The Unit (GT) is a Frame VI GE gas turbine system having Mark VI control system. The machine (GT) has not been running for a quite long period of time as a result of maintenance outage and during that period ,the information on Totalizer page was all zeros. But during these period. there was communication between the HMI and Mark VI . But later we discovered that there was loss of communication between the HMI and Mark VI and HMI screen is Blank. The three UCVE card was brought out and we test the CMOS battery with voltmeter and discovered that the voltage on all the batteries were reading zero. The three UCVE cards was later changed with good new ones, but the problem still remain (no communication), Power on Mark VI has been Re- cycled. The three racks RST shows that there is synchronization in between them. Please your expert advice is highly welcomed to solve the problem
Thanks

 

On the HMI, pull up a command prompt.
type this:

net start tci

Press Enter

If it says “TCI is already running,” reboot the HMI.
If it says “Starting TCI,” go back to the HMI and see if the boxes fill in.

 

@sirdee90,

Why didn't you just replace the "CMOS battery"? How long were the newly-installed UCVE cards in your warehouse/stores? Are you sure the "CMOS battery" on the newly-installed UCVE cards are working properly and won't fail in a short period of time? (The batteries on most UCVx cards were replaceable, and won't last forever. (Just like in most desktop PC motherboards.) The batteries used on mst UCVx cards can be purchased locally at many places, in most parts of the world.)

Were the newly-installed UCVE cards originally purchased from GE or one of its packagers/suppliers? Were they purchased from one of the aftermarket resellers of new, old stock Mark* printed circuit cards or used, refurbished Mark* printed circuit cards?

Is there a SD memory card on the originally-installed UCVE cards? Did you put the SD memory cards from the originally-installed UCVE cards on the newly-installed UCVE cards? If you didn't install the SD memory cards on the new UCVE cards you can probably remove the new UCVE cards and install the old SD memory cards (<R>'s on the new <R> UCVE; <S>'s on the new <S> UCVE; <T>'s on the new UCVE) and that will give them the proper information they need (IP addresses; application code; topology) to work properly.

If you didn't install the SD memory cards from the originally-installed UCVE cards in the newly-installed UCVE cards, did you configure the IP addresses of the newly-installed UCVE cards? (Because the UCVE cards have to be configured when they are installed if you didn't install the original SD memory cards on the new UCVE cards.) Can you ping the new UCVE cards from a command prompt on the HMI? Did you download application code to them (including the topology information)?

If you don't want to do that or are worried about doing that (moving SD memory cards to the proper newly--installed UCVE cards), then you should get a knowledgeable, experienced person to the location where the GE-design Frame 6 heavy duty gas turbine with a Mark* VI turbine control system is located to help restore the system. You haven't shared what you've done--other than swap cards (which was probably NOT necessary). The GE Mark* VI System Guide, GEK-6421, most likely has details for changing the "CMOS battery" and probably for installing/exchanging SD memory cards (with the application code and configuration information from the previously working UCVE cards). Because downloading without knowing how to download properly is a recipe for disaster. Without knowing a lot more about the situation, the best recommendation I can make is to get someone to site who can help "recover" from this troubleshooting effort before things get much worse, MORE time is lost, and someone will most likely have to travel to site anyway.

 

@sirdee90,

Why didn't you just replace the "CMOS battery"? How long were the newly-installed UCVE cards in your warehouse/stores? Are you sure the "CMOS battery" on the newly-installed UCVE cards are working properly and won't fail in a short period of time? (The batteries on most UCVx cards were replaceable, and won't last forever. (Just like in most desktop PC motherboards.) The batteries used on mst UCVx cards can be purchased locally at many places, in most parts of the world.)

Were the newly-installed UCVE cards originally purchased from GE or one of its packagers/suppliers? Were they purchased from one of the aftermarket resellers of new, old stock Mark* printed circuit cards or used, refurbished Mark* printed circuit cards?

Is there a SD memory card on the originally-installed UCVE cards? Did you put the SD memory cards from the originally-installed UCVE cards on the newly-installed UCVE cards? If you didn't install the SD memory cards on the new UCVE cards you can probably remove the new UCVE cards and install the old SD memory cards (<R>'s on the new <R> UCVE; <S>'s on the new <S> UCVE; <T>'s on the new UCVE) and that will give them the proper information they need (IP addresses; application code; topology) to work properly.

If you didn't install the SD memory cards from the originally-installed UCVE cards in the newly-installed UCVE cards, did you configure the IP addresses of the newly-installed UCVE cards? (Because the UCVE cards have to be configured when they are installed if you didn't install the original SD memory cards on the new UCVE cards.) Can you ping the new UCVE cards from a command prompt on the HMI? Did you download application code to them (including the topology information)?

If you don't want to do that or are worried about doing that (moving SD memory cards to the proper newly--installed UCVE cards), then you should get a knowledgeable, experienced person to the location where the GE-design Frame 6 heavy duty gas turbine with a Mark* VI turbine control system is located to help restore the system. You haven't shared what you've done--other than swap cards (which was probably NOT necessary). The GE Mark* VI System Guide, GEK-6421, most likely has details for changing the "CMOS battery" and probably for installing/exchanging SD memory cards (with the application code and configuration information from the previously working UCVE cards). Because downloading without knowing how to download properly is a recipe for disaster. Without knowing a lot more about the situation, the best recommendation I can make is to get someone to site who can help "recover" from this troubleshooting effort before things get much worse, MORE time is lost, and someone will most likely have to travel to site anyway.

Thank you WTP, so far we have done ping test so as to establish connection to the three controllers from the computer but it was not successful, physically,on UCVE the orange light is seen blinking while the green light is also ON which shows connection with the switch. As for the CMOS battery. It is soldered and sealant is also used to firmly attached it to the circuit board.

 

On the HMI, pull up a command prompt.
type this:

net start tci

Press Enter

If it says “TCI is already running,” reboot the HMI.
If it says “Starting TCI,” go back to the HMI and see if the boxes fill in.

The net start tci had been invoked from cmd, and status remain the same because the connection cannot be established to the controller

 

@sirdee90,

The way I see it--you have three options. Option One, the best option, is to get someone to site to help with resolving the issue.

Option Two is to find the special serial cable that came with the Mark* VI in order to be able to set the IP addresses and then start the process of establishing communications and downloading firmware, application code and topology to the three UCVEs--not a process for the faint of heart or the skittish. And it takes TIME, especially for someone who is unfamiliar with the process and all of its pitfalls and possible error and warning messages. Many laptop computers no longer have serial ports, and all USB-serial port adapters don't work as they should. It would also involve installing Toolbox on a laptop, copying the Toolbox .m6b file from the HMI to the laptop. Or obtain a long serial cable to connect between the HMI and the UCVE cards, and that might involve moving the HMI from its current location to a place near the Mark* VI turbine control panel. The you're going to have to use the manuals and the Toolbox Help feature to determine how to configure the IP addresses, etc. And THAT'S just to start the process of then downloading to the UCVE cards.

Option Three is to remove the SD memory cards (I believe UCVE cards have SD memory cards) from the originally-installed UCVE cards and install them in the newly-installed UCVE cards--ONE AT A TIME (<R>, then <S>, then <T>--hoping that you know which card was removed from which control processor rack....). This presumes the UCVE cards have removable SD memory cards.... I don't recall ever seeing a UCVE with glued CMOS batteries, so it's not a given that the UCVE cards (of which there are several different versions--see the Mark* VI System Guide section on UCVx cards) with removable SD memory cards. The SD memory cards from the originally-installed UCVE cards have all the unit-specific information already on them--the challenge is getting them in the right processor racks, not an impossible challenge to solve if the originally-installed UCVE cards weren't marked to identify which control processor rack they were removed from, but still time-consuming.

If there's no time or money to get someone to the location where the Mark* VI turbine control system is located Option Three is your best bet--but, that's ONLY if there are removable SD memory cards on the UCVE cards that can be swapped. In that case, Option One is still the best option.

Based on the information provided--these are about your only choices. If the UCVE cards don't have SD memory cards then Option One is by far your best bet. It seems odd that all three of the CMOS batteries on all three of the originally-installed UCVE cards failed at the same time--based on the information provided. (Because I don't even know how it was possible to measure the CMOS battery voltages with a multi-meter....) You could try inserting one of the originally-installed UCVE cards into one of the control processor racks and just connect the respective UDH cable to that card, power-up that rack, and try to establish communications with it from the HMI. I have no experience with failed CMOS batteries on UCVE cards, but the experience I do have was that Diagnostic Alarms alerted operators and technicians to failing/failed CMOS batteries--the UCVx didn't just completely stop working.

That's all I can offer. Configuring three UCVx cards at the same time in a previously working Mark* VI turbine control panel is a DIFFICULT and time-consuming process, made even MORE difficult and time-consuming if the UCVx cards don't have SD memory cards (if you don't know what an SD memory card is or looks like, Google it). It's REALLY easy for an inexperienced person to get very flustered and start trying all sorts of things in Toolbox and completely mangle the site-specific .m6b file. So, if management at the site is hell-bent on trying to fully configure three UCVE cards all at the same time then I STRONGLY SUGGEST a copy of the current .m6b file be made BEFORE starting the process. (It's actually a very good idea to just to do that no matter what option is chosen--the entire unit-specific directory should be copied to somewhere on the HMI hard drive for safe-keeping and recovery.

Best of luck! I don't believe GE has many field service personnel that are familiar with Mark* VI turbine control panels on staff or available to them. So, I would recommend finding someone from a third-party service provider with LOTS of Mark* VI experience as GE has lost a lot of experienced people and no longer trains people on the Mark* VI system so if they send someone to site that person will probably spend a lot of time working with "the factory" to try to get the system up and running (meaning phone calls and emails). When it's properly configured, the Mark* VI is a fine turbine control system--trying to do that from zero is extremely difficult and time-consuming.

Maybe you want to check the UDH connections/network interface cards/network switches/ network cables because, again, it's kind of odd for all three UCVE cards to fail simultaneously.... Older Mark* VI panels are a little quirky, too--like having glued-in CMOS batteries.... and maybe not having removable SD memory cards on the UCVx cards.

Other technicians/engineers might have completely different ideas/suggestions, all of mine are based on my previous experience AND the information which has been provided.

Best of luck. Please let us know how this is resolved!

 

@sirdee90,

The way I see it--you have three options. Option One, the best option, is to get someone to site to help with resolving the issue.

Option Two is to find the special serial cable that came with the Mark* VI in order to be able to set the IP addresses and then start the process of establishing communications and downloading firmware, application code and topology to the three UCVEs--not a process for the faint of heart or the skittish. And it takes TIME, especially for someone who is unfamiliar with the process and all of its pitfalls and possible error and warning messages. Many laptop computers no longer have serial ports, and all USB-serial port don't work as they should. It would also involve installing Toolbox on a laptop, copying the Toolbox .m6b file from the HMI to the laptop. Or obtain a long serial cable and to connect between the HMI and the UCVE cards, and that might involve moving the HMI from its current location to a place near the Mark* VI turbine control panel. The you're going to have to use the manuals and the Toolbox Help feature to determine how to configure the IP addresses, etc. And THAT'S just to start the process of then downloading to the UCVE cards.

Option Three is to remove the SD memory cards (I believe UCVE cards have SD memory cards) from the originally-installed UCVE cards and install them in the newly-installed UCVE cards--ONE AT A TIME (<R>, then <S>, then <T>--hoping that you know which card was removed from which control processor rack....). This presumes the UCVE cards have removable SD memory cards.... I don't recall ever seeing a UCVE with glued CMOS batteries, so it's not a given that the UCVE cards (of which there are several different versions--see the Mark* VI System Guide section on UCVx cards) with removable SD memory cards. The SD memory cards from the originally-installed UCVE cards have all the unit-specific information already on them--the challenge is getting them in the right processor racks, not an impossible challenge to solve if the originally-installed UCVE cards weren't marked to identify which control processor rack they were removed from, but still time-consuming.

If there's no time or money to get someone to the location where the Mark* VI turbine control system is located Option Three is your best bet--but, that's ONLY if there are removable SD memory cards on the UCVE cards that can be swapped. In that case, Option One is still the best option.

Based on the information provided--these are about your only choices. If the UCVE cards don't have SD memory cards then Option One is by far your best bet. It seems odd that all three of the CMOS batteries on all three of the originally-installed UCVE cards failed at the same time--based on the information provided. (Because I don't even know how it was possible to measure the CMOS battery voltages with a multi-meter....) You could try inserting one of the originally-installed UCVE cards into one of the control processor racks and just connect the respective UDH cable to that card, power-up that rack, and try to establish communications with it from the HMI. I have no experience with failed CMOS batteries on UCVE cards, but the experience I do have was that Diagnostic Alarms alerted operators and technicians to failing/failed CMOS batteries--the UCVx didn't just completely stop working.

That's all I can offer. Configuring three UCVx cards at the same time in a previously working Mark* VI turbine control panel is a DIFFICULT and time-consuming process, made even MORE difficult and time-consuming if the UCVx cards don't have SD memory cards (if you don't know what an SD memory card is or looks like, Google it). It's REALLY easy for an inexperienced person to get very flustered and start trying all sorts of things in Toolbox and completely mangle the site-specific .m6b file. So, if management at the site is hell-bent on trying to fully configure three UCVE cards all at the same time then I STRONGLY SUGGEST a copy of the current .m6b file be made BEFORE starting the process. (It's actually a very good idea to just to do that no matter what option is chosen--the entire unit-specific directory should be copied to somewhere on the HMI hard drive for safe-keeping and recovery.

Best of luck! I don't believe GE has many field service personnel that are familiar with Mark* VI turbine control panels on staff or available to them. So, I would recommend finding someone from a third-party service provider with LOTS of Mark* VI experience as GE has lost a lot of experienced people and no longer trains people on the Mark* VI system so if they send someone to site that person will probably spend a lot of time working with "the factory" to try to get the system up and running (meaning phone calls and emails). When it's properly configured, the Mark* VI is a fine turbine control system--trying to do that from zero is extremely difficult and time-consuming.

Maybe you want to check the UDH connections/network interface cards/network switches/ network cables because, again, it's kind of odd for all three UCVE cards to fail simultaneously.... Older Mark* VI panels are a little quirky, too--like having glued-in CMOS batteries.... and maybe not having removable SD memory cards on the UCVx cards.

Other technicians/engineers might have completely different ideas/suggestions, all of mine are based on my previous experience AND the information which has been provided.

Best of luck. Please let us know how this is resolved!

Thank you very much. Each of the UCVE card has Flash memory (SD memory) card and when we are installing the new UCVE card we replaced SD memory according to each of the Rack R S and T respectively . The voltage of CMOS battery is 3Volts D.C. and some can be 3.3Volt or 3.5 but it cannot be more than 3 and it is D.C. voltage.

 

@sirdee90,

Ahhh, this is good to (finally!) know.

If you replaced the compact flash/SD memory cards when you swapped UCVE cards, and you still can't ping any of the three--then it certainly seems like something else is amiss--possibly with the network components (switches; Ethernet cards; fiber optic cables if used; etc.). Because if I recall correctly, the IP address was stored on the compact flash/SD memory cards. BUT, I have been wrong before and will wrong again in the future--and if I am wrong, then you will need to set the IP addresses of the UCVE cards, but I don't recall needing to do that when swapping the SD memory/compact flash cards when changing UCVx cards.

Me--I would make sure the network components (network switches and cables were working properly (including Ethernet cables and fiber optic cables if they were provided with the original installation) BEFORE getting a knowledgeable, experienced person to site!!! It would be a colossal waste of money and time to find out it was something really simple. AND, if you do get someone to site to help with configuring the newly-installed UCVEs it would be good to make sure the network components were all working properly so that isn't an impediment to his/her work. I might even "bypass" the VLAN switches (presuming managed network switches configured in a VLAN (Virtual LAN) configuration were provided) with different Ethernet cabling between the HMI and the Mark* VI. AND I would try re-installing the originally-installed UCVE cards AFTER making sure the UDH network components are working properly. This could be done with one UCVE at a time when bypassing the network switches.

PLEASE let us know how this works out for you. Again, a lot of people read these threads--now and in the future--so your feedback might be really helpful to someone in a similar situation!

 

@sirdee90,

Ahhh, this is good to (finally!) know.

If you replaced the compact flash/SD memory cards when you swapped UCVE cards, and you still can't ping any of the three--then it certainly seems like something else is amiss--possibly with the network components (switches; Ethernet cards; fiber optic cables if used; etc.). Because if I recall correctly, the IP address was stored on the compact flash/SD memory cards. BUT, I have been wrong before and will wrong again in the future--and if I am wrong, then you will need to set the IP addresses of the UCVE cards, but I don't recall needing to do that when swapping the SD memory/compact flash cards when changing UCVx cards.

Me--I would make sure the network components (network switches and cables were working properly (including Ethernet cables and fiber optic cables if they were provided with the original installation) BEFORE getting a knowledgeable, experienced person to site!!! It would be a colossal waste of money and time to find out it was something really simple. AND, if you do get someone to site to help with configuring the newly-installed UCVEs it would be good to make sure the network components were all working properly so that isn't an impediment to his/her work. I might even "bypass" the VLAN switches (presuming managed network switches configured in a VLAN (Virtual LAN) configuration were provided) with different Ethernet cabling between the HMI and the Mark* VI. AND I would try re-installing the originally-installed UCVE cards AFTER making sure the UDH network components are working properly. This could be done with one UCVE at a time when bypassing the network switches.

PLEASE let us know how this works out for you. Again, a lot of people read these threads--now and in the future--so your feedback might be really helpful to someone in a similar situation!

@sirdee90,

Ahhh, this is good to (finally!) know.

If you replaced the compact flash/SD memory cards when you swapped UCVE cards, and you still can't ping any of the three--then it certainly seems like something else is amiss--possibly with the network components (switches; Ethernet cards; fiber optic cables if used; etc.). Because if I recall correctly, the IP address was stored on the compact flash/SD memory cards. BUT, I have been wrong before and will wrong again in the future--and if I am wrong, then you will need to set the IP addresses of the UCVE cards, but I don't recall needing to do that when swapping the SD memory/compact flash cards when changing UCVx cards.

Me--I would make sure the network components (network switches and cables were working properly (including Ethernet cables and fiber optic cables if they were provided with the original installation) BEFORE getting a knowledgeable, experienced person to site!!! It would be a colossal waste of money and time to find out it was something really simple. AND, if you do get someone to site to help with configuring the newly-installed UCVEs it would be good to make sure the network components were all working properly so that isn't an impediment to his/her work. I might even "bypass" the VLAN switches (presuming managed network switches configured in a VLAN (Virtual LAN) configuration were provided) with different Ethernet cabling between the HMI and the Mark* VI. AND I would try re-installing the originally-installed UCVE cards AFTER making sure the UDH network components are working properly. This could be done with one UCVE at a time when bypassing the network switches.

PLEASE let us know how this works out for you. Again, a lot of people read these threads--now and in the future--so your feedback might be really helpful to someone in a similar situation!

The VLAN switch has been tested, infact taken to another GT and it is working perfectly. The orange and green light on the UCVE card were ON , infact the orange light is blinking and another Ethernet cable was used to test one of the rack by disconnect the existing ones.
Although we are trying to look towards bring in VCMI to carryout further test later. We will keep you posted as we are progressing.
Thank you very much

 

It sounds like the loss of communication between the HMI and the Mark VI could be due to the dead CMOS batteries on the UCVE cards, which may have caused a loss of important configuration settings. After replacing the batteries, you may need to reload the Mark VI configuration using the Toolbox software. Also, check the power supplies, network connections, and any potential issues with the IONet or network switches. If the HMI screen is still blank, try rebooting it and verifying its network settings, IP configurations, and connections to the Mark VI. If the issue persists, you may need to re-establish the communication settings or reconfigure the system using a backup configuration file.

 

@Aria James,

From Response #4 above: "... As for the CMOS battery. It is soldered and sealant is also used to firmly attached it to the circuit board."

@sirdee90,

You said "... The VLAN switch has been tested, ..." To me that means you tested one (1) VLAN switch. There are usually two (2) VLAN switches for a single GT and the HMI.

If you can't ping the UCVE's from the HMI, then either there's something wrong with the UDH OR there's something wrong with the UCVE (like the IP address(s) is(aren't) set).