ACQUITY UPLC Sample Manager - FTN: "Needle/Seal move limit exceeded"- WKB85308

SYMPTOMS

• Error "Fatal: Needle/Seal move limit exceeded"
• Error can be temporarily cleared 
• Characterization of the needle seal giving seal constant out of range. Expected value is 8-11 N/mm.

ENVIRONMENT

• ACQUITY UPLC I-Class
• ACQUITY UPLC I-Class PLUS
• ACQUITY UPLC H-class
• ACQUITY UPLC H-Class Bio
• ACQUITY UPLC H-Class PLUS
• ACQUITY UPLC H-Class PLUS Bio
• ACQUITY UPLC Sample Manager - Flow Through Needle (SM-FTN)
• ACQUITY UPLC Sample Manager - Flow Through Needle PLUS (SM-FTN PLUS)

CAUSE

The inject station is not assembled correctly: prongs on the bottom of the locking nut (seal port) do not align with the spring (see Figure 1).

FIX or WORKAROUND

1. Dismantle the inject station and rebuild it with the spring correctly aligned
2. Re-characterize the needle seal and perform the needle seal readiness test        

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Figure 1: misalignment between locking nut prongs and spring