Are the current out channels on an MC43 suitable for dishing out a 4-20 ma signal? It would be controlling a VFD.

I know the current out channels are typically used to control valves and used in the hundreds of milliamp range. 

We are using a MC43 and using PWM and COUT channels. What we have noticed is when a PWM HS output is shorted to ground, one of our COUT outputs goes into overload. In our case, C2:51 was shorted to ground but C2:67/C2:15 had the overload error. 

Hello,

ID-tag 4 to 7 does not exist for Molex MX123.

We use 4,5 and 7 today and have to re crimp those ID-Tags for MX123.

When do you plan to offer ID-Tags 4 to 7 for MX123?

Regards

Fredrik Forsberg  

IQAN Design refers to CAN bus on the MC4X as A, B, C etc, manual (under installation) refers to it as numbers 1, 2, 3 etc. Although its obvious to work out, its better for us if its one designation across the board to avoid confusion when cross referencing documents.

We are using a MD4-7 and x2 MC41's on some of our machines (we actually wanted to use only x1 MC42 for these jobs but we are still waiting for the parts to arrive and have deadlines to meet so we are just using what we have available to get the job done)

But last night we started testing the machine and went through all of the procedures and functionality when all of a sudden an error appeared on the display telling me that one of the MC41 controller lost comms, but the other one was still fine and giving readings... So the 1st thing we tried to resolve this was typically switching the machine off and on, but this time there was no CAN comms at all.

We went though the wiring harness and made sure that everything was correct and the wiring was all good, so we then went and replaced both these controllers with new MC41's we had in stock, we plugged it in uploaded the software and the system was happy again with the new controllers and it is still working fine at this moment... So I took the 2 faulty MC41's to my office and connected it all together to try and diagnose the issue. 

Each time I tried uploading software (using IQANDESIGN 5.01 via ethernet) it kept on warning me about the incomplete system and that only the MD4-7 will be updated.

Eventually we switched from CAN-A to CAN-B only on the MC41's. but upon each attempt to upload the software, the same "incomplete system" warning appeared. 

So I just left it for a while and a few minutes later decided to just try again uploading once more. Well it worked all of a sudden and that is also a big problem, because I didn't change anything where I could say " there, that was the problem".

This is worrying us a bit, because we have no idea why this happened in the first place and secondly these machines are going to the middle of Africa... So this sort of thing must not happen at all!

I have only been using MD4's and MD3's with XA2's in the past without any problems at all, these are our first machines using the MC4x family and this is also the 1st time that I encountered any issues like this on IQAN.

Have anyone else experienced this before?  I have no idea why it failed or why it started to work again and this is definitely not the correct answer to give the person asking this question when there are deadlines to meet.

The other thing to mention also is the LED's on the controllers which blinked bright yellow 3 times then blinked dimmed yellow 3 times while it was not communicating. which also does not correspond with these fault codes in the manual. There was no RED LED blinking at all. 

Hello,

I am working with a Parker ECU (MC43FS), and I need to test for short to ground and short to battery faults on specific pins. Could you please provide detailed instructions or best practices for performing these tests safely? Specifically, I am interested in:

1. How to safely simulate a short to ground on the pin and verify the system's response.
2. How to simulate a short to battery and what actions I should take to test the system's reaction.
3. Any recommendations for multimeter settings or test equipment to use during these tests.
4. Expected behaviors or diagnostic codes (e.g., LED blink codes or error logs) that the ECU will produce during these failure scenarios.
5. Any precautions or potential risks I should be aware of during testing.

Thank you for your assistance!

Best regards,

Sayan Biswas

We have a project that requires control of multiple cylinders, each cylinder is connected to a double acting valve, 2 separate coils, one for each cylinder movement (in/out). These outputs must be safety in our application.

Reading the instruction manual for the DOUTs on MC43FS, it states we must use only one DOUT HS and one DOUT LS per output when its being used in a safety application, so the controller can switch the valve off by either side in event of a fault. Therefore I have concluded we can only have 5 DOUT safety per MC43FS. Or in other words, 2.5 cylinder valve controls.

Can I instead use COUT, and therefore each cylinder function can be driven by a complete COUT A? For example, i can technically connect 10 cylinders, in/out, i.e. 20 valves? I would have to ensure the current does not exceed the limitations of the groups, but does having the shared COUT + affect the safety aspect of a COUT? There is a note saying all COUTs are safety, and nothing about sharing pins like there is under DOUT so I guess I can overcome my issue of limited DOUTs for safety?

I guess if there was a function other than driving a component in a direction it would not be possible, as you can only drive a COUT in either + or - direction, i.e. not both if you has different valves to energise, which could be at the same time.

Also it explicitly states no diodes on a coil connected to COUT (I guess for regulation), does this still apply if I'm using COUTs digitally, ramping from 0-100% and 100-0%? Would the collapsing digital coil cause damage to the COUT driver?

I am testing logic with a MC43 and using a PWM HS+LS output.

In the system we are using both sides of the output (+ and -) to drive two individual devices.

Both should never operate at the same time.

To simulate one of the device not operating, we unplug one of the solenoids.

With logic, this automatically causes the other side of the output to now function.

Basically, if the + side fails, it should switch to the - side and operate.

We are getting an open load error on the output with one of the solenoids unplugged and it does not allow us to operate the other solenoid on the PWM HS+LS output.

Is the output designed to shut off both sides if one side detects open load or should the other side work if one side detects open load?

As an example:

If the solenoid between C2:67 and C2:15 is unplugged, but the solenoid between C2:67 and C2:31 is plugged in and fully operational, should we be able to command it with an input signal of -100?

Is the MC4X PWM Input able to monitor frequency ranges outside of it's normal function like 1000 Hz and if so what would the effects be with the resolution of the readings from the MC4X?