RS-485 troubleshooting

Test equipment
When testing or troubleshooting an RS-485 system, it is important to use the right test equipment. Unfortunately, there is very little in generic test equipment specifically designed for RS-485 testing. The most commonly used are the multimeter, oscilloscope and the protocol analyzer. It is important to remember that both of these types of test equipment must have floating differential inputs. The standard oscilloscope or multimeter each has their specific uses in troubleshooting an RS-485 system.

Multimeter
The multimeter has three basic functions in troubleshooting or testing an RS-485 system. 1. Continuity verification 2. Idle voltage measurement 3. Common mode voltage measurement. Continuity verification The multimeter can be used before start-up to check that the lines are not shorted or open. This is done as follows: Verify that the power is off Verify that the cable is disconnected from the equipment Verify that the cable is connected for the complete distance Place the multimeter in the continuity check mode Measure the continuity between the A and B lines Verify that it is open Short the A and B at the end of the line Verify that the lines are now shorted Un-short the lines when satisfied that the lines are correct. If the lines are internally shorted before they are manually shorted, then check to see if an A line is connected to a B line. In most installations the A line is kept as one color wire and the B is kept as another. This procedure keeps the wires away from accidentally being crossed. The multimeter is also used to measure the idle and common mode voltages between the lines. Idle voltage measurement At idle the master usually puts out a logical 1 and this can be read at any station in the system. It is read between A and B lines and is usually somewhere between 1.5 and 5 V (A with respect to B). If a positive voltage is measured, it is possible that the leads on the multimeter need to be reversed. The procedure for measuring the idle voltage is as follows: Verify that the power is on Verify that all stations are connected Verify that the master is not polling Measure the voltage difference between the A and B+ lines starting at the master Verify and record the idle voltage at each station. If the voltage is zero, then disconnect the master from the system and check the output of the master alone. If there is idle voltage at the master, then plug in each station one at a time until the voltage drops to or near zero. The last station probably has a problem. Common mode voltage measurement Common mode voltage is measured at each station, including the master. It is measured from each of the A and B lines to ground. The purpose of the measurement is to check if the common mode voltage is getting close to maximum tolerance. It is important therefore to know what the

maximum common mode voltage is for the system. In most cases, it is +12 and 7 V. A procedure for measuring the common mode voltage is: Verify that the system is powered up Measure and record the voltage between the A and ground and the B and ground at each station Verify that voltages are within the specified limits as set by the manufacturer. If the voltages are near or out of tolerance, then either contact the manufacturer or install resistors between each line to ground at the station that has the problem. It is usually best to start with a high value such as 200 k 1/4 W and then go lower as needed. Both resistors should be of the same value.

Oscilloscope
Oscilloscopes are used for: Noise identification Ringing Data transfer. Noise identification Although the oscilloscope is not the best device for noise measurement, it is good for detection of some types of noise. The reason the oscilloscope is not that good at noise detection is that it is a two-dimensional voltmeter; whereas the effect of the noise is seen in the ratio of the power of a signal vs the power of the noise. But having said that, the oscilloscope is useful for determining noise that is constant in frequency. This can be a signal such as 50/60 Hz hum, motor-induced noise or relays clicking on and off. The oscilloscope will not show intermittent noise, high-frequency radio waves or the power ratio of the noise vs the signal. Ringing Ringing is caused by the reflection of signals at the end of the wires. It happens more often on higher baud rate signals and longer lines. The oscilloscope will show this ringing as a distorted square wave. As mentioned before, the fix for ringing is a termination resistor at each end of the line. Testing the line for ringing can be done as follows: Use a two-channel oscilloscope in differential (A-B) mode. Connect the probes of the oscilloscope to the A and B lines. Do NOT use a single-channel oscilloscope, connecting the ground clip to one of the wires will short that wire to ground and prevent the system from operating. Set up the oscilloscope for a vertical level of around 2 V per division. Set up the oscilloscope for horizontal level that will show one square wave of the signal per division. Use an RS-485 driver chip with a TTL signal generator at the appropriate baud rate. Data can be generated by allowing the master to poll, but because of the intermittent nature of the signal, the oscilloscope will not be able to trigger. In this case a storage oscilloscope will be useful. Check to see if the waveform is distorted. Data transfer Another use for the oscilloscope is to verify that data is being transferred. This is done using the same method as described for observing ringing, and by getting the master to send data to a slave device. The only difference is the adjustment of the horizontal level. It is adjusted so that the screen shows complete packets. Although this is interesting, it is of limited value unless noise is noted or some other aberration is displayed.