Botron Support

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Troubleshooting Issues at the Footplate

Purpose

This document is intended to help you and our support agents more quickly pinpoint the root cause of issues that may happen as a result of problems regarding your footplate. You may be asked to go through this troubleshooting guide after reaching out to support and before going through the RMA/Repair process.

1. Check Wiring Connections

The footplate provides a terminal for the system ground. The system ground is needed for stable accuracy and input sensing. Having the footplate wired, and wired properly, is key to the ELITE functioning correctly.

Please make sure that:

  1. The footplate cable is connected to both the ELITE and the footplate.
  2. The footplate is grounded directly to a good Equipment Ground Conductor (EGC).

Refer to the ELITE Quick Start Wiring Guide to reference proper wiring terminations.

OEM Specifications:

  • Cat 5e Ethernet Cable (7ft)
  • Ground Cord, 0 Ohm Resistance (Banana to banana or ring)

Common issues with wiring: 

  1. Footplate cable is too long, or short
  2. Footplate cable is not the correct AWG
  3. Footplate cable is connected to the Ethernet port on the ELITE
  4. Grounding wire is not connected to the footplate, EGC or both
  5. Grounding wire is broken

2. Visual Inspection

Check your footplate for damage:

  1. The stainless steel plates should be securely fastened down. Check that the 3 bolts/nuts on the underside of the footplate are secure for each plate.
  2. Check for rust or water/liquid residue. 
  3. Ground port solder joint is not cracked
  4. RJ45 jack is not bent or damaged
  5. PCB is not cracked or damaged

3. Testing the Footplate

Sample Testing

It’s always a good idea to conduct testing with a random selection of personnel. Please perform a series of footwear tests with a few different persons.

If the results remain largely consistent across the sample it could be a sign that the footplate is damaged/broken/compromised.

Swapping Footplates

If you have a second ELITE on location, and that ELITE is working as expected, swap the footplates of those ELITEs. Verify the issue either follows the footplate or remains with the ELITE at its location.

Current Sate
ELITE A/Footplate A
ELITE B/Footplate B

Swap
ELITE A/Footplate B
ELITE B/Footplate A

4. Check Calibration

The footplate is not part of calibration. Thus, calibrating your ELITE will help better illustrate if the problem is at the head unit (The ELITE) or with the footplate. Please refer to our calibration how-to for instructions to verify calibration on the ELITE.

If the ELITE passes calibration, the ELITE is functioning as intended.

If the ELITE fails calibration, check the ground connection from the ELITE Decabox and record the values seen on the display of the ELITE.

5. Verify Ground

Bad/poor Equipment Ground Conductors are more ubiquitous than you may think. We recommend verifying that the EGC is in good working order and not “noisy” or “dirty”. Please consult with a licensed professional and adhere to local electrical code when dealing with high voltage AC power circuits.

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