Even the most common small errors caused by loop wiring issues can lead to inferior product, lost production time and risk to personnel. Intrinsically safe loops are protected by barriers only against extreme overvoltage and over current conditions but allowing small but significant ground faults to go undetected. PIE’s unique and powerful Ground Leak Detection technology quickly and easily finds a fault that would otherwise go undetected. These undetected faults could lead to potentially disastrous outcomes.

Have you ever replaced a “faulty” transmitter only to find the problem was somewhere else in the loop? And did you end up throwing the transmitter away after you fixed the other problem “just in case” the transmitter was faulty? If you find a loop where the transmitter is calibrated correctly but all the readings elsewhere in the loop have a fixed offset this is due to a Zero Shift. This Zero Shift is typically caused by some of the current in the loop bypassing the transmitter. If you have some loops that are erratic after it rains there may be moisture present in a junction box or where insulation has broken down.

Only a PIE Calibrator with patented Ground Leak Detection can find all these hidden problems. Turn on Ground Leak Detection and use the PIE 525Plus to power up the loop. Any current that isn’t controlled by the transmitter or other current control element will be clearly indicated as leakage on the PIE 525Plus display.

Ground Leak detection allows technicians to troubleshoot loop problems with ease and confidence - minimizing risk and maximizing process uptime.

Problem found with RTD Sensor Wiring

Here is an example of the PIE 525Plus reading a sensor with all 4 wires connected.	Here is an example where connections are made to a 4 wire sensor and the 525Plus indicates that only Wires 1, 2 & 4 are connected. There may be a loose connection or a break in wire 3 somewhere between the sensor and the 525Plus.

Only a calibrator with PIE’s patented 2, 3 & 4 wire detection makes troubleshooting sensor wiring quick, easy and automatic. This is much simpler and faster than going through the process of testing each pair of wires to figure out which, if any, connection is loose or which wire is broken.

Problem found with Thermocouple Probe Resistance

Here is an example of the PIE 525Plus reading a new sensor with low resistance. The resistance is approximately 100 ohms.	Here is a thermocouple junction inside the probe that is close to burning out. The thermocouple should be replaced before this happens as part of your preventative maintenance program.	This probe indicated OPEN on the controller and shut down the process. The resistance is <10,000 ohms versus >100 ohms when new.

Only a calibrator with PIE’s secondary display of thermocouple probe resistance makes troubleshooting thermocouples simple without requiring additional testing equipment. This saves time and money over replacing fully operational thermocouple too early or waiting for the thermocouples to fail.

Simulating or reading thermocouples requires the use of thermocouple or extension grade thermocouple wire.

Plug thermocouple wires into the miniature thermocouple jack. The PIE 525Plus has two banana jacks (1+ and 2-) mounted in the top end of the housing. These are not temperature compensated and are to be used only for millivolt signals. The two banana jacks (5+ and 6-) are for all milliamp signals.

Simulating or reading RTDs uses copper wire.

Plug 2, 3 or 4 wires into the corresponding jacks on the calibrator. For RTD source the PIE 525Plus simulates the (+) RTD from jacks 1 & 4 and the (-) RTD from jacks 2 & 3. When reading an RTD sensor the PIE 525Plus uses patented circuitry to automatically detects if 2, 3 or 4 wires are connected. This is helpful to troubleshoot sensor connections.