Waters Prep Series Installation And Maintenance Manual page 101

Before using the table below, see
isolate the cause of the chromatography symptom.
Chromatography troubleshooting
Symptom
Erratic retention time
Increased retention
times
Doubled retention times Air bubble in pump
Reduced retention time
"Troubleshooting steps" on page 3-2
Possible cause
Air in pump head
Malfunctioning pump
check valves
Leaking pump seals
Separation chemistry
Clogged solvent filter
Incorrect flow rate or
solvent composition.
head
Malfunctioning pump
check valves
Broken pump plunger
Incorrect flow rate
Incorrect solvent
composition
Incorrect mobile phase
Column contaminated
Incorrect column
to
Corrective action
Degas all solvents,
prime pump, or check
sparge rate.
Clean or replace pump
check valves.
Replace pump seals (see
"Replacing the pump
seal" on page 3-58).
Check mobile phase and
column.
Replace filters.
Change flow rate or
solvent composition.
Prime pump to remove
bubble.
Clean or replace check
valves.
Replace the plunger.
Change flow rate.
Change composition.
Use correct mobile
phase.
Clean or replace
column.
Use correct column.
Troubleshooting 3-17