Help! Frozen, now black Apex display...

[TripleT]

I tried to enter feed mode, and realized the display module was frozen.

I unplugged it, waited a few seconds, and plugged it back in.

Now it is showing nothing... as if it were not plugged in.

What can I do??? I need this thing working!

I got it from Marine Depot about 6 months ago.

[kenargo]

The good thing is that is it under warranty. Do you have a PC that can connnect to the Apex? You might want to send an email off to support@neptunesys.com just in case you need to return the display though.

[TripleT]

It came back to life after a little while, after plugging it back in. Not sure how long it took to revive itself, but it was more than 5 or 10 minutes, which is how long I stared at it hoping for it to boot up.

Then I left the room for a bit and when I came back, it was working again.

I've plugged my heater into a normal outlet just to be safe for the next few days.

I'll keep an eye on it, and I wonder if this is a sign of more problems to come...

[swearint]

What firmware version are you running? There have been several updates to address issues with the Display unit. Also, check the Module List (Configuration > Module Setup) to verify that the Display unit firmware is current. It should indicate (OK) under SW Rev.

Todd

[djkms]

It came back to life after a little while, after plugging it back in. Not sure how long it took to revive itself, but it was more than 5 or 10 minutes, which is how long I stared at it hoping for it to boot up.

Then I left the room for a bit and when I came back, it was working again.

I've plugged my heater into a normal outlet just to be safe for the next few days.

I'll keep an eye on it, and I wonder if this is a sign of more problems to come...

My Neptune did the same thing. It would randomly freeze and after unplugging it and plugging it back in it wouldn't fire up the display. I contacted Neptune about it and Curt advised me to check for lights on the base module. If after plugging it back in and there are no lights I would suggest sending it in. I just sent my unit back in to Neptune on Monday (on my dime) for repair/replace. Hopefully they fix it or send a new one.

To answer your question, yes I would say its a sign of more problems to come. Mine got progressively worse, would freeze more often and for a longer amount of time. My most recent freeze lasted for 2 days before it fired back up again.

[TripleT]

Well it has frozen again twice in the last 24 hours. :(

Lucky for my fish that I was paying attention, as the frozen display showing 79 degrees was not the temp of my tank, which had dropped closer to 70 degrees.

I hope I can get a replacement shipped to me ASAP, as this unit is only 6 or 7 months old.

I'll be contacting customer support now...

[TripleT]

Last ditch effort to reinstall the latest firmware also hangs. It says "login successful" and then starts showing connection timed out. At the same moment the display freezes.

Since I have to ship it back to Neptune now :( , anybody know how to get my Vortech back to factory settings? Once you connect your Vortech to the Apex, you can't control the Vortech manually.

[Spar]

Same thing is happening to me right now, very frustrating. Will let you know if something happens differently when I attempt it working again.

[aquamanic]

TripleT - if nobody here has an idea, try posting over on the Ecotech Marine forum on RC. EM monitors it and someone may be able to help you. If you figure it out, will you post back here for others?

[TripleT]

TripleT - if nobody here has an idea, try posting over on the Ecotech Marine forum on RC. EM monitors it and someone may be able to help you. If you figure it out, will you post back here for others?

I unplugged it, and also unplugged the battery backup, for about an hour. When I plugged it back in, I was once again able to control it manually.

However, the full user manuals are on Ecotech's site:

http://ecotechmarine.com/customer-service/downloads/

And I also got this response in the Ecotech forum:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=18550840&postcount=2

[aquamanic]

So the clearing of the memory, either via the keys or just letting the internal battery run down is the solution? Makes sense.

[TripleT]

Last ditch effort to reinstall the latest firmware also hangs. It says "login successful" and then starts showing connection timed out. At the same moment the display freezes.

Since I have to ship it back to Neptune now :( , anybody know how to get my Vortech back to factory settings? Once you connect your Vortech to the Apex, you can't control the Vortech manually.

I gave it yet one more try after searching and finding more suggestions.

When the update got to the connection timeouts, I unplugged the base module, and plugged it back in a second later. Whammo, the updates were sent to the unit.

That was a week ago, and since then, everything seems to be running rock solid.

I feel like the base module got corrupted somehow, and successfully reloading the firmware update (the same version I had last loaded) has it happy again.

Neptune Systems told me to keep an eye on it, and that's what I'm doing.

One thing I've learned from this...

Set your heater's internal thermostat to around 80.
Set the Apex to turn the heater off around 78.
Set the heater outlet to default to *ON* in case it loses connection with the base module.

This way, if the base module does run into any problems, the heater outlet will stay powered, and the heater's own (less reliable) thermostat will shut it off just a degree or two higher than usual.

Much better than having the outlet turn off, and your fish dying from cold temps. And by only setting the heater's thermostat slightly higher than the Apex's setting, your fish won't fry either. Common sense, but sometimes you need to hear it or experience it first.