We know that your dyno is an important part of your business, because we are constantly responding to urgent assistance requests to recover the operation of the test bench in the event of a PC hard drive crash, or a broken sensor. Many times we can anticipate these accidents taking some contingency measures and thus have the equipment operational in a matter of a few minutes.
Types of Failures
From PC
The most common failure is some kind of failure with the computer. These can be software or hardware. But in either case the contingency measures are the same.
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Have a backup copy of the tests. The copy should be on an external hard drive or flash drive or in the cloud using an application such as Dropbox, Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive. It is recommended to make backup copies of every test file (files with .ad3 extension). If the goal is just to save a copy of the configuration, any test file will be enough. But if the goal is not to lose previous work, it is necessary to frequently back up the folders where the tests are stored.
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Have a spare PC. This could be a personal Windows laptop PC that can get the computer up and running quickly in case the primary PC needs to be sent in for repair. It is desirable that the replacement PC has been tested, and that it is correctly configured.
Typical Hardware Failures
- Hard drive failure: undoubtedly the most common of all hardware failures. The solution is to replace the hard drive, whereupon all runs and settings will be lost.
- Power failure or overheating: these are the simplest faults. By swapping out the PC power supply or processor cooling cooler, or cleaning the dirt out of the cooler, it should work as before without installing or configuring anything else.
- Motherboard/CPU: in this case a more drastic repair will be necessary. Depending on the part to be repaired, if it is not the hard drive, you may not need to install anything else, but in the event that Windows has had to be reinstalled, it will be necessary to reinstall the program and a run will be needed to be able to quickly recover the configuration .
- USB Port or COM Port: if there is a failure in the usb or COM port, it is sometimes possible to use another USB port or in the case of LTI model interfaces (years 2007 to 2012) it may be necessary to replace a USB to Serial adapter. We recommend this brand.
Typical Software Failures
In case the PC has any software issue that requires the operating system to be reinstalled, then the software will also need to be reinstalled.
Fortunately this is a very simple procedure if you made a backup of the test biles. Simply reinstall the software downloaded from our website and then go to Options > Configuration > Import Configuraion and select a recent test file. The program will go back to the configuration and calibration it had at the time of the test.
IMPORTANT: The configuration recovery procedure only works with the latest version of the software (version 3.5) in any of its revisions. Current software is not compatible with configurations 3.4 or earlier. This will not be a serious problem in most cases, since the software has an Installation and Configuration Wizard that is launched the first time the program is opened and allows you to select the type of test bench and will select the calibration of factory preloaded models. If you have an inertial test bench of your own manufacture we recommend that you write down the value of the Moment of Inertia of your inertial dyno, since it is an important data for the calibration. The value can be read in Options > Configuration > Dynamometer
From electronics
For failures of the electronic interface of the interface or sensors, there are no other alternatives other than having duplicates of the parts that may fail. Based on our experience, I am going to list the parts that are convenient to have as spare parts and which are not necessary unless you want to have 100% backup and the cost to your business justifies it.
- Rotation Sensor: one of the parts that is recommended to have as a spare. Make sure it is the same type of connector so that the replacement is fast.
- Magnet: In case of purchasing the RPM sensor replacement, a replacement magnet can also be purchased. Due to its low price, having it is justified, although there are really few cases where it is necessary, and it is a common part that can be purchased from other providers.
- Load cell: in the case of engine and roller test benches that have a dynamometer, this is one of the parts that has the most probability to get damaged, since it deteriorates due to vibrations. It is not common that it breaks, but when it breaks, it raises a lot of doubts in the users since in most of the cases it still works, but it works badly. In these cases it is convenient to have a spare cell to change it quickly, calibrate it, and test it. If the problem was the cell, you will already have it operational, and if the problem was in the electronic interface, at least you will have the knowledge of what should be verified.
- Main Interface: In order, this is the least likely item to fail. In general, except for models over 10 years old, we repair all equipment. In this case, the test bench downtime must be evaluated and if it is justified to buy a replacement interface to maintain business continuity. As in the case of the replacement PC, it is important to have the interface tested and working.
- Weather station: the weather station is the least critical part, since in case it breaks, the test dyno can continue to be used by manually entering the temperature, humidity and atmospheric pressure. You can obtain the from an App or from an external weather station. Although the values will not be exactly the same as in the test room, the approximation is very close to reality and will allow you to keep using your dyno.
Conclusion
Each dyno is a particular case. Users who use the dyno as a hobby will be able to wait the necessary time for the repair. Users who have a business set up around the dyno must evaluate whether it is worth the investment necessary to cover the different possible cases of failure and the necessary spare parts.
Backing up tests is something that everyone should do no matter what type of use the dyno is put to.
It is important to be prepared and, if possible, carry out a drill to test that spare parts and secondary equipment can be put into operation when the need to do so arises, especially if it occurs outside of our office hours.