Error -200545 When Running Self-Calibration on DAQ Device

Issue Details

When I try to run a self-calibration either programmatically or in MAX on my DAQ device it fails and throws the following error: 

Error -200545 occurred at a DAQmx Self Calibrate.vi at Step Calibration 1 

Possible reason(s): Self-calibration failed. 

The self-calibration date has not changed.
 
Disconnect the device from external signals, as they might introduce noise. Externally calibrate the device to recalibrate the onboard voltage reference that is used for self-calibration. 

Solution

During self-calibration, DAQmx will read the onboard reference voltage and adjust calibration coefficients (stored in EEPROM) for any differences. These coefficients have a limited range, and cannot account for large differences between the onboard reference voltage and the nominal reference voltage.

If this is the cause, you can verify the onboard reference voltage in MAX. Figure 1 shows a MAX test panel that is set to read this voltage on an NI PCI-6036E multifunction DAQ device. 

If the voltage read on this internal channel is visibly lower than the nominal reference, the card may be outside the range of self-calibration and may require external calibration or repair if the card is damaged. NI provides calibration services  and repair services  for devices that need external calibration or repair. For more information about external calibration, see the "Additional Information" section below.

If you are not able to see these internal channels for your device, see Internal Channels Missing from Cards in NI-DAQmx.

Additional Information

Calibration is important because the performance of any given analog-to-digital converter can vary according to temperature, input voltage, time, and other factors. Because of this, calibrating a DMM or data acquisition device must take these two factors into consideration.

When a DMM or DAQ card is calibrated, specific calibration constants are stored on the board’s EEPROM memory, a read-only memory whose contents can be erased and reprogrammed using a pulsed voltage. These constants are used by the driver software, (DAQmx, NI-DMM, etc.) to return the appropriate value for a given measured voltage. This technique is absolutely essential, because no analog-to-digital converter (ADC) is capable of producing a perfectly linear response. In addition, the calibration constants can be adjusted through external calibration.

To learn more about performing external calibration using LabVIEW, read Can I Perform an External Calibration for my DAQ Device in LabVIEW?.