I have a PXIe-8381 board that is no longer being found in the system. I have a blinking red light on the front panel. This has worked well for about six months.

[Randall_T]

This system has worked for several months but now is not being found in the automation explorer. As stated the front panel of the module has a blinking red light.  It looks like the led on the express card is solid amber. Can see lights on the side of the card appear green though the holes in the top pane. I am new to PXI most of my NI hardware related experience is with SCXI  I do not know my way around the chassis on the PXI equipment.  Any suggestions on where to start.

Thanks,

Randall

[Robert.W]

The first step would be to power down everything, remove the PXIe-8381 from the chassis for a few seconds, plug it back in, then re-power on to see if the issue persists.

The amber LED on the PCIe-8381 indicates that the cable isn't linked, the flashing red indicates that the PXIe-8381 thinks a chassis power rail is out of spec.  Physicall removing it from the chassis (taking away auxiliary power) forces the firmware to reload and could clear the condition.

robert

[Robert.W]

Unplugging the chassis for ~30 seconds and watching its LEDs closely can also provide clues to what/if it thinks any of it's power rails are suspect.

robert

[Randall_T]

Thanks for your two replies I do appreciate the help. This is actually my first experience with the PXI equipment so up front I only have the product manual for reference. I have removed the board from the chassis and plugged it back in. When powering up the six LEDs blinked like it was doing some type of POST check the four at the bottom might have been blinking a pattern as it looked like the first and second light blinked a couple of times, then again it may have just been checking status as normal.  After a couple of seconds all six LEDs remained off and the LED on the front panel is blinking Red.   About middle way back on the card there are some green LEDs about 4 of them two are solid green two appear to be going from bright to a dim green never quite blinking off.

This is in a PXIe-1078 chassis there are four other modules in the system. A PXIe-4353 in slot 2 Two PXI-6238 and a 6722 in slots 5,6,and 7. They all show a red x by the emblem in NIMAX device and interfaces list.  I do not see the PXIe-8381 card I suspect this is a result of the power supply out of spec and not establishing the correct link to the PC Host card.

Any suggestions on where to go next?

Thanks again,

Randall

[AirFrantz]

Hey Randall,

Can you actually post a screenshot of what you are seeing in MAX (both software tab and devices tab expanded)?  And possibly more importantly a screenshot of Windows Device Manager showing any devices with errors or that mention "PCI-PCI Bridge" or anything similar?

Also, is the MXI controller card the only card in the chassis showing red leds?  Does the chassis power on and seem normal?  The red x's in MAX most likely show that the devices were once installed and recognized, but currently are not.  Did you upgrade the OS or any NI drivers on the PC you are controlling this system with?

[Robert__R]

Randall,

You're right about not seeing other modules because the PXIe-8381 isn't working.  Until you get a link (green LED on the PXIe-8381) you won't be able to see anything from the chassis in device manager or MAX.

The 8381 looks at its own power rails as well as the chassis power rails.  It could be a blown fuse on the PXIe-8381 board (F4, F5, and F6, near the backplane power connector), or maybe a burned-out supply.  If the chassis power button is solid green then it's probably something one of those.  If the chassis power butting isn't solid green then it's more likely the problem is in the chassis.

You could try removing all the other cards from the chassis to see if it makes a difference.  You can also power up the chassis without the cable connected (in which case the LED should be an amber/yellow/orange color).  And stick a DMM across the fuses (while the card is out of the chassis) to measure their resistance.

- Robert

[Randall_T]

It appears F4 is blown. Was unsure I had contact with the fuse on my meter at first as the touch points are small but was eventually able to find a +12 volt location on board that was common with one side of F4 and a vertical pin on the back side of the connector is common with the other side of fuse but nothing across the fuse or from these two common points.

Based on this information I assume the board will need sent in unless this is field replaceable. Also there is the question as to why is the fuse blown.  Is there any suggestion as to what might be checked?

[Robert__R]

Randall,

The fuse isn't user replaceable.  It shouldn't blow in normal operation, so its purpose is closer to fire prevention if something bad happens downstream.  F4 could have burned out because of a bad power supply (that uses +12V), or physical damage to the board, or a defective fuse.  My DMM tells me a working board looks like 7 kOhms between +12V and GND.  If yours is significantly different it would indicate there's more that's wrong than a blown fuse.  If yours is about the same it may be a "nuisance" blow.

In any case, sending the board in will get the fuse replaced and the board tested.

- Robert

[Randall_T]

Robert

Thanks for your help.  There was about 7.3 K ohms on the board from +12 to gnd. Because or your assistance I am sure the board needs to be repaired. The question still remains in my mind is if this is caused by a problem on board or if there is a load on the chassis causing the problem. I am just about through for the year I have passed this information on to those in charge of the project it will be up to them to arrange a repair.   Again I appreciate your help.

Randall

[Randall_T]

Jon,

I attempted twice to post a reply with a video showing the board during start up and to also answer the questions that no change in driver or Operating system happened. Both post failed which could have been a connection issue on my side. By then it became appearent this is a hardware issue.  I Just reviewing the post and realized I never had a successful reply to your comment.  

I do apreciate your response and thank your for helping.

Randall