AutoChrom: Steps to take when an Injection Fails

Description

Within the project, each injection can be assigned a status: Planned, Complete, Postponed, or Failed. To modify the status of an injection, navigate to the Task menu, choose Handle Injections and explore the available options.

If an injection is marked as Failed, it’s crucial to determine the underlying cause and address it promptly. Typical reasons for failure include running out of solvent or sample, instrument malfunctions such as pressure limit exceedance, or interruptions in the instrument’s connection. Identifying the reason for failure will help determine the appropriate corrective steps.

Solution

Begin by reviewing the error message or notification associated with the failed injection. To do so, double-click the entry for the failed injection to open the About window, or right-click the injection entry and select About. When the injection status is Failed, you’ll see details or an error message in the next field.

If the error message does not provide sufficient information for troubleshooting, reach out to Support and include the following:

• The error message text and/or a screenshot.
• Check to see if any Empower or Chemstation LOG folders were generated and send them to Support. These logs are usually found in the AutoChrom Project folder under the LOG subfolder.

If the error message is clear and the issue has been identified, you can resolve the failed injection using one of the following options: Reimport, Retry, or Repeat.

Reimport

Occasionally, the instrument loses connection, but the injection is completed and the data exists in the Empower project or as a Chemstation raw data set (typically in the DATA folder). If this happens, you can re-link the data to the AutoChrom project.

To do this, right-click the failed injection entry and select Reimport from the shortcut menu.

Retry

You can configure this command to run automatically several times following a failure.

In the Instrument Console window, go to the Automation menu, select Retry Failed Injections, and specify the number of attempts the software should make to resolve the failure.

If the project was stopped or paused due to instrument issues, you may retry the failed injection by right-clicking the entry and choosing Retry.

Repeat

There are various reasons to repeat an injection.

1. If neither the Reimport nor Retry options succeed in replacing the Failed injection, right-click it and choose Repeat Injection. This action initiates Trial 2 and collects a new dataset. The original (failed) Trial can later be rejected and hidden from further analysis and processing.
2. If the chromatogram obtained is unsatisfactory, and the underlying issue has been corrected, repeat the injection to generate improved data.