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MGL IEFIS interfacing to Extender issue

OneTwoSierra

Well Known Member
Firmware G3 A 1.0.3.1

PROBLEM
My extender just is not talking to my MGL IEFIS lite.

I have:
-attached the extender to the iefis RS232 port 2.
-confirmed power to it and confirmed 2 flashes of green LED.
-enabled the extender in enabled devices
-double checked the MGL supplied harnesses
- tried switching the rs232 Tx and Rx connections just to make sure it was hooked up correctly.
- checked and rechecked everything a dozen times.

SYMPTOMS
--in Serial Port diagnostics, no RS232 connection (extender 2 through 6) show any communication even though I have hooked up V6 comm and Sandia transponder to various ports and they will not talk through the extender. They both talk to the IEFIS on RS232 Port 1 which does not go through the extender.

-- in Internal Sensor Diagnostics, sensors all show 0 volts and do not change. Tried hooking up various sensors like OAT sensor and trim position sensor.

I have tried a different extender from a friend, and that has the same behavior.


I THINK THIS IS THE KEY INDICATOR:


When I disable the extender in 'equipment enables' menu (rendering RS232 Port 2 a regular serial port), I can see communication activity on the Iefis RS232 port 2 port in the Serial Port Diagnostics page. EVEN WHEN THE 9 PIN CONNECTOR ON THE BACK IS REMOVED AND NOTHING IS ATTACHED TO THE PORT.

I think this means my RS232 port2 is bad on my iefis. If anyone has any other opinions or things to try, I could use the help. Thank you.

Here is a video of the issue:
https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpanthercitypanthers%2Fvideos%2F539851172864913%2F
 
Maybe need a firmware update?

It looks like you have the latest Firmware, but a possible answer posted on the MGL forum recently.

PostPosted: Thu Aug 18, 2016 3:34 am Post subject: Reply with quote
Just a suggestion, are you running the latest firmware?

Two weeks ago I was working on someone's aircraft that had exactly the same issue with a Trig radio and Explorer Lite. No matter what we did, there was always a red X through the radio. We upgraded the firmware to the latest version and the problem went away and has not come back since.

Cecil
 
Last edited:
Follow up - final resolution

Just wanted to post the final resolution to this issue so that others can learn from this experience.

The key indicator for my issue was that, with nothing connected to the IEFIS RS232 Port 2, it showed activity coming across that port. (You can look for activity from the System Diagnostic -> Serial Ports menu selection.) With the extender hooked up, you will see activity, but with nothing hooked up, there should be no activity visible. Mine was showing activity that should not have been there.

So with this evidence, Matt had me ship back my IEFIS to him which I did via overnight delivery.

He apparently was thinking it would be a quick fix because he said it would ship back to me in a couple days. This did not turn out to be a quick fix. He later had to order new parts to repair my IEFIS. I got it back about 1 month later (last week) and so far everything is working as it should.

If I have any complaint about this experience it is that there were a few promises for quick turn around that turned out not to be the case which was frustrating. In the end though, the IEFIS was repaired and is working.

Note to others having issues with the extender: It is easy to reverse the transmit and receive connections on the IEFIS to Extender RS232 connection if you don't read the labels of the harnesses correctly. A friend of mine did this, which causes the extender not to function (of course). Also, it is easy to miss one or more setup tasks in the set up menu. Make sure you double check both of these things before you assume yours is broken like mine was. The key for me, again, was activity on the port with nothing hooked up.
 
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