Does My Device need To Be Repaired?

Issue Details

I may have damaged hardware from National Instruments, how do I confirm this is the case?

Solution

Users can send their devices back to National Instruments for a malfunction or when they are damaged.

In the case where the hardware is not actually damaged or malfunctioned the device will be returned and declared as NTF (No Trouble Found), this can occur for several reasons. These could include incorrect use of the product, product not correctly calibrated, driver or software related issues, external hardware interference and environment etc. Or the problem description was insufficient, and information provided by the customer was not enough to dicloose the actual fault of the unit.
In this scenario, it can happen that the testing itself solved the problem and after a factory reset the device is functioning as expected.


To prevent the product being sent back as NTF, please review the following steps to ensure correct procedures have been followed. This will cover the most common causes for an NTF return.
Review the user manual to confirm the product is being correctly used and check the Troubleshooting Section of the user manual for additional information. You can search for user manuals here.

1. Try to do some cross testing if you have another board, cables, chassis or computer (with the right drivers installed).
2. Check for any visible damage or the calibration date for incorrect measurements.
3. If you have any doubts, contact your local National Instruments branch to talk with the technical support team.
4. The section below lists the products that are typically incorrectly diagnosed.

If the board is out of order, then you need to provide a Meaningful Problem Description which includes (examples provided at the buttom of this page in "Addition Information")

• Steps to Reproduce
• Description of narrowed down System Setup
• Exact failure description
• Debugging steps taken
• Example (usage)

Chassis – Power Supply Unit:
Please make sure that you can identify which part of the device is faulty, the chassis or the power supply. If you are not sure, please turn to your local technical support.

RF boards:
This kind of product are complex to use and to diagnose. Due to some additional shipment time and for fixing this product, we highly recommend validating the issue with your local branch.

NI 845X:
No I2C Communication, make sure you properly set up Pull-up resistors. Some modules contain some pull-resistors internally (programmatically activated) or you need to add them externally. 
For more information, please follow this link : Enable NI-845x I²C Pullup Resistance

Network devices (RT):
This article lists several steps to connect your NI Network devices to your computer.

DMMS/ 784x/ 785x /SCXI chassis:
These type of boards contain fuses. We recommend our customers to review the user manual to get a better understanding in how to replace the fuses.

Incorrect measurement with my DAQ device:
Unexpected Voltages, Floating or Crosstalk in Analog Input Channels
For calibration requests, you can view the articles below

• Calibration Service Levels and Product Information

MXI boards:
MXI boards create an extension of the PCI bus. You may experience some communication problems due to compatibility issue. There are several steps to do before sending the board to RMA.

• MXI Compatibility and Connectivity Troubleshooting Guide

Additional Information

Example 1 - Nominal Problem Description

1. Did the fault occur during normal working or during some changes?

No. We were performing and ESD test on one of our automotive products and by mistake of our operator, the LIN opto-coupler was disabled by shorting the ground on both ends of the opto-coupler. Hence the products could have been damaged by the handheld ESD gun!

2. Where was the device used? (office, factory, outdoors, etc.)

Devices are used to simulate an automotive master controller in order to test one of our automotive products

3. Was the device damaged physically?

No physical damaged observed

4. What was the fault?

I assume that the Electrostatic Discharge from the handheld ESD test gun!

5. Are there any visual damages on the device? (e.g. burning, breaking, etc.)

No burning marks present

6. On which functional part of the device did the problem occur?
7. Did you try to reproduce the failure with another product?

No. All three products were replaced with new ones and rectified the problem with the opto-coupler ground.

8. Did the fault occur continuously or some elapsed time? If it is not continuous, who long does it take to realize it?

Fault is continuous – LIN Bus Error, 4 bytes long 10 80 02 00

9. Did the PC/ Controller recognize the module?

Yes, PC does recognize all three LIN modules and all three modules are listed in MAX.
 

Example 2 - Minimal Problem Description (describing 4 basic things)

1. Problem Description

PXI-1033 allows PC to boot, but when rebooting multiple times, it does not recognize PXI-6070E on some occasions.

2. HW Setup

PXI-6070E in PXI-1033, connected to PCIe-8361

3. SW Setup

LabVIEW 2009 and drivers

4. Environment

Windows XP