INTERNATIONAL AID, INC.

TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE

Techniques for Finding Problems with Medical Equipment

A definition of a troubleshooter is a skilled worker employed to locate trouble and make repairs. This document was
prepared to help you become a better troubleshooter and to locate those troubles. Following the seven steps
suggested will enable you to find the source of most problems.

While doing any of the seven steps you should also:

Look for problems you can see.
Think of simple ways to fix the problem.
Write down what you do.

Remember: divide and conquer. The basic troubleshooting technique is to divide the entire machine into
subsystems, then to a panel, then to a circuit board, then to small circuit area, and finally to a component or
components. Often a machine may be divided into blocks, or sections, each with an input and an output. Looking
into the middle can sometimes tell you whether the problem is toward the input or toward the output. Move in the
direction of the problem.

Work from the known to the unknown. Begin troubleshooting where you have power or things are working correctly
or you have the correct signal and follow it to where it is not working or you have an incorrect signal.

Before troubleshooting always confirm the problem yourself. Make sure the machine has the problem which was
reported.

Isolate or remove nonessential components, circuits, accessories, features & options that may interfere with
troubleshooting.

Step 1 - Look at the machine. (Thoroughly inspect the unit)

Is the outlet working? Look at any information you have about the machine. Look for any damage to the outside of
the machine. Look for spills on the machine, or smoke stains, or cracked or bent parts, or broken cords. Look to see
if the plug, fuse, or electric outlet is damaged. Look at the electrical cables, and connectors. Are they loose or
damaged? After thoroughly looking at the machine disconnect it from the power source.

If there is something spilled on the machine, clean it away. The spill may conduct electricity and cause the machine
to operate incorrectly. The spill may be infectious, so protect yourself. A chemical spill may bend some parts so they
do not work. When you clean spills you can use alcohol or hydrogen peroxide. If the spill has eaten into any of the
parts they may have to be replaced.

Look for covers of the machine that can be easily removed. Take off the covers and look for loose circuit boards or
for loose parts on circuit boards. Tighten all the loose parts.

Look to see if there are burn marks on any of the parts. If there are, the part may have been damaged, and may have
to be replaced. If a resistor or other part has burned clean away all charred portions of the part before replacing it.
(Carbon is a conductor) Resistors may be bubbled or have a hairline crack through the center when they fail.
Defective electrolytic capacitors may be bulged or show signs of leakage.

Look for signs of overheating. Wires with bubbled, hardened, or cracked insulation are an indication of excess heat.
Charred and blackened connections or terminals are also an indication of excessive heat. At a terminal or other
connection, this is usually a sign of resistance in the connection.

Look for dirt or dust inside the machine. Blow away the dirt and dust with clean, dry air. You can use a vacuum if
you have no air, but it is not as good. Use a dry parts- cleaning brush or small clean paint brush to remove dust and
dirt while blowing or vacuuming.
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Blocked air circulation will cause overheating. Clean or replace dirty air filters. Make sure any vents are not
blocked.

If there are loose circuit boards, carefully pull them out and look at the contacts. They should be shiny and clean. If
they are not, clean them with a gray eraser or a cleaning spray. Then carefully reinsert the circuit boards. Be sure all
circuit boards are seated properly. Sometimes just reseating a board may clear a problem.

If you have the operating manual for the machine, read the troubleshooting section about problems you may have,
the instructions about setting up the machine, and the instructions about operating the machine.

See if the controls are set correctly. If they are not, set them where they should be and see if that fixes the problem.

Step 2 - Listen to the machine.

If the machine will run, turn on the power. If the machine has moving parts, listen for sounds that are not smooth and
steady. If you hear any squealing, grinding, thumping, or rattling sounds, try to find out which parts are making those
sounds. Clean them, then see if they need grease or oil. Moving parts may be worn or bent. Straighten bent parts and
replace worn parts if you can.

Listen to the electrical parts of the machine. If you hear crackling noises, or sizzling noises, or loud buzzing noises,
there may be a bad electrical part or poor contact. After you unplug the machine you may be able to clean or tighten
or replace the noisy part.

A loose component or power connection will cause it to overheat. With the covers off, smell for signs of overheating
and feel the power cord connections for heat.

Step 3 - Ask about the machine.

Try to get information from the person who reported the problem. Ask if the controls are set where they are
supposed to be. Find out how the machine was used. It may not work properly if it was used for something it can not
do, or if the controls were set incorrectly, or if the incorrect supplies were used. You may get bad images from the
machine if the patient is larger than normal, or if the film or drugs you use have changed.

Ask if other machines similar to the broken one have had the same problem. Ask what was done to fix the problem
on those machines. Try doing what was done before to fix the problem. Good records mean easier repairs.

Action 4 - Test the power supply.

If the equipment is not getting power, unplug the machine. Use a voltmeter to test the wall outlet. Is the voltage
correct.
If you have power at the outlet use a voltmeter to measure the voltage on the machine end of the power cord when
the switch is turned on and off.

If power isn’t reaching the machine, unplug the device and use an ohmmeter to measure the resistance from the plug
end of the line cord to the taps on the transformer primary. With the ON/OFF switch in the on position, the
resistance is usually less than 5 ohms. If it is not, the transformer primary may be open, the ON/OFF switch may be
bad, one of the wires in the power cord may be broken, or the plug connection may be loose or dirty.

Use an ohmmeter to test the taps on the transformer secondary. Check the resistance of each tap on the secondary of
the transformer, starting with the highest voltage connection first. Most taps should measure approximately 5 ohms
or less. If it does not the wire connecting that tap may be broken or disconnected.

Plug the machine in and turn the unit on. Use a voltmeter to check the voltages on the secondary of the power supply
transformer. Connect one test lead to ground or to a zero volt connection. Use the second meter lead to start
measuring voltage with the highest voltage tap first. If there is no reading on the voltmeter, the tap may be open and
you may have to replace the transformer. If the tap is supplying a lower voltage than it should, check the parts
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connected to that tap before testing the next lower tap. Continue to check all the taps and test the parts connected to
any tap that supplies voltage lower than it should.

Often, transformers and motor windings will "burn out" or go open where the enameled wire is soldered to the lead
coming out of the paper insulation wrapped around the transformer. If you find a tap that has broken or burned off it
can be resoldered. Carefully peel back the paper wrapping, find the loose wire end, scrape it clean and resolder it to
the tap.

Unplug the machine. Test the rectifiers (diodes) with an ohmmeter to determine if they are open or shorted. When
tested with an ohmmeter, diodes will measure very high or infinite resistance in one polarity and low or zero
resistance when measured in the opposite polarity. Measuring diodes with an ohmmeter while they are still soldered
in place can be tricky. They may measure low resistance in both directions because of an alternate current path.
When in doubt, unsolder one side of the diode and recheck resistance measurements before replacing the diode.
Replace rectifiers that measure high or infinite resistance in both directions. With a digital multimeter, use the diode
test position for this test.

Use an ohmmeter to test the capacitors and the filter network. Capacitors will test low resistance when the ohmmeter
is first applied then as the capacitor charges the resistance will increase. Look for signs of damage or bad solder
connections or corroded circuit boards. If any of the capacitors measure low resistance (less than many K ohms),
replace them.

Step 5 - Test the input using signal tracing equipment.

This procedure assumes the use of an oscilloscope. Some signals may be traced with a meter or other device. Inject
the signal at the connector outside the unit. Look at the waveforms entering and leaving each part and compare them
to the ones on the schematic or in the manual. Make drawings of the waveforms at the input and the output of each
part. If the waveform is different from the one on the schematic or in the manual, or if there is a loss of voltage,
repair or replace the faulty part and then retest it.

Step 6 - Test the processor.

Test the processor by doing the same things you did to test the power supply and the input.

Step 7 - Test the output.

Test the output and compare it to the required output.

Find out how far off the voltage is. If it is about half of the normal voltage, it is probably because there is one bad
transistor in a push-pull or Darlington circuit. If the unit has an output transformer, test it by doing the same steps
you did when you tested the primary transformer.

If your unit has a digital display and all the segments of the display light up, there may be a bad display driver rather
than a bad display. If a Cathode Ray Tube does not work properly, look for missing phosphors on the inside of the
screen. See if the filament is lighted up. See if there is a glow in the tube. If there is a glow, see if it is "gassy" by
judging the color of the glow. Gassy tubes glow a violet color. See if the tube is getting the required voltage.

While troubleshooting remember the following:

1. Milk the front panel: gather as much information and symptoms as possible from indicators on the front panel.
2. Split in half: make logic or voltage checks half way between the known working circuit and the inoperable circuit.
3. Isolate or remove nonessential circuits, accessories, features & options that may interfere with troubleshooting.
4. Check power supplies. (and sources)
5. Inject signals, force high or low inputs to test for proper operation (tape and jumper to isolate a circuit).
6. Check for heat/smoke.
7. Reseat circuit boards and cables.

Troubleshooting tips:
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1. Suspect analog circuits before digital circuits, I/O devices before the CPU, active components (transistors, diodes,
SCRs, IC.) before passive components (capacitors, resistors, inductors).
2. Always check common failure items, even when symptoms do not necessarily warrant it. Common faults produce
uncommon symptoms more often than uncommon faults give common symptoms.
3. Do not assume the worst. The vast majority of problems are simple: connections, fuses, operator error,
misunderstanding, and etc.

Common troubleshooting mistakes:

1. Measuring the wrong point
2. Measuring a signal without knowing what to expect
3. Test equipment malfunction
4. Not having the right documentation
5. Not having the correct training
6. Not checking the obvious
7. Not checking power supplies at the back plane

Special troubleshooting problems:

1. Malfunctions in servo or closed loops circuits propagate bad signals throughout the loop. Try breaking the loop
(turn it into an open-ended circuit), inject known voltages and trace how each circuit item reacts.
2. Intermittent problems are nearly always bad connections (IC sockets, back plane, cable, wire crimps). Electronic
components rarely are intermittent. (except for vacuum tubes)
3. Image quality troubleshooting; determine if it is an intensity (density), contrast (latitude), or sharpness problem.
Each image quality parameter points to a different area.

How to avoid troubleshooting:

1. Perform planned preventive maintenance (PPM) regularly.
2. Write down/document every voltage, current, resistance, density, time, and dose when the system is working
correctly. This procedure is especially helpful for circuits with the most variables like automatic exposure control
(AEC), density and image quality circuits.
3. Maintain good customer relations by practicing good customer relations/satisfaction skills. Some troubleshooting
actions are tail chasing exercises to appease an irate customer, not to fix a real equipment problem.

Additional information:
Transistors usually either work or they don’t. They seldom just change characteristics. On BJTs, always test to see if
they have a forward bias on the base-emitter. See if the collector-emitter voltage is near zero. If it is, and voltage is
applied to it through the circuit, short the base-emitter to remove any input. The collector voltage should greatly
increase unless the transistor is shorted.
Resistors seldom go lower in value. They almost always increase or go open. Capacitors usually fail by developing a
resistive path for DC or go open. Resistive paths may be found by using a volt meter before and after opening one
end of the capacitor. Open capacitors may be bypassed with known good ones for testing.
Look for simple problems first. Most failures are simple ones. Remember the basic rules, Ohm’s Law and
Kirchhoff’s voltage and current law. These will not be violated. If it looks like they are, you are near the problem.

One common method of troubleshooting is the seven-step procedure, as follows:

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1. General inspection of the system.

2. Isolate the fault to a unit or section of the system.

3. Isolate the fault to a stage or module.

4. Isolate the fault to a component.

5. Make the repair.

6. Check for normal operation of the entire system.

7. Perform any preventive maintenance needed.

These are similar to the steps given previously. In addition, “Confirm the Complaint”. Don’t assume that the report
of failure or the symptoms is accurate. Determine it for yourself. Use all your senses in the inspection. Look, listen,
smell, feel.
Sometimes an acceptable method of isolating is to substitute known good units, modules, or components.

When making the repair be careful that you don’t cause additional problems. If an adjustment was moved, put it back
where it was. Use care when moving things: wires or other parts may be damaged. Soldering or desoldering can
cause further problems if not done correctly. Use no more heat than needed, heat it up, solder, and get off it as soon
as practical. Then inspect your work. Is there any solder spillage into other areas? Is it a good, shiny connection, or
does it have a glazed or crystallized appearance? If so, do it over without any motion until the solder solidifies.

“Go from the Known to the Unknown” is a rule that says don’t assume things. Like the meter working properly, or
that power is present. Start with what you know and learn more step by step.
“Divide and Conquer” simply means that the process of elimination is a practical method of isolating a problem.
These three rules will help localize faults.

After the repair is made, the entire system needs to be thoroughly tested. The difference between “fixing” equipment
and “servicing” it is in this step and the next. A failure in one part may have caused a problem in another, or a
problem may have been caused by the testing procedures. Check it out.

The last step is the PM. Consult the manual for instructions on adjusting, lubricating, or cleaning the equipment.
Write the problem up in some sort of logbook. It is best if there is a master file for each piece of equipment, kept in a
central location. This should contain information of model number, manufacturer, serial number, perhaps where and
when obtained, any telephone, mail, or e-mail contacts for sources of parts or assistance in troubleshooting. Any
repairs or modifications should be recorded in detail and contain the name of the person that did it, with the date.