Troubleshooting

What is troubleshooting?
o  A logical, systematic process that is able to
determine "what" happened, "why" it
happened and a method to develop effective
fixes for the "why" it happened.
Why do we Troubleshoot?
o  To prevent the equipment and
machinery from repeat incidents and
failures
5 Steps of Troubleshooting
o  Preparation
o  Step 1 Observation
o  Step 2 Define Problem Area
o  Step 3 Identify Possible Causes
o  Step 4 Determine Most Probable Cause
o  Step 5 Test and Repair
o  Follow-up
Preparation
o  Before you begin to troubleshoot any piece of
equipment, you must be familiar with safety rules and
procedures for working on electrical equipment.
n  Be Safe!
n  Turn off power, ground yourself, and use gloves when
appropriate

o  Next, gather information regarding the equipment and

the problem.
n  Be sure you understand how the equipment is designed to
operate it.
n  Operation or equipment manuals and drawings are great
sources of information and are helpful to have available.
n  If there are equipment history records, you should review
them to see if there are any reoccurring problems
Step 1: Observation
o  “What Happened?”
o  Most faults provide obvious clues as to their cause.
o  Through careful observation and a little bit of reasoning,
most faults can be identified as to the actual component
with very little testing.
o  When observing malfunctioning equipment, look for
visual signs of mechanical damage such as indications
of impact, chafed wires, loose components or parts lying
in the bottom of the cabinet.
o  Look for signs of overheating, especially on wiring, relay
coils, and printed circuit boards.
Step 1: Observation
o  Do not forget to use your other senses
when inspecting equipment.
n  The smell of burnt insulation is something
you would not miss.
n  Listening to the sound of the equipment
operating may give you a clue to where the
problem is located.
n  Checking the temperature of components
can also help find problems, but be careful
while doing this, some components may be
alive or hot enough to burn you.
Step 1: Observation
o  Pay particular attention to areas that
were identified either by past history or
by the person that reported the
problem.
n  Here is a note of caution! Do not let these
mislead you, past problems are just that –
past problems, they are not necessarily the
problem you are looking for now.
n  Also, do not take reported problems as a
fact, always check for yourself if possible.
The person reporting the problem may not
have described it properly or may have
made their own incorrect assumptions.
Step 1: Observation - Summary
o  Be sure you understand how the equipment is
designed to operate.
o  Note the condition of the equipment as found.
n  You should look at the state of the relays (energized or
not), which lamps are lit, and the auxiliary equipment is
energized or running etc.
n  This is the best time to give the equipment a thorough
inspection (using all your senses). Look for signs of
mechanical damage, overheating, unusual sounds, and
smells etc.
o  Test the operation of the equipment including all of
its features.
n  Make note of any feature that is not operating properly.
n  Make sure you observe these operations very carefully.
This can give you a lot of valuable information
regarding all parts of the equipment.
Step 2: Define the Problem
Area
o  At this stage you apply logic and reasoning to
your observations to determine the problem area
of the malfunctioning equipment.
n  Often times when equipment malfunctions, certain
parts of the equipment will work properly while
others not.
o  The key is to use your observations (from step 1)
to rule out parts of the equipment or circuitry
that are operating properly and not contributing
to the cause of the malfunction.
n  You should continue to do this until you are left with
only the part(s). If faulty, it could cause the
symptoms that the equipment is experiencing.
Step 2: Define the Problem
Areas
o  To help you define the problem area you should
have a schematic diagram of the circuit, in
addition to your noted observations.
o  Starting with the whole circuit as the problem
area, take each noted observation and ask
yourself, "what does this tell me about the circuit
operation?".
n  If an observation indicates that a section of the
circuit appears to be operating properly, you can then
eliminate it from the problem area.
n  As you eliminate each part of the circuit from the
problem area, make sure to identify them on your
schematic. This will help you keep track of all your
information.
Step 3: Identify Possible
Causes
o  Once the problem area(s) have been
defined, it is necessary to identify all the
possible causes of the malfunction.
n  This typically involves every component in the
problem area(s).
o  It is necessary to list (write down) every
fault which could cause the problem no
matter how remote the possibility of it
occurring.
n  Use your initial observations to help you do this.
n  During the next step you will eliminate those
which are not likely to happen.
Step 4 – Determine the Most
Probably Cause
o  Once the list of possible causes has been
made, it is then necessary to prioritize
each item as to the probability of it
being the cause of the malfunction.
n  The following are some rules of thumb when
prioritizing possible causes.
n  Although, it may seem to be possible for two
components to fail at the same time, it is
not very likely. Start by looking for one
faulty component as the culprit.
 Step 4 – Determine the Most
Probable Cause
o  The following list shows the order in which you should check
components based on the probability of them being defective:
1.  Components that burn out or have a tendency to wear out: i.e. mechanical
switches, fuses , relay contacts, and light bulbs. (Remember, fuses burn out
for a reason. You should find out why before replacing them.)
2.  Coils, motors, transformers, and other devices with windings: These usually
generate heat and with time, can malfunction.
3.  Connections: especially screw or bolted type. Over time these can loosen and
cause a high resistance. In some cases this resistance will cause overheating
and eventually will burn open. Connections on equipment that is subject to
vibration, are especially prone to coming loose.
4.  Defective wiring: Pay particular attention to areas where the wire insulation
could be damaged causing short circuits. Do not rule out incorrect wiring,
especially on a new piece of equipment.
Step 5 – Test and Repair
o  Once you have determined the most
probable cause, you must either
prove it to be the problem or rule it
out – by inspection/observation or
by using test instruments
o  Test Instruments: used to help
narrow the problem area and
identify the problem component.
n  specialized instruments designed
to measure various behaviors of
specific equipment
n  General instruments (i.e.
multimeters)
Step 5 – Test and Repair
o  Important Rule: when taking meter readings, predict what
the meter will read before taking the reading.
n  Use the circuit schematic to determine what the meter will read if
the circuit is operating normally.
n  If the reading is anything other than your predicted value, you
know that this part of the circuit is being affected by the fault.
o  Depending on the circuit and type of fault, the problem area as
defined by your observations, can include a large area of the
circuit. It creates a very large list of possible and probable
causes.
n  Use a “divide and eliminate” approach to eliminate parts of the
circuit from the problem area.
n  The results of each test provides information to help you reduce
the size of the problem area, until the defective component is
identified.
Step 5 – Test and Repair
o  Once you have determined the cause of the
faulty operation of the circuit, replace the
defective component.
o  After replacing the component, you must test
operate all features of the circuit, to be sure
you have replaced the proper component and
that there are no other faults in the circuit.
n  It can be very embarrassing to tell the customer that
you have repaired the problem only to have him find
another problem with the equipment just after you
leave.
Follow-Up
Not an official step of the troubleshooting process, but it
should be done once the equipment has been repaired and
put back in service.
o  Try to determine the reason for the malfunction.
n  Did the component fail due to age?
n  Did the environment the equipment operates in cause
excessive corrosion?
n  Are there wear points that caused the wiring to short out?
n  Did it fail due to improper use?
n  Is there a design flaw that causes the same component to
fail repeatedly?
o  Through this process further failures can be minimized.
o  Many organizations have their own follow-up
documentation and processes. s
Follow Up
o  If you determine there was human performance (or user
error) involved in the equipment issue, the
troubleshooter needs to step out of the “equipment
analysis” role and interview people who have interacted
with the equipment or machinery in question.
o  May need to properly train users on equipment usage.
Example:
o  A Centrifuge begins to smoke and
eventually catches fire.
Preparation
o  Put out fire
o  Gather tools and manuals for
Centrifuge
o  Put on Gloves and other protective
equipment (eyewear, etc)
o  Unplug Centrifuge
Step 1: Observe
o  You open the case for the centrifuge and see
the motor on the ball bearing is melted
o  You smell melted plastic
Step 2 – Define the problem
areas
o  It looks like the melted components
are all in the motor and there appears
to be no brining or scorching in the
electronics

o  Therefore, the problem area is most

likely…..
the motor.
Step 3 – Identify Problem
Causes
o  Lubrication problems
o  Loading problems
o  Misalignment problems
o  Clearance problems
o  Friction problems
Step 4 – Determine the Most
Probably Cause
o  If through observation you see that there is no
lubricant on the motor, you might conclude that
insufficient lubricant is the most probable cause

o  If through observation you see that the rotation

of the centrifuge is not even (it wobbles) – you
might conclude that misalignment is the most
probable cause
Step 5 – Test and Repair
o  If the issue was lubrication, you would:
n  Replace the motor bearing and lubricate the
motor.
n  Then reassemble and test the centrifuge
o  If this issue was misalignment, you would:
n  Realign the motor
n  Replace the bearing
n  Reassemble and test the centrifuge.
Follow Up
If through review of the documentation, you
notice that centrifuges regularly fail because of
inadequate lubrication, you might create a
program to lubricate them on a more regularly
basis to mitigate the reoccurring issues.
What if you’re not able to determine
any possibilities or don’t know possible
causes of failure ?
o  Use pre-developed and/or existing
checklists that contain the most
common symptoms of problems and
then include the possible causes for
each of the listed symptoms
n  These checklists are often found in the
user’s and service manuals
Your Turn!
o  What if in that example of a smoking
centrifuge that was given, through
your observation in Step 1 you
noticed it was the circuit board that
was burnt and not the motor…
n  Continue through steps 2-5 to
brainstorm how you would solve the
problem
References
o  How to Troubleshoot like an Expert- A Systematic Approach - By
Warren Rhude
o  Equipment Troubleshooting by Andrew Marquardt – Occupational
Health and Safety