?Pause? LED comes ON

[Dika12]

Hi,
I may need a hint where to look for problem I have.
I?m using FMD88-10 with LCD module. Computer is WIN 7 64-bit with i-TRiLOGI Version 6.43 build 01. My Java directory has j2re1.4.2_19 and jre6 if that matter.
During last few weeks I made a good progress developing code, but as more I?m moving along (as larger may code I guess), as more and more often I see that PLC?s ?Pause? LED comes ON rather quickly after the PLC been programmed. The weird part is that it isn?t consistent. I can load the same code over and over and over again and it will run only 20-25% of the time. Resetting or rebooting isn?t helping at all. But if its runs it runs all the time (reboot or reset ? still works).
It seems to be something with how PLC is programmed, but it is never fully dead. When light is ON program is running for few secs and there is always something on the screen.

Thanks for advice

[support]

It sounds like the program transfer did not complete successfully which is why the PAUSE LED lights up. If you go online monitoring it should report "Checksum error" or "program corrupted" when the PAUSE light is ON.

Are you using the TLServer to program the PLC via the serial port or are you programming via the Ethernet port. Did you try if it makes a difference if you use a different port for programming

How did you run the i-TRiLOGI software - is it from the "Start" menu? The shortcut at Start Menu links to the TL6Launcher.exe program which will run i-TRiLOGI by invoking the JRE 1.4.2_19.  If you just double click the TL64.JAR it will invoke whatever latest JRE in your PC which may cause some problem on certain PC brands (but could run perfectly on other PCs).

If you are running a Windows 7 Professional we recommend that you start up the Virtual PC Windows XP mode and install the JRE 1.4.2_19 as well as i-TRiLOGI on the virtual PC. This should eliminate some strange issues related to 64-bit Windows 7 system.

[Dika12]

Nop, there isn?t "Checksum error" or "program corrupted". The first message I have after I get online monitoring running is ?PLC already paused by user!?. I can clear it and it stops again in a couple seconds.

I do use COM port programming ? the kit I got a month ago and using as is.

Also I?m using shortcut from ?start? menu. I just made a shortcut from it to the desktop.  And I just checked ? it does go to the TL6Launcher.exe.  

I?ll check other things you are suggesting.

[Dika12]

Is there instructions how to connect to PLC over internet within company network? Could be helpful. Thanks.

[support]

After you have released the PLC from PAUSE state, and if it enters PAUSE state again, what is the online monitoring message?

"PAUSE by User" usually only happen when you click on the "PAUSE" button on the online monitoring screen and I guess you did not do that. What about if you do not go online monitoring, but power reset the PLC does it run and enter PAUSE again? And if so what's the message?

Another reason for PAUSE is if you have a "PAUSE" statement inside your TBASIC program. Can you do a search to see if there is any PAUSE statement inside any custom function. However the online monitoring will show the message "PAUSE statement encountered" so verify this via on-line monitoring.

You can connect the PLC to your company's LAN via Ethernet port using an Ethernet cable. But you have to set the IP address to the same subnet as your other equipment. E.g. check what is your PC's private IP address, if it is 111.222.33.XX then set your PLC IP address to 111.222.33.YY (make sure that it is not a number that is used by other computers on your network). You will then be able to connect to the PLC via Ethernet port using its IP address only. There is no need for TLServer or RS232 cable once you have setup the IP address correctly.

[Dika12]

it runs for couple of seconds and ?PAUSE? come up again. You can almost execute the whole program by few sec steps.

I didn?t use any ?PAUSE? statements in my code.

Anyway ?  I did try my WIN7 64-bit professional to run as XP and programming thought COM port still had the same behavior. I also managed to get another XP laptop to try. Somehow COM port programming didn?t work with it at all. Makes me wonder if there is something with COM on the PLC board.

Anyway. I switched to Ethernet programming and this is works every time so far.  Worked with XP, then I switched to Win7 and even removed ?RUN as XP? and still works every time.  

[support]

We are very surprised to hear that the RS232 comm does not work properly even on a pure XP computer.

Are you using a USB to RS232 converter supplied by TRi or from another supplier? It sounds like your USB-RS232 converter is not working properly for your PLC communication.

Does your PC has JRE 1.7 (latest Java run time) which is so new we are not sure if it some how affects the hardware performance. If you could remove all the Java run time on your PC and then only install JRE 1.4.2_19 followed by i-TRiLOGI and test to see if it works.

[support]

We have recently begun to investigate what you reported when we encounter strange crash after transferring program to the PLC via serial port using a new, very fast computer. When transferring program using an older computer there is no problem. Also as you have reported, transferring the program via Ethernet port does not create any problem.

Futher investigation reveal a problem with the TLServer program used for programming the PLC via the serial port. The shorter timing on a fast computer resulted in some program instructions not being sent to the PLC properly during program transfer, which resulted in prompt system crash during execution.

We will be releasing a new version of i-TRiLOGI software together with a new TLServer version 3.16E that fixes this problem soon. However, for user who would like a copy of the new TLServer for immediate use please send email to support@tri-plc.com and we can email you a copy before the official release.

[support]

An interim release of the TLServer version 3.16E is now available for download.

Please click on the "Help" menu on the i-TRiLOGI software and select "Upgrade TRiLOGI" link to go to our website and download the TLServer 3.16E.