Pessl Instruments iMETOS - Power Supply; Maintenance; Troubleshooting

iMETOS Maintenance & troubleshooting 3
iMETOS maintenance and troubleshooting
In this document, a detailed maintenance and troubleshooting section of all iMETOS (including iMETOS 1 and
iMETOS 2) and ECO series is described. Proper maintenance of the iMetos components is essential to obtain
accurate data. Equipment must be in good operating condition, which requires a program of regular inspec-
tion and maintenance. Routine and simple maintenance can be accomplished by the person in charge of the
weather station. More dicult maintenance such as sensor calibration, sensor performance testing, and sen-
sor component replacement, generally requires a skilled technician, or that the instrument be sent to Pessl
Instruments. A station log should be maintained for each iMetos station that includes serial numbers, dates
that the site was visited, and maintenance that was performed.
1. POWER SUPPLY
1.1. Maintenance
Keep the solar panel cleaned and make sure it charges in an ecient way the battery. Make sure that bat-
tery cable is well connected to its correspondent input on the board. When the solar panel of the iMETOS is
exposed to the sun and gets enough sunlight it should constantly recharge the battery of the system. The
lifespan of the battery is expected to be twelve years with sucient recharging from the solar panel. Deep
discharge shortens its lifetime. Battery should be replaced once it goes down to 5V. It is recommended to
change the battery cable every 3 years in normal climate and every 2 year in maritime climate.
1.2 Troubleshooting
• Power supply breaks frequent: battery cable is damaged.
• Battery is not charged:
◊ Station power consumption increased.
◊ Check/look for damaged sensors, corrosion parts on pcb, station settings (logging of prole probes,
transfer interval).
◊ Not enough sunlight: change station settings (decrease n° of transfer intervals).
◊ Broken wires of solar panel: exchange solar panel.
◊ Solar panel partially broken: exchange solar panel.
• High uctuation of battery voltage: battery lost capacity.
• Occasional drop of battery voltage: board seems to hang communication – change the main board.
• iMetos1: never charges, battery is connected to solar panel input – pcb has to be replaced
◊ Completely broken of power supply – exchange fuse.
• iMetos2: at 6.85V the charging is suspended till it goes down to 6.3V.