Galvanic Applied Sciences AccuChrome MA2963, Operation Manual

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Revision 4 102 12/15/2018
Section 10 Troubleshooting
10.1 Overview
Troubleshooting is the determination of the cause of a difficulty in the system. Typically, the
operator will perform troubleshooting activities when the system is providing data that the
operator believes to be incorrect, such as a dramatically lower signal for all compounds. It is
important to recognize that the output from the system represents the condition of the entire
analytical system, and the most critical step is to determine the component at fault.
As an example of this point, a noisy baseline could be due to:
a) the delivery of the sample
b) the column (the column could be contaminated)
c) the detector (there could be an electronic problem on a printed circuit board)
Troubleshooting and the amount of down time can be minimized by the following guidelines.
• In almost all cases, there is one and only one proximate cause for a problem.
• A fundamental knowledge of the role of each component of the system is very useful for
diagnosing the problem.
• If any aspect of the sampling has changed, run a before and after test to make sure that the
change is well understood. Do not consider any change as trivial. As an example, if the user
has changed the pre-treatment of the sample, he/she should verify that the change does
not affect the overall analytical process.
• The availability of critical spare parts to substitute in the system is extremely useful. If it is
suspected that the fault lies in a component, replacing that part can quickly determine if that
part was at fault.
•
In many cases, the problem is sample related (rather than instrument related) and well-
defined samples should be used monitor the performance of the system from time to time.