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Help: My Ultima LCMSMS is broken
Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2005 4:14 pm
by LCMS
There are several things wrong with my Micromass Ultima MSMS:
1) Desolvation temperature and Probe temperature would not go up.
2) Turbo Molecular pumps makes a HUGE "ZUMMMMMMMMM" when vacuum pumping
3) When "Press to Operate" is selected, there is a LOUD constant BEEP that wouldn't go away.
In addition, I have a Agilent 1100 HPLC that suddenly stopped communicating with my Quattro II MS.
Any input greatly appreciated.
TIA
Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2005 7:06 pm
by MG
Would you describe the turbo pump noise as a steady, high-pitched whine, louder than usual? If so, the turbo might need replacing. Eventually all turbos will fail, and the loud whine gives you anywhere from a few minutes to a few days' warning. If this is happening, the best thing to do is shut down immediately until you can arrange to have the turbo replaced. When the bearings seize, the turbo destructively comes apart on the inside. Although hopefully all the pieces stay inside the casing, there is a slight chance of instrument damage or even personal injury when this happens.
Does the instrument ever reach vacuum? There should be a readout somewhere that tells you what the vacuum is and whether it is acceptable, although I'm not familiar with that particular instrument. If it isn't reaching vacuum, perhaps it is preventing you from turning on your source gas / heater and starting a run. Failure to reach vacuum could be due to turbo failure (mentioned above), rough pump failure, or a leak.
Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2005 7:17 pm
by LCMS
the noise soulds like a loose belt in a car, but a bit lower pitch. It only makes the sound for about a minute then continues to pump down to vacuum without any problems.
I talked to a Waters tech and he suspect there is a damaged power supply, which could have blown a few boards. OMG....
Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2005 2:36 pm
by MG
Well, the tech support people will be able to help you better than I can. I can say that in my experience when a turbo fails, the noise is continuous and only gets worse with time, until complete failure happens.
Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2005 6:20 pm
by LCMS
Thanks for your information MG.
Tech guy came and replaced a control board, everything is back up and running.
