Technical Inquiry – VAR LED Behavior on ION7400E

[juanpablo.vargasvillalobos]

e have a customer using an ION7400E meter with firmware version 4.5.0. The customer has identified an unexpected behavior with the VAR LED: in the section that indicates the pulse status for reactive energy (VARh plse ovrld), the message displayed is:
“Wh from ovrld: Not Available”
instead of
“VARh plse ovrld: Pulsing Normally”.

This presents two issues:

1. The incorrect indication of Wh in the reactive energy section.
2. The “Not Available” status, which prevents proper LED configuration.

It’s worth noting that the WATT LED section displays correctly.

We’ve tested another ION7400E meter and confirmed that the correct information is shown.

The customer is currently using ION Setup version 3.2.23123.01. I’ve already recommended upgrading to the latest version v3.2.25240.01, and also suggested updating the firmware to v4.6.0.

However, the customer is located remotely from the meter and will not be able to perform these updates for a few days.

Is there any other recommendation we can provide in the meantime before the customer visits the site?

[Mehran_Mehrnia]

Hi @juanpablo.vargasvillalobos 

ION Setup v3.2.23123.01(year 2023) is quite outdated and as you mentioned, recommend upgrading to the latest version v3.2.25240.01 for improved compatibility and functionality.

The mislabeling of “Wh del ovrld: Not Available” in the VAR LED section, along with the missing 'Pulser Mode' setting (that could be the reason for the “Not Available” status), prevents proper configuration of the VAR LED pulsing behavior.

Is the meter a brand-new, out-of-the-box unit?

When remote access is available, check if the meter is using the original factory template or a custom-modified template. If no custom template is present, try uploading the original template that matches firmware version v4.5.0.

You can compare the template with a working meter to identify any discrepancies.

Best Regards,

-Mehran

L3 Expert Advanced metering

[Charles_Murison · Accepted solution]

Hello @juanpablo.vargasvillalobos ,

ION meters have a template that is a combination of different modules link to do different tasks. The LED pulsing is from the modules Calibration pulse module. ION Setup has a file that tells the setup assistant what text to display and what register to read. In your 2023 version of ION setup, the text to display was incorrect, the wizard was also pointing to Calibration pulser module 7. By default Calibration pulser module #7 is offline as the port setup register is not defined.

Latest versions of ION Setup have updated label and point to calibration module 3.

Strongly recommend upgrading your version of ION Setup.

Regards,

Charles

[juanpablo.vargasvillalobos]

Thank you very much for the feedback. I'll let the client know, and I’ll keep you updated if there’s anything else

[juanpablo.vargasvillalobos]

Thank you very much for your recommendations Charles

[Yut]

Try to adjust the pulse width from 0.1 to 0.05 as the same as kW.

If W Kt is too small will result  "Not Available" that mean it's really Overload.

Surprise why use kW/kvar instead of kWh/kvarh ?

[Charles_Murison]

Hello @Yut ,

Calibration pulser modules are a kind of integrator module, the kW feed into the meter will integrate to get Wh. Same with kVAR.

Regards,

Charles