Manual revision 017
Section 7: Troubleshooting
SBE 33
41
Section 7: Troubleshooting
This section reviews common problems in operating the SBE 33, and provides
the most likely causes and solutions.
Servicing should be performed by experienced technicians who have been
trained to work with complex mechanical/electrical equipment.
For protection of the circuitry, we also recommend removing AC power and
then waiting for 1 minute for supply capacitor discharge before opening
housings, changing connections, removing or inserting circuit cards, or
otherwise working on the equipment.
Problem 1: Unable to View Data in Seasave (Real-Time Data Acquisition program)
Cause/Solution 1
: If the scan length does not match the selected .xmlcon or
.con configuration file (for example, the configuration file indicates that
NMEA position data is added through a NMEA device connected to the
computer, but you did not connect the NMEA device to the computer),
Seasave continues with real-time data acquisition (saving the raw data to
a file for later processing), but does not show or plot data in the Seasave
displays.
The data quality is not affected; you can correct the configuration
file error in SBE Data Processing (post-processing), and process the data as
required. Verify that the settings in the configuration file match the current
CTD configuration - number and type of auxiliary sensors, sensors assigned to
correct channels, NMEA and Surface PAR selected if applicable.
Problem 2: SBE 33 Completely Inoperable
Cause/Solution 1:
If the power switch is on but the power switch pilot light is out, no other
panel lights are on, and the fan is not running, either AC power has been
disconnected or the main fuse has blown. Check the AC power source.
Turn off the SBE 33, remove the power cable, wait 1 minute, and check the
main fuse. Replace if necessary.
If the main fuse blows again
, there is probably a short in the main chassis AC
wiring. See the chassis wiring diagram - it may be necessary to disconnect one
section after another to locate the problem.
WARNING!
Life-threatening high voltages are
present in the SBE 33 and the
underwater units when power is on.
These hazardous voltages persist
for up to 1 minute after removal of
power. To protect against electrical
shock, disconnect the AC power
cord from the SBE 33 and then wait
a full minute before attempting
service. Always disconnect the AC
power cord before checking fuses.
WARNING!
Use extreme caution when making
these tests.
Note:
If
Check scan length
is enabled in
Seasave’s Options menu, Seasave
checks the data scan length against
the expected length (based on the
configuration file setup), and provides
a warning that there is an error. Sea-
Bird recommends using this setting.
