MECHATRONICS

FAULT FINDING

PUSHPARAJ MANI PATHAK

MECHANICAL & INDUSTRIAL ENGINEEING, IIT ROORKEE

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Introduction

• Fault detection may be needed in measurement, control and

data communication systems.
• For details of the fault-finding checks required for specific
systems or components, the manufacturer’s manuals should
be used.

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Fault-Detection

• There are a number of techniques that can be used to detect

faults. These are:
1. Replication checks
2. Expected value checks
3. Timing checks
4. Reversal checks
5. Parity and error coding checks
6. Diagnostic checks

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1. Replication checks: This involves duplicating or replicating an
activity and comparing the results. In the absence of faults it
is assumed that the results should be the same. This can be
an expensive option.
2. Expected value checks: Software errors are commonly
detected by checking whether an expected value is obtained
when a specific numerical input is used. If the expected value
is not obtained then there is a fault.

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3. Timing checks:
• This involves the use of timing checks that some function has
been carried out within a specified time.
• These checks are commonly referred to as watchdog timers.
4 Reversal checks:
• Where there is a direct relationship between i/p and o/p
values, the value of the o/p can be taken and the i/p which
should have caused it computed.
• This can then be compared with the actual i/p.
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5. Parity and error coding checks:
• This form of checking is commonly used for detecting memory
and data transmission errors.
• To detect whether data has been corrupted, a parity bit is added
to the transmitted data word.
• The parity bit is chosen to make the resulting number of ones in
the group either odd (odd parity) or even (even parity).
• If odd parity then the word can be checked after transmission to
see if it is still odd.

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6. Diagnostic checks:
• Diagnostic checks are used to test the behavior of
components in a system.
• I/p are applied to a component and the o/p compared with
those which should occur.

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 Watchdog Timer
• A watchdog timer is basically a
timer that the system must reset
before it times out. If the timer is
not reset in time then an error is
assumed to have occurred.
• Example: A PLC with a watchdog
timer for an operation involving the
movement of a piston in a cylinder.

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Common Hardware Faults

• The following are some of the commonly encountered faults

that can occur with specific types of components and systems
1. Fault in Sensors

2. Faulty Switches and Relays

3. Fault in Motors

4. Fault in Hydraulic and Pneumatic Systems

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Fault in Sensors
• A simple test is to substitute the sensor with a new one and
see its effect on the system. If the results change then it is
likely that the original sensor was faulty; if the results do not
change then the fault is elsewhere in the system.
• It is also possible to check that the voltage/current sources
are supplying the correct voltages/currents.
• Whether sensor is correctly mounted.
• Sensor is used under the conditions specified by the
manufacturer’s data sheet, etc.
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Faulty Switches and Relays

• Dirt and particles of waste material between switch contacts are a

common source of incorrect functioning of mechanical switches.
• A voltmeter used across a switch should indicate the applied
voltage when the contacts are open and very nearly zero when they
are closed.
• If a relay fails to operate then a check can be made for the voltage
across the coil. If the correct voltage is present then coil continuity
can be checked with an ohmmeter. If there is no voltage across the
coil then the fault is likely to be the switching transistor used with
the relay.
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Fault in Motors

• Maintenance of both DC and AC motors involves correct

lubrication.
• With DC motors the brushes wear and can require changing.
• A single phase capacitor start AC motor that is sluggish in
starting probably needs a new starting capacitor.
• The three-phase induction motor required periodic
lubrication.

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Fault in Hydraulic and Pneumatic Systems
• A common cause of faults with hydraulic and pneumatic systems is
dirt. Small particles of dirt can damage seals, block orifices, cause
valve spools to jam, etc.
• Thus filters should be regularly checked and cleaned, components
should only be dismantled in clean conditions, and oil should be
regularly checked and changed.
• Damage to seals can result in leakage or pressure drop.
• The vanes in vane-type motors are subject to wear and can then fail
to make a good seal with the motor housing, with the result of a
loss of motor power. The vanes can be replaced. Leaks in hoses,
pipes and fittings are common faults.
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Faults in Microprocessor Systems

• Typical faults in microprocessor systems are:

1. Chip failure
2. Passive component failure (such as resistors and
capacitors)
3. Open circuits
4. Short circuits
5. Externally introduced interference
6. Software faults

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Fault-Finding Techniques

• Fault-finding techniques that are used with microprocessor-

based systems are:
• Visual Inspection • Current Tracer
• Multi-meter • Logic Clip
• Oscilloscope • Logic Comparator
• Logic Probe • Signature Analyser
• Logic Pulser • Logic Analyser

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1. Visual Inspection: Just carefully looking at a faulty system may
reveal the source of a fault, e.g. an integrated circuit which is loose
in its holder or surplus solder bridging tracks on a board.
2. Multi-meter: It can be used to check for short- or open-circuit
connections and the power supplies.
3. Oscilloscope: The oscilloscope is essentially limited to where
repetitive signals occur and the most obvious such signal is the
clock signal.
4. Logic Probe: The logic probe is a hand-held device, shaped like a
pen, which can be used to determine the logic level at any point in
the circuit to which it is connected.
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 Logic
Memory pulser IC1

Power Connectors
Clear

TTL / IC2
CSMOS
selector Current
IC3
tracer
Indicator
Lamp Probe Current trace falls to
Tip zero at IC short circuit
Multi-meter Logic Probe Current Tracer
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5. Current Tracer:
• The current tracer is similar to the logic probe but it senses
pulsing current in a circuit rather than voltage levels.
• The tip of the current tracer is magnetically sensitive and is
used to detect the changing magnetic field near a conductor
carrying a pulsing current.
• The current tracer tip is moved along printed circuit tracks to
trace out the low-impedance paths along which current is
flowing.
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6. Logic Pulser:
• The logic pulser is a hand-held pulse generator, shaped like a
pen, that is used to inject controlled pulses into circuits.
• The pulser probe tip is pressed against a node in the circuit
and the button on the probe pressed to generate a pulse.
• It is often used with the logic probe to check the functions of
logic gates.

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7. Logic clip: A logic clip is a device which clips to an integrated
circuit and makes contact with each of the integrated circuit
pins. The logic state of each pin is then shown by LED
indicators, there being one for each pin.
8. Logic comparator: The logic comparator tests integrated
circuits by comparing them to a good, reference, integrated
circuit .

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9. Signature Analyser:
• With digital systems the procedure of fault finding is
more complex than analog systems since trains of pulses
at nodes all look very similar in digital systems.
• To identify whether there is a fault, the sequence of
pulses is converted into a more readily identifiable form,
e.g. 258F, this being termed the signature.

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Circuit being tested
Input pin

Pulse Indicator
Output pin stretcher drive

=1

Indicator
EXCLUSIVE-OR

Reference circuit Logic Comparator

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10. Logic Analyzer: The logic analyzer is used to sample and store
simultaneously in a ‘first-in–first-out’ (FIFO) memory the logic
levels of bus and control signals in a unit under test.
• The point in the program at which the data capture starts or
finishes is selected by the use of a ‘trigger word’.
• The analyzer compares its trigger word with the incoming data
and only starts to store data when the word occurs in the
program.
• Data capture then continues for a predetermined number of
clock pulses and is then stopped.

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Systematic Fault-location Methods

The following are systematic fault-location methods.

1. Input to output: A suitable i/p signal is injected into the first
block of the system and then measurements are made in
sequence, starting from the first block, at the o/p of each
block in turn until the faulty block is found.
2. Output to input: A suitable input signal is injected into the
first block of the system and then measurements are made in
sequence, starting from the last block, at the o/p of each
block in turn until the faulty block is found.
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3. Half-split: A suitable i/p signal is injected into the first block
of the system. The blocks constituting the system are split in
half and each half tested to determine in which half the fault
lies. The faulty half is then split into half and the procedure
repeated.

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Self-testing

• Software can be used by a microprocessor-based system to

institute a self-test program for correct functioning.
• Such programs are often initiated during the start-up
sequence of a system when it is first switched on.
• For example, printers include microprocessors in their control
circuits and generally the control program stored in ROM also
includes test routines. Thus when first switched on, it goes
through these test routines and is not ready to receive data
until all tests indicate the system is fault-free.

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• A basic ROM test involves totaling all the data bytes stored in
each location in ROM and comparing the sum against that
already stored (the so called checksum test).
• If there is a difference then the ROM is faulty; if they agree it is
considered to be fault-free.

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Emulation

An emulator is a test board which can be used to test a microcontroller

and its program. The board contains:
1. The microcontroller.
2. Memory chips for the microcontroller to use as data and program
memory.
3. A input/output port to enable connections to be made with the
system under test.
4. A communications port to enable program code to be
downloaded from a computer and the program operation to be
monitored.
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 Communication
Port MCU
Port
Replacement
Unit
Memory Host Computer
System
under Using an Emulator
test Monitor
Terminal
• The program code can be written in a host computer and then
downloaded through either a serial or a parallel link into the
memory on the board. The microcontroller then operates as
though this program were contained within its own internal
memory.
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 Evaluation Board MC68HC11EVB
I/O connector to
the plug-in
connection to the
system under test
so that its pins
replicate those of
MC68HC11 and it
is as though the
microcontroller
was directly
connected to the
system
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References

• W. Bolton, Mechatronics: Electronic Control Systems in

Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (6th Edition), Pearson,
2015

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Thank You

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