Shimadzu Pumps Do Not Start when Selecting Equilibrate in Analyst® Software


Date: 05/14/2018
Categories: Analyst Software

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For research use only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.


Issue Description

When selecting the Equilibrate icon in Analyst® software to equilibrate an LC/MS method that uses a Shimadzu LC system, the pumps and LC flow do not start, even though the system seems to be working and no errors are showing during or after the allotted equilibration time. The pumps are set to the correct flow rate, but the pumps are not running. In addition, the red pump light is not on, and there is no back pressure. This issue occurs intermittently, not every time a method is equilibrated.
 


Resolution

Follow the system startup procedure (below) to ensure that the pumps will run after selecting Equilibrate in Analyst:

  1. In Analyst software, double-click on Hardware Configuration and activate the desired hardware profile.
  2. In Acquire mode, select the View Queue icon to bring up the Queue Manager.
  3. Click the Equilibrate icon to bring up the Equilibrate menu and select the method and the length of time for the equilibration.
  4. Select OK to close the pane and start the equilibration process.
However, if the LC system goes into standby mode after any of the following scenarios have occurred, then simply hitting the equilibrate button will result in equilibration of the mass spectrometer, but not the LC system. Instead the LC will set the flow and composition to initial conditions, but the pumps will stay off. The following scenarios will cause the pumps to go to standby:
  1. Receiving an LC or MS error that causes the system to go into standby
  2. Reaching the system’s idle-time limit
  3. Aborting a run in progress in the queue
  4. Selecting the standby button to manually put the system into standby while it is idle
To equilibrate with the LC flowing, select the Pump button on the front of the Shimadzu pump to initiate the flow of solvent at the initial method conditions. Alternately, leave the LC/MS system in standby, and then deactivate/re-activate the hardware profile to get the  Shimadzu ready for normal equilibration.

In addition, users can select Standby, Ready, Standby, Equilibrate to turn pumps on.