NI PCIe 6321 issues

[jgiblin3]

Hello,

       I am having issues with some of the NI software and my lab's PCIe 6321 device. First, when we try to update the drivers and other NI software with the NI update tool, it fails and says it encountered an error with windows. Restarting the computer and reinstalling the software does not fix this issue. This became a problem when the device was installed in the PC but was not being recognized. The device was working fine and then one day was no longer being found by MATLAB. Eventually after trying some solutions including updating as mentioned above the device was recognized again but now the output read from it was no longer what it should be. Could this be a driver or hardware issue? And if so how could we fix it if the NI updating/driver software is failing. Thanks in advance!

[abalma21]

Hello Giblin,

I will like to share with you some troubleshooting steps that could help you determine the root cause of this issue.

The specific driver that is used to control a PCIe 6321 card is NI-DAQmx Device Driver. If you have installed this driver or almost any other NI software, then you will have NI MAX (Measurement & Automation Explorer) installed on your system. You can use NI MAX to narrow down the possibles causes of this issue.

I have attached an image of NI MAX showing the NI-DAQmx software you may have installed. You need to expand the "Software" item under "My System". All NI-DAQmx software should be from the same version to work properly.

The NI-DAQmx MAX Configuration Support is used to detect if your DAQ device is properly connected. If this software is installed, then you should be able to see your PCIe card when you expand the "Devices and Interfaces" item.

If your PCIe card is being recognized by NI MAX, then you could use the Test Panels to verify the Analog Input, Analog Output, Digital I/O and Counter I/O channels are working properly. To open the Test Panels, right-click your device's name below the "Devices and Interfaces" item. I have attached two pictures to help you.

If after following these steps, your PCIe card seems to be working as expected, then your current issue is within MATLAB® and not in NI software or hardware.

Warm Regards,

Gustave

[Sriram11]

We use this card 6321 on two test equipments. Suddely all my test values were on higer limit with no control. We checked the device and found the input volatge is at 6volts waveform and constant even after removing all connected devices . Means standalone card input voltage constant at 6volts  . . Self diagnostics says NI card is ok. This hapoened in two of my devices in a span of one month suddenly. Any calibraton issue ?

[santo_13]

@Sriram11 since your query is not related to the OP's query, please create a new thread to discuss that. Please provide more information on what is connected to 6321 and what kind of electrical signals are acquired or generated, what kind of electrical protections you use on the signals.

From just the description, I suspect there was some overvoltage event that might have fried the input protection circuit on 6321 causing it to clamp to the voltage rail on the card.

As to why the self-test will work, the driver just checks if it can communicate with the instrument. The only way to find out if all the inputs and outputs of the card are functional is by connecting it to a test setup and applying appropriate signals and measuring outputs.