Host Engineering Forum
General Category => ECOMs and ECOM100s => Topic started by: BrianF on March 11, 2008, 02:03:41 PM
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I'm having an odd problem with my H0-ECOM100. It's been working for probably a couple years now flawlessly. I typically use it to program DL06's out in the shop using a wireless bridge. Firing up DirectSoft 5 would show the module, but wouldn't communicate with the PLC. I brought it into the office area and hooked it up via an ethernet cable directly. Again it shows up in the module listing, but the CPU shows up as ??????.
I fired up NetEdit 3 and it shows up fine in there as well, but when I try to update the firmware, it goes for a long period of time and eventually pops up a box that says "Error rebooting Module!"
The CPU test fails as well, as I expected it would. I've tried it now on 3 DL06's. One brand new one and 2 old ones (at least a year old). Doesn't work on any of them. All the lights are lit except for the ERR light.
Also, and I don't know if this means anything since I never checked before this, but the expansion slots show as empty if I connect the DL06 LCD screen and check the I/O info.
Where do I start in diagnosing this issue?
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I'm new to this, and had this same exact problem yesterday :-\ but with a H4-ECOM100 - when checking the I/O the module which was in slot 0 did appear but the description had ABLN attached to the end. I paid it no attention but later found out that the ABLN stands for "Abnormal" - The problem turned out to be a bent pin -
The error message I was receiving did say check for a bent pin -
But I thought this meant on the ECOM100 itself which I checked several times ??? and they were in perfect shape ;)
I called Tec support and again they said check for a bent pin ::) on all modules not just the module that has a problem - :o
so I removed all modules everything was perfect ;)
and by chance decided to remove the processor and check it
and there it was on the :o processor its self :o
So I'm not familiar with the model you have but a - bent pin was mine
Hope this helps someone ;D
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BrianF, if nothing but ???? shows up for the CPU, this means the H0-ECOM100 cannot properly communicate across the backplane of the DL06. As Wattman discovered, in the DL405 world, this often means bent pins. However, in the DL06 it is not, of course, likely you have bent pins, but the H0-ECOM100 backplane connector could be bad. As I'm sure you know, plugging these little guys in the DL06 backplane is not that easy to do because there are not really alignment slots to help you out. So, check the connector. Of course, if it is bad we do repair: http://www.hosteng.com/Out_Of_Warranty_Repair.htm.
Hope this helps!
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Greg,
Is there a way to troubleshoot if it's simply a connector issue? Maybe the tension "pins" are oxidized?
Since this module gets popped in and out for each new machine, I guess it's possible the connector failed... but since it's out of warranty anyways, is there something obvious I can look at to possibly repair it? The "pins" all look perfectly fine. I could potentially point-to-point check the connector, but it looks like a multi-layered PCB board, with no access to the reverse pins.
Since when I get it back, I'll have to yank it in and out for future use, are newer ones using the same connector? Just curious if I'd be better off buying a new one, and sending this in for repair as a backup.
I imagine the unit is designed to be put in place and left alone, so no thought was really given to the use I'm putting it through... If that's the case, then I'll likely send it in for repair... But I'd hate to get a refurb back and have it fail shortly afterwards. THis one at least lasted a couple years I think.
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If you have an inspector's microscope you could check the connector's pins and solder joints because these are usually what break during a misalignment. :-\ Of course, if the connector pins under the microscope look bent or flatened, then you'll need a new H0-ECOM100. If, however, the solder looks broken (and the etches are not pulled up), I suppose, if you are good with a soldering iron, you could reflow the solder joints. But this takes a bit of know-how and skill, as soldering itty-bitty parts by hand under a microscope doesn't come easy from most, and too much heat applied can be damaging. :o
If you have to send it in for repair, we would send you a refurbished part before you send us your old one. That way, you can see if the one we send you works in your particular application before sending yours back. This way there is no down time for you waiting for repair.
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I had this error, this morning, when trying to upgrade a DL06/H0-ECOM100 from firmware 4.0.173 to 4.0.224, using NetEdit3 v3.7b
Was connected directly via an ethernet patch cable - no other networking involved. (using a 1Gb interface on the laptop, so auto-MDIX, and no crossover cable needed)
Kept getting error message when using TCP as protocol. Then changed protocol to IPX and everything was fine - firmware update completed OK.
Karl.