junction to all of the points 
on the card, we were able to get all the points to show bad.  Another 
symptom of this problem was that all points Raw Count value goes to zero 
even as the readings for all points went to an on scale value of 438.5 
DEGF out of a 0-1500 DEGF scale.  Foxboro is testing a new EEPROM that 
we will deploy ASAP.  We did have a low voltage problem with the Bailey 
+15VDC supply voltage which we corrected and we haven't seen the problem 
since.  Once the problem ever occurs, the frozen values can only be 
recovered by removing the card and then re-inserting it.  We tried doing 
a download from System Manager and that didn't work.  The Bailey to 
Foxboro card currently has the same EEPROM rev you mention.  We 
absolutely need positive identification when a card quits functioning.  
The frozen point values are insidious.  It is very disturbing that it 
has happened on a control point card.  I initially thought this might 
have been related to fieldbus communication errors caused by an 
overloaded fieldbus due to too many FBM's.  Are experience here 
indicates otherwise.  This is all I have right now but I would like to 
know if other users have EVER seen anything like this and wrote it off 
because it never recurred.
Tom VandeWater
Control Conversions Inc.


Corey R Clingo wrote:
> We had something strange happen the other day, and I post it here just to 
> see if anyone else has seen it.
>
> Apparently the inputs on an FBM04 all froze.  We got no system or bad I/O 
> alarms (I went back through the sysmon messages and checked, and nothong 
> in the chain to the FBM was inhibited in System Management).  Failsafe 
> configuration is at its defaults, which is to hold last value, but we 
> still should have seen something in sysmon if the card failed.  Lights on 
> the card were green.
>
>
> This condition remained for close to two weeks (yeah, don't get me started 
> on what else that means) until it was finally noticed in the face of 
> changing plant conditions.  Our I/E tech pulled/pushed the card and it 
> came back fine.  From what I am told, the outputs were still working, but 
> I can't confirm that.
>
>
> As is typical with cosmic-ray-related phenomena like this, the plant 
> manager got worried, and wondered how many other FBMs could be frozen.  I 
> searched the CSC site and didn't find anything pertinent to what we saw -- 
> CARs, HHs, etc.  The firmware on the card is pretty recent (61.1 IIRC).  I 
> want to replace it and get an engineering eval, but that hasn't happened 
> yet (don't get me started on that, either :)
>
>
> Anyone seen anything like that before?
>
>
> Corey Clingo
> BASF Corporation
>
>
>
>  
>  
> _______________________________________________________________________
> This mailing list is neither sponsored nor endorsed by Invensys Process
> Systems (formerly The Foxboro Company). Use the info you obtain here at
> your own risks. Read http://www.thecassandraproject.org/disclaimer.html
>  
> foxboro mailing list:             //www.freelists.org/list/foxboro
> to subscribe:         mailto:foxboro-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=join
> to unsubscribe:      mailto:foxboro-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=leave
>  
>
>   
 
 
_______________________________________________________________________
This mailing list is neither sponsored nor endorsed by Invensys Process
Systems (formerly The Foxboro Company). Use the info you obtain here at
your own risks. Read http://www.thecassandraproject.org/disclaimer.html
 
foxboro mailing list:             //www.freelists.org/list/foxboro
to subscribe:         mailto:foxboro-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=join
to unsubscribe:      mailto:foxboro-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=leave
 

Other related posts: