Tips And Troubleshooting - Campbell CR300 Series Product Manual

17. Tips and troubleshooting

Start with these basic procedures if a system is not operating properly.
1. Using a voltmeter, check the voltage of the primary power source at the CHG and BAT
terminals on the face of the data logger, it should be 10 to 18 VDC. If connecting to a
power source via the CHG terminals, voltage measured should be 16 to 32 VDC.
2. Check wires and cables for the following:
Incorrect wiring connections. Make sure each sensor and device are wired to the
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terminals assigned in the program. If the program was written in Short Cut, check
wiring against the generated wiring diagram. If written in CRBasic Editor, check
wiring against each measurement and control instruction.
Loose connection points
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Faulty connectors
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Cut wires
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Damaged insulation, which allows water to migrate into the cable. Water, whether or
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not it comes in contact with wire, can cause system failure. Water may increase the
dielectric constant of the cable sufficiently to impede sensor signals, or it may
migrate into the sensor, which will damage sensor electronics.
3. Check the CRBasic program. If the program was written solely with Short Cut, the program
is probably not the source of the problem. If the program was written or edited with
CRBasic Editor, logic and syntax errors could easily have crept in. To troubleshoot, create a
simpler version of the program, or break it up into multiple smaller units to test
individually. For example, if a sensor signal-to-data conversion is faulty, create a program
that only measures that sensor and stores the data, absent from all other inputs and data.
4. Reset the data logger. Sometimes the easiest way to resolve a problem is by resetting the
data logger (see
For additional troubleshooting options, see:
17.1 Checking station status
17.2 Understanding NAN and INF occurrences
17.3 Timekeeping
17.4 CRBasic program errors
17.5 Troubleshooting Radio Communications
Resetting the data logger (p. 125) for more information).
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