8 Common Methods for Detecting Faults of Magnetic Flange Level Gauges

 As a liquid level measuring instrument with intuitive observation, simple structure and convenient maintenance, the magnetic flap level gauge has been widely used in tank areas. For its common faults, our technicians have summarized 8 very practical methods. According to these methods, we can basically find and find the cause of the fault. These 8 methods are listed as follows:
 
1. Knocking and hand pressing method
It is often encountered that the instrument is running well and badly. Most of this phenomenon is caused by poor contact or cold welding. For this situation, the knocking and hand pressing method can be used. The
so-called "knocking" is to gently knock the plug-in board or components of the magnetic flap level gauge with a small rubber hammer head or other knocking objects on the parts that may cause faults to see if it will cause errors or shutdown faults. The so-called "hand pressing" is that when the fault occurs, turn off the power and re-press the plugged components, plugs and sockets with your hands, and then turn on the machine to see if the fault can be eliminated. If it is found that knocking the casing is normal, and it is abnormal again, it is best to re-insert all the connectors and try again.
 
2. Observation method
Use vision, smell, and touch. Sometimes, damaged components will change color, bubble or have burnt spots; burnt devices will produce some special smells; short-circuited chips will get hot; the magnetic flap level gauge's cold soldering or desoldering can also be observed with the naked eye.
 
3. Elimination method The
so-called elimination method is a method of determining the cause of the fault by plugging in and out some plug-in boards and devices in the machine. When the instrument returns to normal after a plug-in board or device is removed, it means that the fault occurred there.
 
4. Replacement method
It requires two  magnetic flap level gauges of the same model or enough spare parts. Replace a good spare with the same component on the faulty machine to see if the fault is eliminated.
 
5. Comparison method
It requires two instruments of the same model, and one of them is operating normally. To use this method, you must also have the necessary equipment, such as a multimeter, oscilloscope, etc. According to the nature of the comparison, there are voltage comparison, waveform comparison, static impedance comparison, output result comparison, current comparison, etc.
The specific method is: let the faulty magnetic flap level meter and the normal instrument run under the same conditions, then detect the signals of some points and compare the two groups of signals measured. If there is a difference, it can be determined that the fault is here. This method requires maintenance personnel to have considerable knowledge and skills.
 
6. Temperature rise and fall method
Sometimes, the instrument will fail when it works for a long time or when the working environment temperature is high in summer. It is normal when it is turned off and checked, and it is normal when it is turned on again after a period of time. After a while, the fault occurs again. This phenomenon is caused by the poor performance of individual ICs or components, and the high-temperature characteristic parameters do not meet the index requirements. In order to find out the cause of the fault, the temperature rise and fall method can be used. The
 
so-called cooling means that when the fault occurs, use cotton fiber to wipe anhydrous alcohol on the part where the fault may occur to cool it down and observe whether the fault is eliminated. The so-called heating means artificially raising the ambient temperature, such as using an electric soldering iron to put it close to the suspicious part (note that the temperature must not be raised too high to damage the normal device) to see if the fault occurs.
 
7. Shoulder riding method
The shoulder riding method is also called the parallel method. Place a good IC chip on the chip to be checked, or connect good components (resistors, capacitors, diodes, transistors, etc.) in parallel with the components to be checked to maintain good contact. If the fault is caused by an open circuit or poor contact inside the device, this method can be used to eliminate it.
 
8. Capacitor bypass method
When a circuit produces a strange phenomenon, such as a chaotic display, the capacitor bypass method can be used to determine the circuit part that is probably faulty. Connect the capacitor across the power supply and ground of the IC; for transistor circuits, connect it across the base input or collector output, and observe the effect on the fault phenomenon. If the capacitor bypass input is ineffective and the fault phenomenon disappears when its output is bypassed, it is determined that the fault occurs in this level of circuit.