Products > Test Equipment
Keysight 3000 4000 MSOX4154A P-CLOCK failure
EE-digger:
My MSOX4154A warranty ran out 11/2019 so I'm not sure there's an affordable way out of this.
I had seen a “System concerns detected: P-Clock failure” once or twice over the last few years. I only use the scope about once a week.
In the past few days it has been a 50:50 chance of getting it and even if the scope works, it seems to get corrupted as it sits (same whether cool or warmed up).
Has anyone seen the P-CLOCK failure and know how to fix it? Keysight has a page on it in their edadocs - kkbopen pages. They call it "relatively uncommon" (unless you have it :( ). When it has the failure, ADC function on channels 3 and 4 seems out to lunch with large offset and various vertical alias of the waveform.
Their suggestions range from running self test to re-installing the firmware, even if the same version. After that, it's off to the Keysight shop. My problem is I'm running on an "enhanced" 7.40 and once again, was too dumb to check monthly and save versions.
This problem, publicly acknowledged by the Keysight page, seems like a timing margin problem. As such, I would hope they would fix it for free and may need to continue hoping for that if there is no other solution. If it will fix the scope, I would install 7.50 but lose the goodies. Unless their update writes new FPGA code, I have doubts about it fixing the problem.
update - found my copy of factory 7.40 and installed that. Self test now reports SIPO(): ADC failure which had also (though rarely) shown up before.
Still sounds like timing. What do you all think? One other tidbit ... my lab is about 10 degrees cooler than in summer (average 63F now). I may warm it up and see if that changes things.
TheSteve:
That is an unfortunate failure on an expensive machine. I don't think I've ever seen anyone who has repaired that problem. If you do find temperature changes the behavior maybe you could locate the suspect component(s).
EE-digger:
If I do find that temperature masks it, and together with Keysight's comments in the past, I will get down on both knees and beg for end of year redemption :palm:
Interestingly enough, over a year or so ago it would not pass user cal with my precision matched test cable. I had to put it out in the cold for an hour and run the user cal when it first came it. I think it complained about temperature delta and I repeated until it ran ... and PASSED !
EE-digger:
Ok, here is the result of temperature testing.
63 deg F - failing self test almost 100% now
75 deg F - still failing most of the time (1 hour soak)
77 deg F - passing self test 100 % (2 hours soak)
I can do further temperature testing, taking it near max operating temp. If it stays fixed after coming back to room temp, that may point to a bad connection. Otherwise, if it follows temperature it may be a hardware timing problem.
The unit has never been opened so I'll wait and see if anyone has suggestions, then talk to Keysight first.
Bud:
There are posts about P clock failure in other threads on this forum from owners of 1000 series scopes when they performed hardware modification that involved removal and re-seating of the BLT board (the module with the fpga, cpu and ADC). One person traced it to a broken connector.
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