Problem

I came across a Brain Bee AGS-688 gas analyzer that refused to measure, and, when connected to a laptop would show the error “Fatal test bench error” or something to that tone. The machine would also not start the leak test, it would just freeze and would have to be restarted.

The user manual highlights a method to check the errors stored in the eeprom like such:

So, within the GAS menu, you can reach the CONTROLS menu where ANALYSER ERROR shows a scrollable list of all the errors that the machine can exhibit. Active errors are shown as ON, all other errors which are inactive are shown as OFF

ER15 was shown as ON in our case, and the message was: “Serious Manufacturer Defect” (I translated this from romanian as that was the language on this particular device). Now what?

Solution

Having checked that all exterior filters and connections were fine, there was no other choice than to dive in.

First thing I saw, was the internal clock battery. Guess what? 0.2V

Yep. That was it. Back in working order. (don’t have photographic proof, sorry)

Conclusion: The error ER15 for a Brain Bee AGS-688 may be the internal battery.