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My assumption with your system is that you have a controller (PLC, DCS, or small din controller) that is driving

out a 4-20mA signal to an I/P device. This I/P device is then used to control a large control valve of some sort. You want to make sure that your wiring is correct and that your 4-20mA signal drives the 315PSI pressure properly. Wiring - You should use foil or braid shielded, twisted pair wire for this application. The gauge of wire depends on the distance. I like 20 AWG wire for <50 ft and 18 to 16 AWG for >50ft. Also, you should ground the shield at ONLY ONE END OF THE CABLE - preferably at the controller, not the I/P device. On the I/P, you need good air pressure gauges installed. Many good I/P have two pressure gauges on them: inlet and outlet pressure. If you don't have pressure gauges on them, you can get them at a place like McMaster Carr or Grainger. Install one on the inlet side and one on the outlet side. You will need them for diagnosis of problems and performance. There are three types of 4-20mA wiring types: 2-wire, 3-wire, 4-wire. Two wire setups are the easiest. The + on the controller goes to + on the I/P and the - on the controller goes to - on the I/P. You can take an ohm meter, remove the wiring from the controller, and do an ohm reading across the wiring. You should have <500 ohms resistance. Over that, you are not hooked up right. You can hook the wires back up to the controller and can use the controller to check the wiring. Many controllers have a way to manually set any value from 4 to 20 mAs. If you turn on 4 mA, you should get 3PSI , 20mA you should get 15PSI, and 12mA you should get 9PSI at the I/P. If nothings happens above 4mA, your wiring is backwards and needs to be swapped. The three wire system uses an external power supply and is more tricky to set up and check. The +24VDC goes to the + on the I/P, THE - ON THE I/P GOES TO THE + ON THE CONTROLLER, and the - on the controller goes to the 24VDC common. A quick check of wiring on that system is to measure the voltage drop from + to - on the I/P and add it to the + to - voltage drop across the controller (keep polarities straight). The sum of those two voltages should equal 24VDC. Then you should be able to check the I/P using the controller manual mode. The four wire system is also pretty easy (this is not a very common setup). This system requires a separate 24VDC supply wired to the controller and/or I/P and the 4-20mA system is separate. All you need to make sure of is that the separate 24VDC supply is wired properly using a volt meter and you can wire and check the 4-20mA just like it is a two wire system.

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