Measurement eye not on at start of wash

[chance_mcneil]

I keep getting an error on one of my automatics (water wizard 2.0) that says measurement eye not on at start of wash. When you cycle a wash it immediately says back up on the scrolling message board on the gantry, as if the measurement eye is seeing a car. I have replaced both the transmitter eye and the receiver eye. neither one fixed it, so i then replaced the cable on the transmitter eye. again nothing. i didnt have another cable so i rewired one from one of the profiling eyes and used it for the receiver measurement eye. again nothing. The red lion still says that the measurement eyes status is off. but i have power at the eyes and its showing its signal strength is a 4! Any ideas im at a wall with ideas here.....

 

[Tom Thumb]

Make sure the receiver is getting the signal from transmiter, if they are not in -line they will not work. You really need a eye tester ampifier to plug to give you the correct alignment.

Hope this helps.

 

[chance_mcneil]

Make sure the receiver is getting the signal from transmiter, if they are not in -line they will not work. You really need a eye tester ampifier to plug to give you the correct alignment.

Hope this helps.

Thanks Tom but my signal strength is reading a 4. which is the highest on my banner eyes. so they appear to be aligned properly. I am using the Banner eyes for the transmitter and receiver. part numbers QS30ARXQP-74010 and QS30ARXQP-74009. What tester amplifier would work with this setup. According to my ID 16 2008 in the gantry it says the eyes are on, but according to the red lion on the water wizard panel it says current status is off

 

[Reds]

Is your problem between the gantry and the Control Panel? Make sure all the connections on the terminals strip in the gantry are tight.

 

[Reds]

I meant the control panel in the equipment room.

 

[chance_mcneil]

there is no designated wire for each function between the gantry and the red lion. The gantry communicates to the computer with a comm cable that reads everything then it relays to the red lion for a readout. the problem seems to have fixed itself. i ran a jumper wire from dc- to the ID 16 2008 #0 and cycled it multiple time to make sure my output was working properly, it was. Then i did the same thing with the eyes themselves connecting and disconnecting the wire also.....Hmm works fine now.... ill see how long this lasts but im hoping it was just a loose wire on output #0 in the gantry......

 

[Greg Pack]

To check input state I just check the little light on the input card to see if the receiver eye is getting the signal back to the input card.

When testing eyes, if you have a signal strength indication, but no signal back to the card, I would replace the receiver first (just because you can do it in a couple of minutes). If there is still no signal then you need to check the receiver cable, which is usually the culprit. Finally I would suspect the input card. I would only fool with the transmitter side of things if the receiver eye indicated no signal being received.

Reds-There is no tester available 2.0. the eyes have a built in signal strength indicator. They really are a nice upgrade from the first gen wizards. They are pretty reliable and you can change one out with no tools in less than five minutes.

 

[Greg Pack]

Also, look at connections at ice cube relay. It is used to cycle power to the eyes at the start of the wash to test them.

 

[cleaning up mud]

the eyes have a built in delay time, so when they dont test off at start of wash, its a slow receiver, you might need to change it.

 

[chance_mcneil]

the eyes have a built in delay time, so when they dont test off at start of wash, its a slow receiver, you might need to change it.

WELL MY PROBLEM APPEARED AGAIN TODAY.....

I have already replaced the receiver and the transmitter. This is the first i have ever heard of a built in delay for the eyes? As i understand it there is a just a relay in the water wizard panel that cycles the power to all eyes at start of wash just to make sure they come back on and its to check functionality of all the eyes.

 

[Greg Pack]

If i understand correctly you have replaced the transmitter, receiver, and their cables.

I assume you have checked ALL related connections, including on the input card and relay.

Time to punt.....I would back up and recheck/retighten all input connections and pretty much all electrical connections in the service door on the gantry. I would check alarm history to see if anything else is going on on the 24Dc side, which is basically the inputs of eyes and proxes. If another eye or prox is trying to short out it could cause a low voltage situation, which can cause problems such as alarms about eyes not reading properly. But it usually shows up as different alarms, not the same one time and again. I'd finally have to say take a hard look at the input card. It is rare but they do indeed go bad.

 

[robtl]

Could there be something in the gantry that drops in front of the eyes every now and then that could be the problem, loose hose, wire, end of uncut off zip-tie, loose mounting bracket,,,,,,,,?
Just a thought

 

[chance_mcneil]

To check input state I just check the little light on the input card to see if the receiver eye is getting the signal back to the input card.

When testing eyes, if you have a signal strength indication, but no signal back to the card, I would replace the receiver first (just because you can do it in a couple of minutes). If there is still no signal then you need to check the receiver cable, which is usually the culprit. Finally I would suspect the input card. I would only fool with the transmitter side of things if the receiver eye indicated no signal being received.

Reds-There is no tester available 2.0. the eyes have a built in signal strength indicator. They really are a nice upgrade from the first gen wizards. They are pretty reliable and you can change one out with no tools in less than five minutes.

See thats the problem.... my input card is showing that its receiving the signal. just not the red lion.... im still searching for loose or shorted wires....now today its acting differently the was will be ran and about the time the car gets through the undercarriage wash is when the signal is lost from the eye to the red lion....again my input card is getting the signal but not the red lion.....

 

[chance_mcneil]

Ok well now what is happening is this. i can cycle a wash with the buttons on the water wizard panel in mechanical room and while i do this i watch the inputs statuses on the red lion. the eyes all power off and come on except the measurement eye is not coming back on. it cycles off but does not come back on... suggestions? doesnt the relay just cycle power to the whole input card as one? not each eye individually?

 

[Tom Thumb]

Don't know if you have checked this, but I have had several unsual problems and they have lead to bad ground connection in the gantry ele. box.

 

[chance_mcneil]

Any more suggestions guys? this problem is still not fixed yet. my bay has been shut down for 4 days now....expensive weekend to be down... when a wash is cycled now the test relay powers all eyes off and back on but the measurement eye never comes back on according to the red lion. is the test relay in the gantry or in the water wizard panel with the red lion? i am uneducated about the relay but know that its purpose is supposed to cycle power off and back on at start of wash to test they are in working order. it seems like it takes about 20-30 min for my eye to come back on as far as the red lion is concerned. understand that at the input card in the gantry it says its functioning fine. its lit up and has 24 vdc. so the eyes are getting the signal to the card but the card isnt getting it to the red lion. is the relay in series before or after the card? if its after then possibly sticky relay? if not possible bad card? please help this is getting expensive i had a slow october and november and now on my busiest weekend for god knows how long its broke down

 

[chance_mcneil]

PROBLEM IS FINALLY FIXED!! it ended up being a bad card. finally received the one i ordered and wah lah its fixed! thanks for all the input guys.

 

[Greg Pack]

Forgot to check this thread, but glad you got it figured out!

 

[cleaning up mud]

WELL MY PROBLEM APPEARED AGAIN TODAY.....

I have already replaced the receiver and the transmitter. This is the first i have ever heard of a built in delay for the eyes? As i understand it there is a just a relay in the water wizard panel that cycles the power to all eyes at start of wash just to make sure they come back on and its to check functionality of all the eyes.

Call Al at JC, ext 305 or 6. He's the best!

 

[cleaning up mud]

PROBLEM IS FINALLY FIXED!! it ended up being a bad card. finally received the one i ordered and wah lah its fixed! thanks for all the input guys.

Send your old card to Radwell International, Inc., they will repair and you can have it as a spare, if you have not already. They also have some omron cards in stock.