We have a homemade DAQ software system that's been in use for multiple years and we're suddenly starting to see more and more often (once ever few hours) "Error -201478: Watchdog timer task has expired. Reset the chassis to resume normal operation". Our daq system is utilized for running engine tests and this error causes the entire system to shutdown until we reset the chassis. Our setup is as follows:
Two daisy chained cDAQ chassis (combinations of NI cDAQ 9188, 9188XT, and 9189). When using two of the 9188 chassis they are chained via a NI 9469 Synchronization module, when using the 9189 version we just use the sync port that's built in. The cDAQ cards being used are various thermocouple (NI 9214), voltage input (NI 9239) and digital IO cards (NI 9375). All of this setup for both hardware and software has not changed throughout the years and we have multiple test stations where some are experiencing the watchdog issue excessively and some don't see it at all.
It's an issue that has recently started getting worse. In one instance swapping the chassis to recently purchased ones had a positive effect. So we've been focused on old and degrading hardware as the source of the issue. My question is, does that theory hold any water. We've inherited this system so our knowledge of how the watchdog timer works is limited... can it be set off by "bad" hardware? Can excessive heat/vibration lead to a chassis that struggles with this error? Looking for some confirmation that we are even looking in the right spot here or for some feedback on things we could be looking at in our setup. I do not believe this is an issue with how the watchdog timer is setup in the software as that's been constant for years. I can provide additional details if needed. Thank you.
