Flaking of protective coating on ST9985V rack rail kits shipped in EMEA can cause contamination of the rack.

Asset ID:	1-73-1020208.1
Update Date:	2010-09-23
Keywords:

Solution Type FAB (standard) Sure

Solution 1020208.1 : Flaking of protective coating on ST9985V rack rail kits shipped in EMEA can cause contamination of the rack.

Impact

If any rack contains rail kits showing signs of flaking, there is a potential for the particles to affect the proper operation of any equipment either in the rack, or in the surrounding area. It is therefore imperative that this contamination is completely removed from the local environment.

Contributing Factors

Sun StorageTek 9985V Systems shipped in EMEA between September and December of 2008 could have been affected.

All shipments of rail kits to EMEA will continue to be inspected at the European Distribution Centre (EDC) prior to shipment to ensure that only sound quality kits are being shipped to the field. This issue does not affect rail kits shipped from the Indianapolis Distribution Center (IDC) to geographies outside of EMEA.

Symptoms

An issue has been identified where the protective coating on the ST9985V rails shipped with Rittal racks from the HDS EDC to EMEA customers might has started to flake and come away from the rails, causing metallic particles to contaminate the inside of the rack and the surrounding area.

Affected rail kits pictures and details from our partner HDS are posted at the below link:

http://se9990.eng/tech_docs/fab/railkit_issue/Rail_Kit4.doc

http://se9990.eng/tech_docs/fab/railkit_issue/NSC55_USPVM_058765.pdf

Additionally, a Customer Letter has been made available, and can be acquired via the below URL;

http://sdpsweb.ebay/FIN_FCO/FAB/254248/SPE/RailKit_Cust_Letter.odt

Root Cause

The cause of this issue has been traced to a faulty rectifier on one of the 4 plating vats used to coat the rails. This has now been corrected at the EDC.

Our partner HDS EMEA has instructed Rittal that all future rail kits should be provided with Ecoat protection, rather than the traditional nickel plate, to prevent the re-occurrence of this problem.

Sun Services Logistics does not spare these rail kits so no RSL purge is required.

Corrective Action

Workaround:

No workaround available - see Resolution section below.

Resolution:

It is recommended to visually inspect the identified ST9985V systems in EMEA shipped between September and December of 2008 for possible contamination.

A list of ST9985V serial numbers in EMEA, which may be impacted, can be viewed via the below link:

http://se9990.eng/tech_docs/fab/railkit_issue/ST9985V_RailList.ods

To assist in checking whether or not a rack contains rails that are affected by the plating issue (especially rails populated with equipment) please take note of the below test.

Issue Identification:

A simple tool can be assembled which can allow the checking of both the underside of an affected rail and any evidence of displaced particles on top of the equipment immediately below the rail. Applying a strip of double side adhesive tape to one end of a thin strip of rigid material; such as a wooden spatula, or even a plastic coffee stirrer, and rubbing the adhesive strip along the underside of the rail, will cause any loose particles to adhere to the stick. By repeating this exercise on the top of the equipment installed immediately below the rail, it will identify if any loosened particles are present on top of the equipment.

Should the initial check of the rail and equipment reveal no evidence of flaking, the tests can be repeated after first rubbing the end of a flat-bladed screwdriver along the underside of the rail. This will dislodge any particles that are starting to flake, but are not yet loose enough to be picked up by the adhesive strip.

If checked racks are found to contain affected empty rail kits, and replacement rails are not immediately available, the affected rails should be removed as soon as possible and replacements fitted later.

Upon initial inspection, if the system is affected with the flaking issue, please order replacement parts by following the procedure mentioned in "ordering the parts" section below and following the Rittal Rail Replacement and Cleaning Procedure manual at below link:

http://se9990.eng/tech_docs/fab/railkit_issue/Rittal002_Clean-Replace-Procedure.pdf

Recommended tools for the inspection:

Screwdriver
Handheld vacuum cleaner
Extended Mirror (optional)
Cotton Swabs/Buds (optional)

Inspect the ST9985V systems with the serial numbers provided below. If any of these systems are affected, replace the rail kits by following the procedure provided above.

Ordering parts:

Please send e-mail to [email protected] requesting the below parts with additional details below.

Rail Kit Set:

7846429.p - SUN 9985V/USPVM Rail Kit (with stopper) **
7846427A - SUN 9985V/USPVM Rail Kit (without stopper) **

Note 1) Each Rail Kit Set consists of 2 rails – 1 x left hand rail, 1 x right hand rail.
Note 2) ** In most situations, rails with stopper are required. Only when the controller has
          been removed from a rack will    rails without stoppers be required. These are for
          the lower 2 Rail Kits in the primary, (DKC), rack.

When sending e-mail, please fill out and include the below template:

----
            Part Number:
     Qty Kits Required:
Field Engineer name:
           FE email:
              FE phone:
        System Serial #:
       Ship To Address:
      Date Required by:
---

Rail kits are shipped with a return envelope to ship the defective rail kits back to EDC.   Upon replacement, faulty rails should be returned back in their respective containment bags, each of which should be clearly marked with the following information:

System Serial #
Rack Serial #
Rack Model #

Note to Authorized Service Partners:

Sun Authorized Service Partners may contact Sun Services or their Sun Services Representative to receive FAB related information as needed.

Comments

This issue was fully evaluated as, and determined not to meet criteria for, an FCO due to the limited number of impacted systems and because replacement parts are managed by HDS.

References:

Reference Manual: Maintenance Manuals
    http://pts-storage.west/products/T99x0/documentation.html

Related URL(s):
    http://se9990.eng/tech_docs/fab/railkit_issue/Rittal_ECN_H002-2.doc
    http://se9990.eng/tech_docs/fab/railkit_issue/Rittal_FCB_H002-3.doc

For information about FAB documents, its release processes, implementation strategies and billing information, go to the following URL:

http://tns.central/fab

For Sun Authorized Service Providers go to:

http://tns.central/SPE/fab/

In addition to the above you may email:

[email protected]

Internal Contributor/submitter
[email protected], [email protected]

Internal Eng Responsible Engineer
[email protected] Responsible Manager: [email protected]

Internal Services Knowledge Engineer
[email protected]

Internal Eng Business Unit Group
NWS (Storage)

Internal Sun Alert & FAB Admin Info
04-Mar-2009: Began draft and put on-hold awaiting Impact statement from submitter.
06-Mar-2009: Finalized draft - sent to Extended Review.
09-Mar-2009: No feedback from Ext Rvw - sending to Publish.
10-Mar-2009: Added link to Customer Letter in Symptoms section.

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