Posted 10 Oct 2015 At my wits end. I've been challenged with setting up a Test Rack for education, and testing in our electrical shop. I've been attempting to setup a PLC5 1785-L40E processor, with a 1771-A4B Chassis; via serial connection to a Laptop. Seems simple enough? My result is, solid red Proc light. (I assume due to no memory, or EEPROM card installed, however it could be a major hardware fault) No COMM light at all, ever. Auto-Config in RsLinx fails. I've made my own cable according to AB's 1784-CP10 pinout. (null modem) I've tried my laptops serial port(COM1), and a USB to Serial adapter(set to COM4). I've lowered the baud on both ports through Device Manager to 2400. (Default for the processor) Confirmed the stop bit, parity, and Error correcting all match the default parameters. I have the chassis dip switches on the chassis set to all off except for 6 (EEPROM memory does not transfer to processor memory.) I have the processor dip switches set 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 so station number is 1. (I found a publication that states some processors don't recognize 0 as a viable address) U D D D D D D And finally yes I've confirmed that the RS-232C dip switches are set for default configuration. DDDUUDDUDU Also note I have 2 identical chassis', and processors, that I've been experimenting with, as well as a second PC with RSLinx installed. The only difference to note is that one of the processors the Ethernet Stat light periodically blinks red. Because I have two sets of hardware to play with, I find it hard to believe however possible; that both sets of equipment have failed with major hardware faults. This leads me to believe that I am fundamentally missing something here. A step I have missed, or I simply have my head shoved up somewhere... ...any ideas? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 10 Oct 2015 (edited) Two power supplies also? Have you tried removing the battery, this will reset everything to default condition. What driver are you using in RSLinx? ( I have to ask) Edited 10 Oct 2015 by Mickey Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 10 Oct 2015 Ya two power supplies as well, I've got both sets on the bench; and I've been swapping the processors back and forth to see if any changes take effect. I just tried removing the battery. Batt light comes on, no change. I am using "RS 232 DF1" driver, with RS-Linx Classic Lite. It is possible my gear is just screwed, they've been sitting on a shelf for about 8 years. Taken out of service for an unknown reason, although I would assume because of an upgrade. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 10 Oct 2015 (edited) Check and double check your homemade cable. Only three wires are needed. 9 Pin 25 Pin 2-------------------------2 5-------------------------7 3-------------------------3 1784-CP10-PinOut.pdf Edited 10 Oct 2015 by Mickey Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 12 Oct 2015 Its been a couple days so maybe the pinout on the last post solved the problem. I would seriously doubt the equipment is dead from sitting on the shelf. The PLC 5's were tough and hard to kill. If I remember correctly the red processor light is just an indication that no program is available in memory. Also if you have a good cable and the PC is attempting to conect the COM light will generally flash - even if it doesnt connect successfully. If you dont see that then you need to check the cable. I would focus on using the computer with the serial port built in for your testing. Adding the USB adapter just adds another level of "go wrong" to the whole setup. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 12 Oct 2015 if all else fails - call me up and I'll walk you through it by phone ... I've got some "down time" right now setting up new computers ... click the link - find the number - call me up ... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 12 Oct 2015 Sorry guys, holiday weekend here in Canada. I will focus on the cable and Com computer when I'm back to work tomorrow. Appreciate all the feedback. I will post my results. Thanks very much for the offer Ron, I may take you up on it if my struggles continue. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 13 Oct 2015 Legacy A-B PLC processors have what appears to be serial ports (DB-9), but they require "special" serial communication cables. Follow the suggestions for building your own DF1 communication cable and then label as such when you are done. If the PLC-5 battery is depleted, which usually happens with spare equipment (shelf life is 2-4 years, I believe), the program is lost and the CPU will default to a faulted state on startup. No program...fault city. Break down your task into steps. 1st...insure you have the proper communication cable; 2nd...insure you have the proper RSLinx communication driver setup; 3rd...insure you are using the best methods to establish communication. With legacy Rockwell products, USB-to-Serial converters are often very hit-and-miss. If you have no laptop with a hard serial port, as most new laptops are, then use a USB-to-Serial converter that has been verified by others. I personally found success with Prolific USB-to-Serial converters, but it required using the right drivers. But, man are they a pain. You get communication going, then disconnect for whatever reason, and it would be hell trying to get comms back up again. If you want to play it safe, borrow an ancient laptop with a hard serial port and install RSLinx (which you can download for free). Make sure you are selecting the proper RSLinx driver (RS-232 DF1). Once you can see the processor in RSLinx in the old laptop, then you can narrow your troubles down to getting the USB-to-Serial converter going. Also, take some time to get all of your literature together. There are many, many guides for the PLC-5/40E. http://literature.rockwellautomation.com/idc/groups/literature/documents/qr/1785-qr001_-en-p.pdf Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
