Most proximity sensors do not fail because they’re bad.
Most times they fail because of how they’re wired, grounded, or interpreted.
Here are the 5 silent killers I’ve seen on the field 👇🏽
1️⃣ Loose connections – Vibration loosens terminals, causing flickering inputs.
Seen it happen on a compressor skid. Tighten once, save hours of troubleshooting.
2️⃣ Cables too close to power lines – Induced noise creates false signals.
One wrong tray routing once stopped an entire conveyor system.
3️⃣ Poor grounding – Floating grounds = unstable readings.
Always ensure the PLC and sensors share one clean reference.
4️⃣ Moisture in junction boxes – moisture on junction box caused a false trip at a gas plant as result of transmitter not sensing the process.
Seal your boxes like your data depends on it — because it does.
5️⃣ Misreading wiring diagrams – Many mix up NPN and PNP.
One wrong assumption once kept a line down for 6 hours.
Understand the diagram before you touch the wire.
Sensors rarely lie.
It’s the wiring that tells stories.
🔧 Your turn:
What’s the strangest wiring issue you’ve ever faced on site?
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#Instrumentation #Instrument #Sensor #ProximitySensor #OilandGas