Cata-Dyne™ Infrared Oven

Operation and Instructional Manual - Trouble Shooting Guide

Common Problems and Solutions

Problem:

  

The unit will not start after the Power switch is turned on, but the Power lamp does not come on.

Cause:

There is no power to the system.

Solution:

Check incoming power.  If it is OK, remove incoming power for about one minute, then try again.  If the system now works, use it but report the failure to CCI Thermal Technologies Inc. or Trinity Electronics Systems Ltd. at (780) 489-3199.

Problem:

The unit will not start when the Power switch is turned on and the Power lamp is lit.

Cause:

The power is supplied into the system, but the Zone Mode switches (Standby/Auto/Off) on all zones are off.

Solution:

Check the Zone Mode switches on all zones and turn at least one on (Standby or Auto).

Problem:

I've been waiting for about 20 minutes, and all of the Low Temperature LEDs are still lit.

Cause:

It can actually take up to 45 minutes for the heaters to come up to preheat temperature.

Solution:

Wait.

Problem:

Most, but not all, of the Low Temperature indicators are off and now the Alarm indicator lamps are lit indicating a Preheat Failure.

Cause:

One or more preheat elements in that zone does not appear to be working.

Solution:

Turn off the system (with the Power On/Off toggle switch) and feel the surface of the heaters.  If the failed unit(s) appears to be cool to the touch, check to make sure that all incoming power phases are OK.  All Low Temperature indicators lit at the end of the time-out period indicates a missing power phase.  Have an electrician perform tests to ensure that the preheat element power is connected properly.

Problem:

The unit still does not work when the power is supplied and all control operations are done correctly.

Cause:

There may be a short from wire strands to other wires or to the Printed Circuit Board traces; or there may be damaged components resulting from incorrect usage; or from problems during delivery and/or installation.

Solution:

Check any short wiring, especially in the bare portions such as terminal strips and wire connection.  If the above does not help, contact Trinity Electronics Systems Ltd. at (780) 489-3199 for troubleshooting assistance.

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An alarm occurs when the CPU card detects operation outside of normal limits.  Faults generated by the CPU are temperature related problems.  Faults may also be detected from external inputs such as gas pressure switches, air flow switches, or conveyor stoppage switches.  Any faults or alarm conditions will light the large ALARM LED at the bottom right of the control panel.  In addition, the small Alarm LEDs on the display card(s) and the large LED on MCS will provide information on the specific problem and zone number.

If an external fault is recognized, a large LED on the display cards will light, the Alarm LED lamp on the master control strip will light and the corresponding external switch failure will be indicated by the master control strip LED. This will be a gas pressure failure, air flow failure, or conveyor stoppage.

If an internal fault is detected, large Alarm LEDs on the appropriate display card will light and specify the nature of the problem.  These alarm LEDs are marked as "Alarm 1", "Alarm 2", "Alarm 3" and "Alarm 4".  These LEDs may be read using the following table to ascertain the specific failure.

Types of Alarm Conditions

External Fault:

An External fault has occurred and continues to occur for some time, until the system times out and the oven shuts down.

Cause:

External Faults are the easiest faults to diagnose because there is an indicator for each external fault. The indicator LED will show which input caused the fault. If the external fault clears quickly enough, the system will recover and carry on. If the fault extends past the critical time for each input the fault is fatal and the power switch must be turned off to reset the panel. The reaction times are:

Gas Pressure Switch:    8 seconds --> shutdown

Air Flow Switch:           30 seconds --> shutdown

Conveyor Stopped:     30 seconds --> standby   

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Preheat Fail:

One or more  heaters failed to reach operating temperature within the 60 minute period allowed.  The problem heater(s) are indicated on the Low Temperature LED bank for the particular zone.

Cause:

This could be a power or a thermocouple problem.  The easiest way to find out is to turn the affected zone ON/OFF switch "OFF", then back "ON".  This resets the alarm and starts the preheat cycle from the beginning.  If the system is now able to start normally there may a problem with the thermocouple.  If this is a recent problem involving a system that has been working flawlessly for a long period of time, check the incoming voltage, preheat element voltage, and preheat element current.  Contact Trinity Electronics Systems at (780) 489-3199 for assistance.  If this is a new installation, there may be a problem with the thermocouple transmitter board. See the section titled “Thermocouples” for details.

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Postheat Fail:

One or more heaters keep cooling off during the ten minute "gas plus preheat" cycle.  The incoming fuel may be producing a cooling effect on the catalyst pads keeping them from reaching the critical temperature. When this occurs, gas is shut off and a two minute preheat using elements only is started. Then gas is turned on in conjunction with the elements for another ten minutes.  This is allowed to happen up to four times without causing an alarm.  The fifth time that it happens, this fault is reported and the affected zones are shut down.

Cause:

The problem may be caused by a faulty thermocouple, contaminated fuel, or the fuel gas may be too cold.  Contact CCI Thermal Technologies Inc. for assistance with this problem.

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Gas Pressure Fail:

Either the low pressure switch or the high pressure switch in the gas line is indicating a problem with the gas pressure.

Cause:

This could be either a low pressure or a high pressure problem.  Check the incoming gas pressure before it enters the appliance regulator.  If the gas pressure is below 7.0 inches w.c. (1.73 kPa) for natural gas or 11.0 inches w.c. (2.72 kPa) for propane, check in incoming gas line for closed valves or for other problems.  To check if the problem is due to high gas pressure, check the gauge on the gas line after it leaves the appliance regulator.  If the pressure at this point in the gas line is above 7.0 inches w.c. (1.73 kPa) for natural gas or 11.0 inches w.c. (2.72 kPa) for propane, the regulator may require adjustment or may need replacement.  Contact CCI Thermal Technologies Inc. for assistance.  If there are still problems, replace the wiring at the master control strip to the pressure switches with a jumper wire.  If the lamp now goes out, there is a problem with the wiring to the switches or with the switches themselves.

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Operate Fail:

One or more thermocouples dropped below critical temperature while the system was in operate mode (no longer in preheat).  This can take two different diagnostic paths, depending on whether the system was in Standby or in Full Heat Mode.  To determine this, check if the Full Heat/Standby switches are in the Full Heat position or in the Standby position.

Cause:

This depends upon the mode the oven system is currently in.  First check the Full Heat/Standby switches. If the master Full Heat/ Standby switch is set to Standby, all zones are set to standby mode.  If the master switch is set to Full Heat, check the zone Full Heat/Standby switches.

Full Heat: Not enough fuel is supplied to keep the heaters operating.  How long after starting did it take for this fault to occur?  If the fault happened shortly after the zone finished  the preheat cycle, there is probably a gas pressure problem.  Check to make sure that all the ball valves in the system (if any) are in the On position  (handle in line with the pipes).  Turn the zone On/Off switch "Off", then back "On" again.  Wait until the gas valve turns on (as part of the preheat cycle), and check the gas pressure gauge for that zone.  It must read above 7.0 inches (1.73 kPa) for natural gas or 11.0 inches w.c. (2.72 kPa) for propane before it enters into the appliance regulator.

Standby: Same problem as with the Full Heat position above, using the same tests. It is also possible that the standby gas pressure is incorrect.  After restarting the system (zone On/Off switch Off, then back On), wait for the system to reach the Gas On mode for that zone.  Make sure that the zone is in standby (either the Master Standby switch is set or the zone Full Heat/Standby switch is in the Standby position), then observe the gas pressure gauge.  It must read above 7.0 inches (1.73 kPa) for natural gas or 11.0 inches w.c. (2.72 kPa) for propane while the Preheat indicator is lit and 3.0 inches (0.74 kPa) pressure for natural gas or 4.0 inches w.c. (0.99 kPa) pressure for propane when the Preheat indicator turn off.

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Air Flow Fail:

The Air Flow switch indicates that blowers were called for and they did not function.

Cause:

Check to see if any blowers are running.  If they are running, this indicates a bad air flow switch or a wiring problem between the switch and the corresponding input on the Master Control Strip (MCS) located inside the control panel.  Ensure this wiring has been completed correctly.  If the blowers are not running, the problem could be related to the blower wiring.  Check all the wiring associated with the blowers; the line voltage wiring, the output to the blowers, and the input from the CPU (or CPUD) boards inside the control panel.  If blowers still do not work, check that the motors function without CPU (or CPUD) control, off line voltage directly.  If the blowers do work independently, contact CCI Thermal Technologies Inc. for assistance.

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Conveyor Stopped:

This indicates the conveyor has stopped.

Cause:

At this time, the conveyor stoppage is not a fatal fault, and the oven will continue to operate independently of the conveyor's state. The default action programmed into most ovens is to put the oven into standby 30 seconds after the conveyor input line is opened . This time can be changed through software. If the system indicates that the conveyor has stopped but the conveyor is running, check the wiring associated with the conveyor stopped switch.  If the wiring is correct, check to see if the conveyor stopped switch has failed by removing the wires from the terminals, alternatively shorting the two wires together and pulling them apart.  The conveyor stopped LED lamp on the Control Panel should turn off when the two wires are shorted together.

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If you have any further questions, or for further assistance, please contact: