PM8000 Meter V1.3. firmware issue

[brandon_glover_]

Just did some upgrades with on some PM8000 meters with some Modbus Master polling frameworks and the meters are now unusable. The upgrade was with the new v.1.3 firmware. The meter screen goes from sluggish, to unresponsive, to garbled graphics. The meter is pingable over the network but you cannot connect via ION setup or designer.

Power cycling does not fix this behavior. Has anyone seen this?

[Mike_Adams_CAN · Accepted solution]

Hi Brandon, as we talked about last week, there is an issue with v1.03 firmware for the PM8000 that presents itself if Modbus Mastering is enabled.

At this time, we recommend that any meters upgraded to v1.03 are downgraded to v1.02.15 or earlier. A new version of firmware will be made available in the coming weeks.

If anyone has meters that are upgraded to v1.03, please let technical support know, and they will provide downgrade instructions.

[victor_diaz_enb]

Hi Mike;

We have one PM8240 (firmware 1.2.14) meter working like Modbus master TCP/IP with about 20 PM5110 meters and 5 PM5340 meters .

We configured since May 3 and worked good, but this month, it has two critical errors and can not communicate with modbus slave device and then we miss logging data.

The screen of the meter works fine, but the PME 8.1 can not communicate by http and ion protocol, the meter only responds to ping commands; if we  power cycling the meter, then works good.

The PM8240 meter it´s not installed in an electrical subestation, we mean, it does not have voltage V1, V2 and V3, only control power, we guess it does not matter.

Here we send you some events:

Timestamp

Priority

Cause

Cause Value

Effect

Effect Value

Ack Time

08/06/2016@12:51:20.456 PM	255	Diagnostics 1	Bad Data Record Found	SUB16	9653
08/06/2016@12:51:20.456 PM	255	Diagnostics 1	Bad Data Record Found	SUB16	9654
08/06/2016@12:51:20.456 PM	255	Diagnostics 1	Bad Data Record Found	SUB16	9655
08/06/2016@12:51:20.456 PM	255	Diagnostics 1	Bad Data Record Found	SUB16	9656
10/06/2016@04:27:12.806 PM	255	Diagnostics 1	Information	PM8000	127
13/06/2016@10:54:00.424 AM	30		External	PM8000	Power Down
13/06/2016@10:54:27.000 AM	25	Frequency	Not Available	RSP4 Status	Not Available
13/06/2016@10:54:27.311 AM	30		External	PM8000	Power Up
13/06/2016@10:54:27.560 AM	200	HS I a	Disturbance Start	DAN1 Limit Exceeded 1	Exceeded
13/06/2016@10:54:27.560 AM	200	HS I b	Disturbance Start	DAN1 Limit Exceeded 2	Exceeded

[Mike_Adams_CAN]

Hello Victor,

If these meters are not on v1.3, then what you are experiencing is not the issue referenced in this post.

Please escalate this to technical support, and they will be able to investigate for you.

[sesa126789]

Hi Mike,

I got a same problem as like the Victor and Brandon have, the meter does not communicate within ION protocol on the TCP port by ION setup and Designer, olny reply by PING command.

I am trying to downgrade to v1.2.14 or earlier via meter com port but always fail during the firmware upgrade process and lots of lost packet found at the com port communication.

Could you provide the downgrade instructions?

Thanks,

[brandon_glover_]

Eddic,

What I had to do was return the serial port to ION protocol and 8N1 from the front screen. Then by connecting to the meter via ION setup and the serial port, go to advanced meter setup and remove com1 from the Modbus Master Device Options - serial connection 1 parameter.

If you do this you should get regular Ethernet comms back. If not you can always downgrade via serial port but it takes approximately 3 hrs.

[BrianB]

Hi Eddic this is the full process I have been messaging for users in your particular situation.

If a customer as upgraded his meter to 1.003.000 but has not enabled Modbus master, then his meter will still have an Ethernet connection and you can simply downgrade to 1.002.014 or .15

If a customer has upgraded and enabled Modbus master and comms are working fine then the meter will still need to be downgraded as it is likely the meter will lock up Ethernet if Modbus Master modules receive an error.

If a customer has upgraded and enabled Modbus Master and it has locked up all Ethernet communication then the customer will need to follow these simple steps to “revert” their meter.

NOTE:  The serial port and We Page of the meter should function in this state, and all metering and logging should be occurring.

1. The first thing that needs to be accomplished is to disable Modbus Master.
   1. To do this either enter the serial port using ION and go into the Modbus options module, and remove all IP addresses from the Options module.
      1. If the serial port is not in Modbus you will need to either use the front panel of the device or the webpages to set the protocol (ION) and parity (8N1)
   2. If Modbus Master is enabled via any serial comms disable these as well.
   3. Power cycle the meter.
2. The unit should now communicate via Ethernet, you may now
   1. Downgrade the device to 1.002.0014, and reinstall your framework using the Ethernet port.

It should be noted that ALL devices running V1.003.000 should be downgraded even if they are working fine, as the condition is triggered off an error of the Modbus master protocol.

If there are continued difficulties please escalate to L4 through your local tech support so we can debug your specific installation.

Brian

[sesa126789]

Thanks all the help, the meter was back to normal now.