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Answered

MDL stored parameters reseting to default intermittently

Ethan Zeman 9 years ago in Master modules updated by Gustav Widén (System support) 9 years ago 1
I work in product support for a heavy equipment manufacturer that uses the IQAN system.

A customer contacted me to report that intermittently (3 times over the past 8 months) the stored parameters in their MDL2 reset to factory default. The machine had been operating for two year without incident before this began occurring,

When this happens, the site maintenance personnel then have to run calibrations, and enable various functions that have reset to default to match the program back up with their particular machine configuration. After adjusting everything the machine will run as normal for several months until it happens again.

Are there external factors that could cause this behavior or could this be an indication of an internal failure?
GOOD, I'M SATISFIED
Satisfaction mark by Ethan Zeman 9 years ago
Answered
Was the loss of the settings something that occurred without having any diagnostic tool (IQANrun or IQANdesign) connected?
Normally settings are kept when making SW updates, but it is possible to override this and clear settings when sending files to the MDL2.
Another possibility is ff the settings are stored in channel types that have a resetting function, like MEM, ECNT and TMR, then application logic could be resetting them.
But application logic would not be able to reset settings for channels like VIN, FP or COUT.

It seems from your description as if all the settings were lost?

Since version 3.00, all settings on MDL2 are individually checksum protected, and in case of a fault they being detected, they will fall back to using the application defaults. I have never seen this occur, but if it was to happen, then there should be records of this in the system log. Also, this would only affect one channel.

It could be an indication of a hardware fault. It the problem was to occur again, I would recommend sending the MDL2 back to our plant in Morton for investigation.

A general advice on handling settings would be to take a backup clone or settings file of the machine after calibrating. That could be a time saver if you need to replace the master module.