Dionex ICS-3000 Pump trouble shooting, help

[Jady Wang]

The pump started not working today because the pressure is lower than 200 PSI when flow rate was 1 mL /min of water.
The ICS-3000 SP's alarm was red.
Trouble shooting guide: Failed pressure transducer top or bottom pump.
How do I fix it? thanks.
Jady

[tom jupille]

First of all, check to make sure that you don't have a leak somewhere (check all the fittings). If no evidence of leakage, replace one or both transducers.

Buying a used instrument is a lot like buying a used car: you have no way of knowing how it's been treated.

"Warranty? Three months or the end of the driveway, whichever comes first."

[John Guajardo]

Hi Jady,

Before you go off replacing transducers, it's probably a good idea to try priming the pump. Turn the purge valve knob on the left pump head 1/2 turn counter-clockwise and click the prime button in the pump tab of your Chromeleon control panel. You should see liquid (and probably bubbles) exiting the front of the pump head through the clear tubing. Let the pump prime for several minutes. When it's done or you turn it off, remember to close the purge valve. Also, be sure to set your flow back to 1 mL/min because a pressure alarm will set it to 0.0 mL/min.

Good luck!

[Jady Wang]

Thanks Tom and John.
John: the way you mentioned I do every time before I run HPLC, everyday.
No liquid came out from the clean tube when I did prime pump. It seams the fluid in the clean tube goes back and forward. I opened the priming valve, and tried to pull liquid out, failed.

[tom jupille]

If you can't pull liquid through the prime-purge valve, that means you have a blockage somewhere in the system upstream of that. Time to start disassembling and cleaning fittings, filters, tubing, valves, etc.

[John Guajardo]

Thanks Tom and John.
John: the way you mentioned I do every time before I run HPLC, everyday.
No liquid came out from the clean tube when I did prime pump. It seams the fluid in the clean tube goes back and forward. I opened the priming valve, and tried to pull liquid out, failed.

Do you have an isocratic or gradient pump? If it's isocratic, then your pump has a 2-way eluent flow valve that will not open unless you turn the pump flow on via normal operation or priming. Hence, you would not be able to pull much liquid into the syringe with this valve closed. When you tried pulling liquid out with a syringe, was the prime or flow light on at the top of the pump's front panel lights.

From the oscillating liquid you described, it sounds like it might be a check valve problem. Are you using an end line filter in the line that goes into your eluent bottle? Maybe try removing this in case it's clogged.

[Jady Wang]

Tom, thank you so much. I already fixed it. It is smiling now.