Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue Unable to learn McQuay device objects on a MSTP network under an ENC/UNC. Environment Niagara R2 Niagara G3 Cause McQuay APDU defaults to a length of 1476 bytes.  This length needs to be lower for an MSTP network.  McQuay has identified this problem in firmware 8.14. Resolution Contact McQuay to install new firmware with an APDU length of 480 bytes.

Issue Can individual window contacts be used in a Master-Slave configuration of Xenta 121? Environment Xenta 121-FC Xenta 121 -HP Cause Want to use Master-Slave functionally but still use each controllers window contact to control that controller. Resolution In general exception modes are not allowed for slaves because this overrides the Master-Slave functionality. Also there are no way to prevent the master to turn on/off all slaves using it's own Window contact.

Issue These Infinet controllers either in limited production or no longer manufactured, but are they supported? Environment CyberStation Cause Upgrade from Continuum 1.62 is desired. Are LCX898 and ACX781 still supported? Resolution Yes, they are supported in all CyberStation versions from v1.62 to 1.94 with no chip change required  

Issue After a power reset, bCX1 comes back online with its comm2 set to a different baud rate than before it went offline, no longer communicating with the connected b3 MSTP controllers. Environment bCX4000 bCX4040 bCX9640 CX9680 CX9900 Cause Controller comes back from power fail and does not have the correct baudrate set which results in loss of communications to all field controllers. Resolution 4.500076 should correct this issue. If not get the controller error log and see if the controller is cold starting. On those controllers that have come back from power fail and have their comm port set to 9600, you can try setting the defaultbaud attribute of that comm port to the desired speed. For this to be saved to the controllers EEPROM you will need to do this from the command line, see the syntax for this below. (replace baud19200 with your desired baudrate) comm2 defaultbaud = baud19200   Or   Write a PE program to detect the baud condition and change the baud to the desired rate

Issue Once working access cards now produce invalid read when presented to card reader. Environment Card reader Invalid read Cause Reader power supply was no longer supplying power to the reader. Battery backup had been depleted and was not supplying sufficient voltage to the reader.   Resolution Repair or replace card reader power supply.

Issue IOU modules connected to an NC2 and powered by Continuum PS are randomly dropping off-line and returning on-line. Environment NC2, AC-1, DO4 Cause IOU modules randomly dropping off-line and on-line Resolution In this case the maximum power output of the Continuum PS was exceeded once the card readers powered by the AC-1's were taken into consideration. The problem is exacerbated when cards are presented as the reader power spikes at this time. The 28 AC1-Plus's were grouped together in several panels. The voltage at the end of the line was measured to be under 21VDC. When a second PS was inserted to power the last 18 AC1Plus's, the voltages at the ends of both runs came up to above 22.5VDC and the offline issues stopped. Note: There are other conditions that could cause this behavior like grounding, comm bus that does not meet specs, poor terminations, induced voltages, etc)

Issue What is the replacement for TAC Xenta  511-B Need TAC Xenta 511 with modbus support Environment TAC Xenta 511 Cause The TAC Xenta 511-B is obsolete. Support for Modbus have been added to the TAC Xenta 511 Resolution TAC Xenta 511 now has support for Modbus.

Issue Can a digital clock be used to replace an analog clock on a SVT4201? Environment SVT SVT4201 SVT4251 Cause Can a digital clock be used to replace an analog clock on a SVT4201? Resolution A digital clock cannot replace an analog clock in a SVT4201, because the SVT4201 and SVT4251 have a slight difference in components used.

Issue Alarm Viewer at one WS displays only the name of the object in alarm instead of the full path. Environment CyberStation Windows Cause Windows issue Resolution Windows service pack was found to be incorrectly installed or corrupt, re-installing the Windows OS service pack solved the problem.

Issue If more than four STR 350/351s are needed to be added into one Xenta 700 controller, the rest ones from the fifth one can’t be added for the Add menu for STR35x has been grayed out. Environment Xenta 700 STR 350/351 Cause Only four STR 350/351s can be added into one Xenta 700 controller. Resolution If it is really needed that more than four STR 350/351s are added into one Xenta 700 controller, these STR 350/351s can be added as LonWorks devices in the Workstation, instead of in Xbuilder.But with this method, the configuration window of STR 35x in Xbuilder can’t be used. The entire configuration to STR 350/351 can only be realized on the panels of them or through SNVT value setting in the Workstation.

Issue DC1100 or DC1400 not accepting 0112 passcode to clear alarms or to alter settings. Environment DC1100 DC1400 Cause When the passcode 0112 is used to clear alarms or to alter settings, the code is not accepted. Resolution The controller will require coldstarting. 1. Using the setup menu and view settings, make a note of the settings of the controller. 2. Coldstart the controller by turning the power off, hold down the enter and exit buttons, power on and then release the buttons. The controller should re-initialise and will return to its default settings. 3. Reprogramme the controller with time and date, heating and HWS schedules, and any other parameter required in the set up menu. e.g. no of boilers, HWS linked etc. 

Issue Pinpoints crashes when selecting object properties of an Active Animation. Environment Continuum Pinpoint v1.93 Cause Image files used in the Active Animation do not exist or mapped through to the wrong path. Resolution Check that the Image Files used in your Active Animation are actually located at the path indicated. If the image files have been moved from the initial location used when creating the graphics then this could be the cause of the error. Copy the files back to the original location, now you should be able to edit the Active Animations and change the Image Files paths to the correct graphic location. This problem was found in Continuum v1.93 Pinpoint after an upgrade from an undetermined version and the cause able to be identified after importing those graphics into a v1.94 system. Presumably v1.94 does not have the same problem when attempting to view the Active Animation Image Files.

Issue Is it possible to install the SPP110 sensor on a CPVC pipe system? Environment SPP110: 004702020 004702040 004702060 004702080 004702100 004702120 004702140 Cause Application suitability for plastic CPVC pipes. Resolution The SPP110 sensor is delivered with a G1/4 male thread on the sensor body, and then an adaptor to male G1/2 thread. It needs to be determined locally if a suitable threaded fitting (female) can be securely adapted to the CPVC pipe.

Issue Is it possible to use Lonmaker 3.1 with TAC Vista 5.1.8?  Environment TAC Vista 5.1.8 Lonmaker 3.1 Cause Compatibility between older version of Lonmaker and newer version of TAC Vista. Resolution You can use Lonmaker version 3.1 with TAC Vista 5.1.8. For a complete matrix of compatibility, please download the latest version of the Compatibility matrix from the Extranet: Follow these instructions to download the Vista Compatibility Matrix Go to the Buildings Business Extranet and browse to Products > TAC Vista > Documentation Click Compatibility Matrix in the Left hand navigation bar Download the latest TAC Vista Compatibility Matrix (link located on the right side of the screen). Verify that the planned or existing installation uses compatible software

Issue How to override the valves in a TAC Xenta 101-VF Fully open valve with TAC Xenta 101-VF Fully close valve with TAC Xenta 101-VF Environment TAC Vista TAC Xenta 101-VF Cause Sometimes you need to override the valves. Resolution In TAC Vista or Lonmaker find the SNVT  nviValveOverride HVO_OPEN opens both valves HVO_Close closes both valves. Don't fill in anything for flow or percent.  

Issue Get error message "access denied" when trying to create a objects in the root folder in Vista Workstation. Environment Vista server and Workstation 5.1.7 Cause If open "Authority" for a object in Vista the "Database owner" is specified. Usually the "Database owner" is $Administrators in this case it was the System user for the Vista server object. Resolution Change the "Database owner" in the Vista server object by clicking on " Take ownership" to $Administrators from system.

Issue What values are saved when you restart a Xenta 121 Power fail Xenta 121 Environment Xenta 121-FC Xenta 121-HP Cause What information is kept when a Xenta 121 is restarted. Resolution All configuration parameters (nci). will be kept. All nvi/nvo will go back to their initial or calculated values.

Issue Unable to log in to the localhost, while all user names and passwords associated with the PC have been tried. Product Line TAC IA Series Environment I/A Series G3 software installed on Windows computer. Cause To log into the LocalHost Platform via the I/A Series G3 Workbench, a username and password needs to be used that is defined in the local Administrator's group of the computer on which the software is being used. Many times, the user accounts on a computer will be Domain based accounts rather than local accounts. The I/A Series G3 software cannot authenticate with Domain based accounts. Resolution If logged into the computer as a user that is a member of the Administrator's group, you should be able to create a new user account and assign that user to the Administrator's group. Below is the procedure for creating a new local user and placing that user in the local Administrator's group on a Windows XP system. Right-click on the "My Computer" icon and select Manage. Click on the [+] box in front of "Local Users and Groups". Click on "Users". Right-Click in the righthand window and select "New User". A New User window will open. In the New User window, enter IAAdmin in the User name field. In the Full Name field enter "IA Admin" In the Description field enter "Local Administrator for I/A Series R2" In the Password field enter P@ssword. In the Confirm Password field enter P@ssword Uncheck the "User must change password at next login" option Check the "User cannot change password" option Check the "Password never expires" option Click the [Create] button then click [Close] to close the "New User" window. In the righthand window, right-click on the user IAAdmin and select Properties. In the IAAdmin Properties window that just opened, click the "Member of" tab. Click the [Add] button In the "Enter the object names to select" box, type in Administrators and press Enter. Click the [OK] button to save the changes. Close the Computer Management window. When the Platform is opened and a login is attempted on Localhost, enter "IAAdmin" for the user name and enter "P@ssword" for the password.

Issue Must add XDriver to a CX9200 where all other ports are being used.  Environment xdriver Comm Port CX9200 CX9300 Cause As soon as the port mode switches from xdriver to some other mode the xdriver file is detached and must be reattached to the comm port for the xdriver to work. Resolution The default mode of a comm port that is being used with an xdriver must be hard set to xdriver.

Issue When logging in Web Client, are the User Name and Password encrypted when sent to the server? Environment Web Client CyberStation Cause Documentation Resolution Both the User Name and the Password are encrypted by default when sent on the wire, this is true even when the system has not been configured to use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). To have ALL communications encrypted configure SSL per the instructions in chapter 3 of the Web Client Installation and Configuration document. (Establishing SSL Support for Confidential Information)