SERVICE LETTER

NIC 10.07.SL Rev. 00

March 22, 2010

CLASSIFICATION

GE Oil & Gas

INFORMATION
INSPECTION
OTHER
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The information contained in this Service Letter is confidential and proprietary. This Letter and the information contained in it are
protected by copyright and/or other intellectual property rights. This Letter and information are provided for authorized use only,
and may not be used by or disclosed to others without the prior express written consent of Nuovo Pignone S.p.A.

VCMI and VPRO IONet Transceiver Chip Reliability

Abstract
This Service Letter is to inform Mark* VI
Turbine Control Customers of a Transceiver
Chip Reliability issue.

Applicable Units
Selected gas turbines equipped with a Mark*
VI control system.

Background
The Mark VI Bus Master Controller cards
IS215VCMIH#B and H#C, and the Protective
Module
IS215VPROH2B
have
recently
experienced reliability issues with socketed
IONET transceiver chips.
The transceiver chip controls communication
signals through a single IONET. Some cards
using socketed chips, manufactured between
May 2006 and February 2009, have
experienced both intermittent and persistent
communication issues which are usually
accompanied by one or more of the
following conditions or diagnostic alarms:
Failure to reach "Control" (control state 106)
VCMI Diagnostic alarm fault code (FC) 45, 46,
47 "IONet-x Communications Failure", where x is
1, 2, or 3
VCMI Diagnostic alarm FC-49, 50, 51 Using
Default Input Data, Rack <R,S,T>."
VPRO Diagnostic alarm FC-108 "Control
Watchdog Trip Protection"
VPRO Diagnostic alarm FC-109 "Speed
Difference Trip Protection"
Nuovo Pignone S.p.A.

Via Felice Matteucci, 2 | 50127 Florence, Italy

T: +39 055 423 211
F: +39 055 423 2800
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Page 1/7

SERVICE LETTER
NIC 10.07.SL Rev. 00
March 22, 2010

VPRO Diagnostic alarm FC-110 "Stale speed

trip protection.
Controller (UCVx) Diagnostic Alarm FC 89
Requesting Fault Tolerant EGD Data
PLCC sockets were used on cards manufactured
in this date range to connect the IONET chips to
the card. In some cases, oxidation between the
chip and the socket has reduced the
conductivity, resulting in a communication
failure of the associated IONET with other VCMI
and/or VPRO cards.

Recommendations
An engineering design modification has
changed the manufacturer and design of the
chip on the affected cards, soldering it directly
to the card and thereby eliminating any
possibility of oxidation issues seen with
socketed chips.
GE Oil & Gas recommends investigating all
UCVx, VCMI, or VPRO diagnostic alarm reports
for any of the fault codes listed above.
If a visual inspection of a card that has
experienced any of the above faults finds PLCC
sockets for the IONET chips, replacement of that
card should resolve the issue.
The associated cores power will need to be
cycled off and the board will need to be slid out
of its slot or removed from the rack to inspect
the affected chips:
- U2, U29, and U50 on the IS215VCMIH2B and
H2C cards
- U2 on the IS215VCMIH1B and H1C cards
- U20 on the IS200VPROH1B

Nuovo Pignone S.p.A.

Via Felice Matteucci, 2 | 50127 Florence, Italy

T: +39 055 423 211
F: +39 055 423 2800
Subject to Proprietary and Confidential restrictions

Page 2/7

SERVICE LETTER
NIC 10.07.SL Rev. 00
March 22, 2010

The chip location on an IS215VCMIH2C card

(Image A) and an IS215VPRO module (Image B) is
shown outlined in red.
A. IS215VCMIH2C card

B. IS215VPRO protective module

Proactive replacement of cards with socketed

chips that are not showing any of the
symptomatic fault codes can be considered, but
prompt recognition of the significance of these
fault codes and immediate replacement if they
appear will maintain system reliability.
Removal and replacement ("unplugging and replugging") of a socketed chip is not
recommended.

Nuovo Pignone S.p.A.

Via Felice Matteucci, 2 | 50127 Florence, Italy

T: +39 055 423 211
F: +39 055 423 2800
Subject to Proprietary and Confidential restrictions

Page 3/7

SERVICE LETTER
NIC 10.07.SL Rev. 00
March 22, 2010

Contacts
For units under warranty or covered under a
Contractual Service Agreement (CSA) please
refer to your GE Oil & Gas Project Manager.
For technical questions or application and
commercial requests please contact:
GE Oil & Gas
Customer Service Center
Via Felice Matteucci, 2
50127 Florence, Italy
e-Mail: customer.service.center@ge.com
Web: http://www.geoilandgas.com/businesses/ge_oilandgas/en/prod_serv/serv/cust_serv.htm
Phone: +39 055 427 2500
Fax: +39 055 423 2800
Please specify the Unit Serial Number and
Service Bulletin associated with the request
and whether the request is technical or
commercial.
To directly access and download GE Oil & Gas
Service Bulletins published on your fleet or to
subscribe to our Service Bulletin e-mail
notification service, please visit the Technical
Updates Portal:

http://www.geoilandgas.com/businesses/ge_oilandgas/en/about/technical_bulletins.htm

This online tool is available only to registered

GE customers. Please refer to NIC 07.37.SL for
any additional information.

Nuovo Pignone S.p.A.

Via Felice Matteucci, 2 | 50127 Florence, Italy

T: +39 055 423 211
F: +39 055 423 2800
Subject to Proprietary and Confidential restrictions

Page 4/7

SERVICE LETTER
NIC 10.07.SL Rev. 00
March 22, 2010

Glossary of Terms
Classification
The classification column of the header
identifies the severity of the Service Letter as
Indicated below:
INFORMATION Provides Customers with
updates to instruction manuals, new
procedures and tools.
INSPECTION Provides Customers with
updated inspection procedures or the
introduction of new inspections.
OTHER Information content to be defined as
needed.
Revisions
This symbol shows where the
document has been revised (n
n
indicates the revision index history).

Nuovo Pignone S.p.A.

Via Felice Matteucci, 2 | 50127 Florence, Italy

T: +39 055 423 211
F: +39 055 423 2800
Subject to Proprietary and Confidential restrictions

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GE OIL & GAS Technical Updates Communication

COMPLIANCE RECORD
SERVICE BULLETIN COMPLIANCE RECORD
Unit Contact Information

Customer Contact Information

Serial Number:

Customer Name:
Contact Name:

Operating Hours:

Role:

No. of Starts:

Email:

Service Bulletin Applied:

NIC Code:

Issue date:

Category:

Title:

Service Bulletin Completion Date:

100% of Service Bulletin Completed:

YES

NO

If No, please state what was completed and what was not:

Comments:

Please complete and Fax this form to:

GE OIL & GAS Technical Update Communication

TES/TECH/TEUP Department Mr. Franco Sciacchitano Fax: +39 055 423.2800
e-Mail: oilandgas.technicalupdates@ge.com

NOTE: The Unit Compliance Record can also be transmitted automatically by email from the My Compliance
Info section of the Technical Updates Web Portal at:
http://www.geoilandgas.com/businesses/ge_oilandgas/en/about/technical_bulletins.htm

Nuovo Pignone S.p.A.

Via Felice Matteucci, 2 | 50127 Florence, Italy

T: +39 055 423 211
F: +39 055 423 2800
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GE OIL & GAS Technical Updates Communication

USER SATISFACTION SURVEY

GE requests that you complete this User Satisfaction Survey to help us better serve you with
accurate and timely information on your equipment.

USER SATISFACTION SURVEY

Service Bulletin Number:

Date:

1. How many days after the Service Bulletin issue date did you receive this document?
1 - 5 days

6 - 10 days

+ 10 days

NOTE: To directly access and download GE Oil & Gas Service Bulletins published on your equipment and to
subscribe to automatic e-mail notification, please visit the Technical Updates Web Portal at:
http://www.geoilandgas.com/businesses/ge_oilandgas/en/about/technical_bulletins.htm
This online tool is available only to registered GE customers. Please refer to NIC 07.37.SL for any additional
information.

Please rate the following based on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is Excellent and 5 is Poor.
2. How well this document informed you of the technical issue(s)
1

3. The overall effectiveness of this Service Bulletin

1

Comments or Suggestions:

Please complete and Fax this form to:

GE OIL & GAS Technical Update Communication

TES/TECH/TEUP Department Mr. Franco Sciacchitano Fax: +39 055 423.2800
e-Mail: oilandgas.technicalupdates@ge.com

Nuovo Pignone S.p.A.

Via Felice Matteucci, 2 | 50127 Florence, Italy

T: +39 055 423 211
F: +39 055 423 2800
Subject to Proprietary and Confidential restrictions

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