BCS-482 Unresponsive

[wattsbrewing]

Ok, Brewers Hardware got us up and running again. Whew!

This was different from what happened with the 462 I wrecked earlier. That one (after running fine for 2 years) I tried to hook up a space heater to a relay that didn't have enough heat dissipation. The relay burnt out with sparks and smoke and everything, and that surge really killed the BCS.

This time, the BCS, as I discovered, was dropping off the network after I started rebuilding a process. I'm not running any heavy loads off the outputs, just powering relays which are switching solenoid valves. I could pop things open and put together a diagram if you're worried about it, but the things I have connected were running fine for two years before this. At this point I think I'm out of the woods (and the beer is bubbling along happily) so I think I'm set.

Also Oakbarn, I did try pulling all the screw terminal blocks off (except for the power one) as you suggested. It's a handy trick for troubleshooting, but didn't make a difference in this case.

Anyway, thanks guys.

[mjap52]

Hi wattsbrewing,

I think I had a similar issue. I was rebuilding a process in the process editor this morning (482 unit from EBrewSupply), and then the BCS just dropped off the face of the earth (or my network). What did you do to get your BCS back up and running? Any idea on how to prevent this in the future?

[oakbarn]

Were you building the Process from scratch or using a BCS 460/462 backup. That can cause an issue for me.

[mjap52]

I bought my panel from EBrewSupply. They have pre built processes in there. I was editing those.

[wattsbrewing]

Hey mjap52,

Sorry I didn't see this before, I haven't been on the forum since I got everything working again. Something must have been up w my unit, Brewers Hardware swapped it out for me and now everything is fine. I'm hoping you got it running by now, but if not, what I do when I'm having network issues is to log in to your router and check attached devices. Look through the list for a MAC address that matches your BCS. Sometimes your router will assign it a different IP if it disconnects from the network. I would recommend setting up a static IP so you don't have to deal with it.

[oakbarn]

I used to set up a Static IP. That works fine until you do a Reset or install new firmware. It then reverts to DCHP. Changing Routers will make the DCHP different. In some cases, even some change in your network can cause a re assignment, but I have had that only happen once.

Under "normal" operation, the DCHP from the same router should attempt to assign the same IP to the MAC Address of your BCS is my understanding.

I am NOT a Network Guru and only know enough to get in trouble.

I have had issues with that as well as the BCS Finder. I have no idea why. It works, it does not work. It works. Right now, not working.