Carrier Transicold has added a comprehensive diagnostic application to its APX control system. Virtual Technician continually monitors trailer refrigeration unit operation to identify potential problems.
“The Virtual Tech application is like having a ride-along service technician watching the unit’s performance,” said Mark Fragnito, Carrier Transicold product manager, electronics. “It helps take the guesswork out of refrigeration unit service, making troubleshooting easier and faster, and improving equipment uptime in the process. It’s a tool that will be well received by fleet managers, owner-operators and especially service technicians, who won’t need extra troubleshooting hardware, testing kits and complex troubleshooting trees to diagnose problems, because it’s all automatic.”
Monitored components include refrigeration, mechanical and electrical as well as the APX control system itself, Carrier Transicold said. Because the APX system uses no mechanical relays, Virtual Technician can monitor more system operations to identify more than 250 different alarm conditions.
“The Virtual Tech application will continually observe and diagnose the unit between pre-trip diagnostic routines so you can quickly discover and correct issues,” Fragnito said.
If the Virtual Tech application senses a problem, it activates the refrigeration unit’s amber external warning light to alert the driver, and the alarm LED flashes on the control system display module. When the alarm button is pushed, a text message describing the problem will appear on the APX display module. If a specific control module needs repair or replacement, that module’s red fault light glows for easy identification. For units equipped with telematics capability, the Virtual Tech application is capable of relaying system status and faults to a centralized dispatcher by way of Carrier's DataTrak option.
When the APX control system is operating in “technician mode,” the Virtual Tech application provides analytic and diagnostic information on the display module’s dashboard. The APX control system dashboard generates more diagnostic information in fewer keystrokes than existing control systems and can simultaneously show data from up to five sensors, providing a better overview of system performance.
The Virtual Tech application also records system operation data so that detailed performance reports can be downloaded for review on a computer with Carrier Transicold’s new TRU-Tech and TRU-View PC programs.
The APX control system is standard with Carrier’s new 2500 APX and 2100 APX models in the X2 series of trailer refrigeration units.
