Troubleshooting Steps to Fix Power Issues

Alarms and Remedies for MPM View

In order to use this page, visit the Check the Controller and Battery with MPM View page to learn how to download, open, and use MPM View to help diagnose electrical issues present on your cart. 

Under the Current Alarms section on the MPM View home screen, there may be some alarms present. Compare the alarms shown on the MPM View home screen to the alarms shown in this article. If none of the suggested issues solve the issue at hand, please contact Altus.

*The far left light on the handle does not apply for any of these scenarios. The far left light indicates whether the cart is on or off.

BLUE ALARM

Battery Recharge in Process - Normal LEDs Shown on Handle - No additional action needs to be taken in order to clear the alarm.

Charger is in PreCharge Mode - LEDs Blink with a Rolling Pattern - Plug the cart into a power outlet until this error disappears (roughly an hour).

Smart Battery: Reports Full Discharge - Normal LEDs Shown on Handle - Plug the cart into a power outlet and allow for the cart to charge.

Smart Battery: Reports Terminate Charge - Normal LEDs Shown on Handle - No additional action needs to be taken in order to clear the alarm.

Smart Battery: Charge Threshold Low - Normal LEDs Shown on Handle - Plug the cart into a power outlet and allow for the cart to charge.

Smart Battery: Reports Terminate Discharge - Normal LEDs Shown on Handle - No additional action needs to be taken in order to clear the alarm.

Smart Battery: Needs Calibration - Normal LEDs Shown on Handle - No additional action needs to be taken in order to clear the alarm.

Smart Battery: High Error Rate on Communications Line - Normal LEDs Shown on Handle - Check for intermittent connections in the blue cable in the base of the cart (connected to the battery). This is not necessary for the battery to power the cart but it helps with measuring the battery’s health.

Charger Current Reduced - Normal LEDs Shown on Handle - Check if there is an over temperature condition or if the voltage from the wall is lower than normal. If a temperature condition, the error will be cleared by another error.

 

YELLOW ALARM

Battery Charge Threshold:Low - One Yellow LED Shown on Handle - The battery is nearly depleted (5-10%) and it needs to be charged. Plug the cart into a power source.

Service Check: Temperature Warning - Two Yellow LEDs Shown on Handle - Check the ventilation for the controller unit in the base. First, check that there is nothing obstructing the vents on the side of the housing of the base. Second, check the vents on the controller unit on the inside of the housing of the base. Contact Altus if cleaning does not stop problem.

Service Check: Battery Connection - Two Yellow LEDs Shown on Handle - Verify the connections between the battery and the controller in the base of the cart. Check to see whether the power cables connecting to the battery are secured. Over and under tightening of these bolts can damage a battery. Tighten until there is a snug fit. Check that the yellow connector from the battery is fully seated within the yellow connector for the controller. Check whether the fuse is blown in the red box on the power cable that connects the battery to the controller.

Service Check: Battery Parameters not Initialized - Two Yellow LEDs Shown on Handle - Verify the controller is calibrated correctly to use a “Lithium Phosphate with Communications” battery. Under Battery Status: Reported by Smart Battery, locate the row titled “Type” and verify it is the same as "Lithium Phosphate with Communications". If the issue persists, check for intermittent connections in the blue cable located in the base of the cart (connected to the battery).

Service Check: Smart Batteries – Communication - Two Yellow LEDs Shown on Handle - Allow the cart to charge for at least an hour. The battery may have entered a safe/protect mode due to a battery that is depleted. If the issue persists, check for intermittent connections in the blue cable located in the base of the cart (connected to the battery).

Service Check: Replace Battery  - Health Threshold - Normal LEDs Shown on Handle - The battery state of health capacity has been lowered to below 25%. The battery is still operable, but will not last as long. If battery is less than 5 years old, contact Altus for a battery replacement.

Service Check: Replace Battery  - Date Threshold - Normal LEDs Shown on Handle - The age of the battery has become older than 3 years. No action needs to be taken as the battery is fine.

Lost Device Communications - Normal LEDs Shown on Handle - MPM View cannot communicate with the cart. Verify that the USB cable connected to the computer is also connected to the controller in the base. If the issue persists, verify that the USB port on the computer has not failed. If this issue persists, verify the cart is on or the cart is plugged into the wall.

 

RED ALARM

Battery Charge Threshold: Low-Critical - One Red LED Shown on Handle - The battery is nearly depleted (<5%) and it needs to be charged. Plug the cart into a power source.

Input Frequency Out of Range - Two Red LEDs Shown on Handle - AC input power is reporting that the AC input frequency does not agree with the controller. Contact Altus to resolve the issue.

Output Overload - Two Red LEDs Shown on Handle - The controller detects that VA output or Watt output is over 110%. Immediately, turn the cart off, unplug from AC power, and contact Altus.

Service Required: Charger - Two Red LEDs Shown on Handle - The battery indicates that the battery is being overcharged. Immediately, turn the cart off, unplug from AC power, and contact Altus.

Service Required: Output Bad - Two Red LEDs Shown on Handle - The controller is detecting an issue within the controller itself. Immediately, turn the cart off, unplug from AC power, and contact Altus.

Service Required: EEPROM Failure - Two Red LEDs Shown on Handle - The controller is detecting an issue within the controller itself. Immediately, turn the cart off, unplug from AC power, and contact Altus.

Service Warning: Smart Battery Over Temp - Two Red LEDs Shown on Handle - The battery indicates that it is overheating. Immediately, turn the cart off, unplug from AC power, and contact Altus.

Check the Battery

With a cart being used constantly, the battery may become defective and wear out over time. To determine if the battery is at fault, follow the steps below.

TOOLS REQUIRED:

• Phillips Head Screwdriver (or 1/8" Allen Wrench)
• Voltmeter

1. Locate the two Phillips head screws (or socket cap screws) that secure the rear cover to the base. Remove these two screws and the rear cover from the base and place to the side.
2. Remove the battery from the base. There should be enough slack in the cables for the battery to be removed without having to disconnect any cables.
3. On the top of the battery, there is a button along with 5 light bars in a row that ascend. Press the button and record how many bars illuminate after the button is pressed (a full battery will show all bars lit up).
4. Take the leads of the voltmeter and measure the voltage of the battery.
   Record this the voltage that was measured by the voltmeter (a full charged battery will show a voltage of approximately 13.3 V).
5. Check the fuse that is in the power cable (red box on the cable). Remove the fuse and check to see if the fuse has blown or not. If blown, the metal inside of the plastic will have a gap.
6. If the lights, voltage, or fuse seem incorrect, please contact Altus so the issue can be resolved.

Check the Controller and Battery with MPM View

The controller is basically the engine of the cart. It converts power to the battery and relays power to the rest of the cart. If the controller acts up, power may not get to the designated areas where it is supposed to send power. Luckily, the controller has its own diagnostic system, like in a car, where it can help determine why a cart has an issue. Follow the steps below to utilize the diagnostic system.

Install MPM View

MPM View can be installed to any computer that can be plugged into the cart through a USB. This can be the computer/tablet that is on the cart at all times or it can be a computer/tablet that is used by the IT department. This program CANNOT be accessed by Altus remotely. We will require screenshots of the program when we try to diagnose the issue.

1. Please download the MPM View program (must be on Windows): http://connectivity.powervar.com/mpm/altus/files/mpm-view-1.1.12848-1-winnt-5.2-intel.msi. 
2. Open the file created by the download and run the program to completely install the program to the computer/tablet.

Open MPM View

1. Locate the installed program and double click the program. This will allow for MPM View to be opened in the task bar.
2. Go to the cart that needs to be diagnosed. Turn the cart on and/or plug the cart in to a power outlet and then plug the USB that is inside the top of the cart into the computer/tablet that is being used for diagnosing the cart.
3. Go the taskbar on your computer and locate the MPM View icon. It will be one of the four icons shown below. 

Right click on the icon and select Open MPM Tech View. 

Use MPM View

1. When opened, the screen will look like the following image. 

This screen will show you the status for both the controller and the battery. The main titles to look at are Overall Status, State of Health, Charge, Estimated Time Remaining, and Current Alarms. These will give you a quick look into how the cart is behaving.

To determine whether or not there is an issue with the controller or battery, you need to look at the Current Alarms header on the Status Page. If the alarms are green or blue, the status is normal. If there is a yellow or red alarm (not including Battery Charge Threshold), report this issue back to Altus. If you would like to continue with the investigation on your own, you can go to Alarms and Remedies for MPM View and it will tell you what to do for any alarm that your cart is experiencing.

Check Voltage for AC Out on the Controller

This needs to be checked when no power is being supplied to the three-plug outlet on the cart, meaning no power is getting to your electronics. Follow the steps below to check if the controller is supplying the correct voltage to the three-plug outlet.

Tools Required: Phillips Head Screwdriver (or 1/8" Allen wrench), Voltmeter

1. At the base of the cart, locate the two pan head Phillips head screws, or socket head screws, that secure the front cover to the base (one on each side).
2. Remove the two screws, along with the cover, and place them to the side.
3. Beneath the cover is the controller. Locate the thicker black cord that connects to a white cord (AC out is shown on the controller at base of cable). Disconnect these two cords.
4. Turn the cart ON (furthest left light on handle illuminated). Using the voltmeter, insert the leads of the voltmeter into the plug on the controller and measure the AC voltage. If the voltage is approximately 120V, the controller is functioning normally. If the value is significantly lower, the controller is at fault. Continue to step 5 if the voltage was correct.
5. Reconnect the cables and reattach the front cover.
6. Locate the three-plug outlet. With the cart turned on, see if a red light is shown on the three-outlet plug. If on, the cord works properly. If off, the cables has malfunctioned and will need to be replaced.

Reconnect Cables

Carts traveling through hospitals and going over little bumps can potentially knock a cable loose inside of the base. Simply opening the base and reconnecting the cables can solve some power issues you are experiencing. The steps below will walk you through the process to reconnect the cables:

TOOLS REQUIRED:

• Phillips Head Screwdriver (or 1/8" Allen Wrench)

1. At the base of the cart, locate the two pan head Phillips head screws, or socket head screws, that secure the front cover to the base (one on each side).
2. Remove the two screws, along with the cover, and place them to the side.
3. Beneath the cover is the controller. All seven cables that connect to the controller will need to be unplugged and then reconnected. These cables are the AC in, AC out, battery connector, blue smart battery cable, Comm1 grey cable, Comm2 black cable, and the MPM View cable.

Note: Confirm that the cables are properly seated, especially the AC in (blue connector) and the AC out (white connector). Press the cables firmly together to guarantee the cables have a proper connection.

Reset the Cart

The controller can act like a computer at times where it just needs to be reset. The reset process is very simple. Follow the steps below for the quick reset.

1. Unplug the cart from the wall and turn the cart off. No lights should be showing on the handle.
2. Plug the cart back into the wall. Do NOT turn the cart on. The cart MUST remain off.
3. Hold the mute button down for roughly 5 seconds. The cart will beep once, a few seconds will pass, and then it will beep again. The lights will ascend and then descend. Release the mute button at this time.
4. Try the cart at this time to see if the cart works properly.