Red Init & Done Lights on 7i92M

Hi,

I'm midway through converting a Brother TC215 to LinuxCNC control (I started a thread here: forum.linuxcnc.org/12-milling/57928-conv...er-tc215-to-linuxcnc ), and I've been learning a lot / things have been going well, but I've gotten to the point where I wanted to test the MESA cards in the mill and I've discovered that when I power up the MESA 7I92M board, the Init and Done lights stay red. It won't respond to ping, and doesn't show a link light via ethernet on either side of the cable.  

I saw a post from PCW ( forum.linuxcnc.org/27-driver-boards/4431...-7i96-flashing-error ) that says the Init and Done lights staying illuminated indicate corrupted flash memory. If this is the case, I'm assuming the best option is to get in touch with MESA and see about having them reflash it? Any guidance welcome. 

Also, I've got a 7I76 and a 7I77D in the mill, and now I'm concerned that if there's an issue with the 7I92M that there's a problem with those boards as well. If I power those with 5v via the appropriate terminals / jumper settings, will I be able to verify if they work via looking at the lights on the boards? 

Thanks for any help / guidance, it's really amazing to have this forum as a resource!

First, is the a 7I92M or 7I92TM? these need different firmware and recovery is
done differently.

On a 7I92M, what is expected to happen at power up is that both red LEDs will
turn on briefly and then go out. If the /INIT light never goes out (even for a fraction of a second)
at power up, its likely an issue with the 5V power so first check the 5V power.

Also on a 7I92M, if the /INIT light blinks of briefly at power up and then re-illuminates,
this  suggests corrupted firmware or some other card issue which probably requires
returning the card to Mesa for analysis/repair/replacement.

 

It is a 7I92M as per the screen printing on the board and the sticker on the back.

I did check the 5v power and it appears to be getting a very solid 5v, but I will power it independently to double check in case there is some form of low voltage immediately at power on.

Appreciate the help, I'll start the RMA process with Mesa.

Edit: Oh, and I'm assuming I should be able to configure the 7I76 / 7I77D appropriately to be powered via direct 5v and look at the lights to confirm those boards function as well? The manual is a little sparse on what the different LED patterns indicate.  

Thankfully I have a nice bench power supply from my bench flashing for ECUs / binary reversing, so stable power from 5-24v DC isn't an issue

PCW wrote:

First, is the a 7I92M or 7I92TM?
 
This is old machine, so it's probably an old board, so it's probably a 7i92M (sans "T").

Just for future reference, the age of machine will have no bearing on whether it's a T or sans T. It will depend on the period the card was bought. History will show the the Spartan 6 FPGA was hard to get at one stage, hence the switch to the Trion device.

In real life, despite what the "maker community" will tell you, a capacitor isn't the end all and be all. Also you'll really need to know the load current,ripple and frequency for determining the capacitor reqired, which will differ from application to application, just mentioning this as a PSA.
What is the best option is a quality PSU, yep a bench PSU is great for testing, a genuine Meanwell or Weidmüller (depending on where you are not as easy to get hold of and a little more $$$) supply wont let you down once installed, I only mention these as these are the ones I've been using for eons, all DIN rail mount. I usually switch the computer PSU on, then the MESA boards PSUs, then the stepper power and finally the servo driver for the spindle. To tell the truth with all the relays (self latching) and stuff the PSU wiring was way more complicated than maybe what is should have been. But each circuit controlling the mains is independently controlled.
Regarding powering the 7i77/7i776 or any other DB-25 daughter I've been powering mine(7i76/7i74/7i73/7i83)by the DB-25 connector, found it to be a simple and solid solution. The 7i73 & 7i83 are also powered by the smart serial cable via the 7i74.

Thanks for that clarification, unknown!

I’m running Meanwell PSUs so very glad to hear the vote of confidence in those. Also good to know your powering sequence, and that the DB25 powering solution is the preferred one. 

I got the chance to power the 7I77D today, and discovered that it lights CR1,3,6, and 7, but CR15/16 never light. Confirmed with both my meanwell supply and my bench supply. I’ve ordered a 7I92TM and will RMA the 7I92T I have, but this would appear to mean that the 7I77D is not functional. I don’t think I have a machine with a parallel port on it, so I’ll likely wait until my new 7I92TM arrives, verify it works, and then connect it to the 7I77D and attempt to reflash the firmware on it. Does that seem like the right approach? Or does CR15/16 not lighting mean that board is also probably damaged and needs RMA as well? 

Thanks! 

 

If you have field power and neither CR15 nor CR16 light, its possible the 7I77D was damaged as well.
 

Ahh, well, so it goes. I've ordered a 7I76U because I think that the D models were actually going to be more difficult to wire anyways, as I'd like some sourcing outputs.  I'll see about getting an RMA for the 7I77D I have, and can function test the existing 7I76D when I get the new 7I92TM.  5 axis + spindle and 48 I/O pins should be plenty to get this mill up and running, and that leaves me some boards to experiment with in the future

Thanks for the quick replies, nice to keep momentum up on the project!

I wouldn't call my solution a preferred one, it's just the implementation I chose.
Please ask questions and do some research, I'd hate for my way to be sub par and lead another member the wrong way. So far nothing has gone wrong.
If you do find any info to the contrary I would be most appreciative if any failings in my advice were pointed out.

Rob

From the manual, it says that it handles the passthrough power via otherwise unused pins on the cable, so that seems like a fine solution to me. As they control both sides of the board, it's not like you need to worry about things going wrong in that sense (as long as you use the appropriate cable).  It's also nice to simplify the power wiring a little bit.  

I will definitely let you know if I find some other solution that seems more appropriate for whatever reason, but I figure designed and documented in the manual is probably good to go