7683 Series ALS on 6890N GC won't inject

Hello behringerd,

Could you provide a firmware of the instrument and the revision of Ezchrom? You can find the revision of Ezchrom from the help>about menu in the interface and the firmware you can find from the front panel of the instrument by clicking options then scroll to diagnostics and click enter then scroll to instrument status and press enter. Then from that menu there are firmware listed for the GC, which is listed as "version" and also a firmware version for the sampler and injector. Thank you

GC firmware is A.03.08.  Sampler firmware is G2612A.01.04.  Front Inj. Firmware is G2613A.10.07.

The EZChrom Rev. is A.04.07.

The tray model number is G2614A.

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You mentioned that you tried a different sampler on the GC and got the same error message from Ezchrom and that's why you believe it is a board issue. You can verify that by running a method from the front panel of the instrument. If the instrument is able to complete a run from the front panel with no errors, then it may be a problem with the software. If the GC can't complete a run, then it is a board issue and onsite is required. Please see the attached document on how to run a front panel method on a 6890.

Note that where the procedure asks to enter a number for "samples", you should enter a larger vial position (i.e. sample 30 for vial position 30) so that the vial is taken from the sampler and not the injector. Also, be sure to have the software closed so the instrument isn't controlled by anything else.

The instrument was able to complete a run from the front panel with no errors.

I dont know the EZchrom software, but other platforms do not use external, is there an option for GC/ALS for the source in the method?

James

The plastics may have been changed at some point. A.03.08 firmware is a 6890A or 6890 Plus model. If the samplers plug into the back of the GC on a separate sampler board you have the 6890 plus.The lan card would also be separate from the main board

If the instrument injects ok from the front panel, and if that indicates a problem with the software, what could that problem be?  We have verified that the information in the method is correct.

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If the instrument injects ok from the front panel, and if that indicates a problem with the software, what could that problem be?  We have verified that the information in the method is correct.

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I dont know the EZchrom software, but other platforms do not use external, is there an option for GC/ALS for the source in the method?

James

There isn't an option for GC/ALS in EZchrom. Could you try using the "none" trigger instead of "external"? You could also try reconfiguring the instrument in Openlab control panel as well.

"External" would be the correct trigger type. This would allow for an Injection Source of "GC Injector" to be selected in the Trigger section of the method:

Then in the Single Run or Sequence Run windows the exact injection location can be specified:

apcharles' recommendation to try re-configuring the instrument in the OpenLAB Control Panel would be the next thing to try if the method and run settings are set appropriately.

The autosampler worked today but we don’t know what we did to fix it.  Perhaps the method was corrupt (?).

Debbie

Hi Debbie, we're glad it's up and running! A corrupt method is a possibility. However, I want to reiterate a caution that was mentioned earlier: if the firmware revision is indeed A.03.08, the GC is either a 6890A or 6890 Plus, not a 6890N. With incompatible firmware comes the possibility of both software and hardware incompatibility, and also possibly "strange" behavior. Was the GC outfitted, upgraded, or modified in any way by someone other than an Agilent representative?

The GC is probably a 6890 Plus but I would have to find the paperwork to verify that.  It’s quite possible that somebody switched the top lid with another GC.  As far as I know nobody has been modified by anybody other than Agilent.

Debbie

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