REHS4498
31 March 2008
Special Instruction
i02953618
PL1000E Quick Reference
Guide
SMCS Code: 7610
Electric Power Generation
All
Engine Industrial, Marine, and Generator
Set that Use Flash Programming
All
Table of Contents
Introduction ........................................................... 1
Determine the Datalink Address ........................... 2
Creating a .pcl File ................................................ 3
Add a Modbus ECM .......................................... 4
Select a New Modbus Object and Configure a New
Modbus Object ................................................ 4
Add a New CDL, J1939 or Webserver ECM
Object .............................................................. 5
Add Translation Lines ........................................ 6
Save the .pcl File ............................................... 7
Configure the PL1000E ........................................ 9
Load the .pcl File onto the PL1000E ..................... 13
Verify Communications ......................................... 19
Summary .............................................................. 21
Introduction
This Special Instruction is intended to be used as a
quick reference guide for the PL1000E. This Special
Instruction provides instructions to configure the
software that is required to interface a PL1000E with
a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) for the first
time.
This Special Instruction includes information for the
process to create a .pcl file, configure the PL1000E,
and how to install the .pcl file onto the PL1000E.
If needed, refer to the Systems Operation
Troubleshooting Testing and Adjusting Manual,
RENR8091 or Special Instruction, REHS2362 for
more detailed information.
1
Before the PL1000E can be configured, the following
list of information must be gathered.
1. Verify that the PLC supports native Modbus v1.1a,
NOT Modbus+.
2. Verify that the PLC is a Modbus Master that is
capable of requesting registers 40,001 through
42,000.
3. Determine the protocol that is required for the
Modbus communications. (Transmission Control
Protocol (TCP), RS-232, RS-485 (4 wire), RS-485
(2 wire), and RS-422).
4. Determine the baud rate that is required for the
data link.
5. Obtain the Modbus slave address that the PLC
will use in order to request the information from
the PL1000E.
6. If connecting to a network, gather the following
information.
Note: Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)
addressing will auto configure on a dynamic network.
Static addressing will need to be configured
manually. Static addressing will require:
Internet Protocol (IP) address
Subnet address
Gateway address
7. Determine the datalink address of engine ECM,
whether Cat Datalink (CDL) or J1939.
8. Determine if there are any accessories that are
connected to the system. Determine the datalink
address of the accessories. Two examples of
accessories that might be connected to the system
that uses an EMCP 3 control is a Integrated
Combustion Sensing Module (ICSM) or an
Integrated Temperature Sensing Module (ITSM).
9. Decide which available parameters from the
engine ECM, or other Caterpillar ECMs, will need
to be monitored.
Determine the Datalink Address
In order to retrieve data from each ECM that is
connected to the PL1000E, the data link address of
each ECM must be known. The data link address is
required in order to create the .pcl file.

Caterpillar Electronic Technician (Cat ET) or

Caterpillar Communications Tool Kit ( Cat CTK) must Illustration 2
g01471012

be connected to each component individually in order Connect Icon

to determine the data link address.
4. If there is more that one ECM that is connected to
Determine whether the Embedded Communications the Cat Datalink (CDL) or to the J1939 Control
Adapter (ECA) is being used or if the Area Network (CAN), select each ECM one by
Communications Adapter II (CA2) is being one in order to determine the address of the ECM.
used.

1. After the type of commnuications adapter

has been identified, click Utilities, then click
Preferences in order to access the Preferences
dialog. The Preferences dialog will display the
type of adapter, either the ECA (1) or the CA2 (2),
that is being used. Refer to Illustration 1.

g01470882
Illustration 1
Note: The communications (COM) port may also
need to be configured in order to match the active
com port of the computer.
2. Click OK (3) after the desired changes have
been made in order to apply the changes.
3. Click the Connect icon that is located at the top
of the application dialog or press the F8 key.
g01471034
Illustration 3
5. Click OK.
6. Once Cat ET software has connected to an ECM,
press CTRL+I. A system information dialog will
appear. The system information dialog will display
the ECMs that are detected.
7. Click on the desired ECM. The System
Information dialog for the specific ECM will
appear. Refer to Illustration 4.

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 g01471055
Illustration 4

8. The Datalink address is based on the Real Device

ID value. Refer to Illustration 4.

a. Use the first two digits from the real device id.
In this example, the value is 21.

b. The value 21 is in hexadecimal format.

c. The hexadecimal value 21 must be

converted to a decimal number. Therefore,
the hexadecimal value 21 equals 33 in the
decimal system.

d. Therefore, 33 is the address of the CDL ECM

object that is in the .pcl file.

Creating a .pcl File

A Parameter Configuration List (.pcl) file is required.
The .pcl file informs the PL1000E which ECMs to
communicate with and which parameters are to be
made available over Modbus.

1. Click the Utilities option (4) that is displayed on

the menu bar of the Cat ET dialog. The Cat ET
connect dialog will appear.

Note: Connection to the PL1000E is not necessary in Illustration 5

g01471092
order to use the .pte editor, click Stop Connect (5).
2. The Cat ET .pte dialog will appear. From the
Options menu (7), click New (8), then click
Modbus Slave (9).

3
 This publication assumes that the PLC is a
Modbus Master that is capable of requesting
registers 40,0001 through 42,000. This publication
assumes that the PL1000E will provide the
response as a Modbus Slave.
For information to configure the PL1000E as a
Modbus Master, refer to the Systems Operation
Troubleshooting Testing and Adjusting Manual,
RENR8091.
g01471112
Illustration 6
Add a Modbus ECM
1. At the Cat ET .pte dialog, go to the Object Type
field (13) in order to add a Modbus ECM.
g01471152
Illustration 7
2. Click on the oval (14) that has a green plus sign.
4
Note: If desired, the New Modbus ECM object
can be renamed to some other preferred name. In
order to change the name, click the New Modbus
ECM object, then type the preferred name in
the description column. Refer to Illustration 8 and
Illustration 9.
g01473293
Illustration 8
Select a New Modbus Object and
Configure a New Modbus Object
1. Click the New Modbus ECM object in order
to select the object. After the object has been
selected, then the object can be configured. The
object represents the output of the PL1000E.
The ECM ID (15) must be unique for every ECM
object. The slave address (16) is the number that
will be used by the polling system in order to
request information from the PL1000E.
g01471173
Illustration 9
Add a New CDL, J1939 or Webserver
ECM Object
1. A new CDL, J1939 or webserver ECM object will
need to be associated with the appropriate .pte
file (18). Some applications will require more than
one ECM object. An example of this application
are engines that use multiple ECM objects such
as a ITSM or a ICSM.

g01492135
Illustration 11

g01471192
2. Click the New CDL object (21) in order to
Illustration 10 configure the object. Be sure that each ECM
ID (22) and the address for every ECM object
Note: Refer to Illustration 11. The directory path (19) (23) is unique. The CDL or J1939 address must
is where the .pte files are stored. The directory path match the engine or the accessory ECM data link
is user selectable. address, the Module Identifier (MID). Refer to
Illustration 12 and Illustration 13.

Note: The address information can be found through

Cat ET or Cat CTK. Press CTRL + I while the
computer is connected to each component or follow
the instructions that are provided in the component
specific literature.

g01471218
Illustration 12

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 g01471219
Illustration 13

Add Translation Lines

1. The translation lines (26) are used in order to
defined the parameters. Translation lines usually
flow from the CDL, the J1939 or the Webserver
to the Modbus. The translation lines inform the
PL1000E what parameters are to be translated
to the Modbus protocol.

Translation lines can flow from the Modbus

object to the CDL object of the engine ECM. The
configuration will allow for some controls to be
done remotely.

6

Illustration 14
2. Click on one of the translation lines. The
translation line will become hightlighted in red. A
list of parameters that can be chosen will appear
on the right hand side of the dialog. Select only the
parameters that are desired. Refer to Illustration
15.
Note: An excessive amount of parameters may
overload the CDL communications traffic.
g01471222
Illustration 15
Example of a Parameter List
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g01471221
Save the .pcl File
1. Save the .pcl file after the ECM objects are
configured and after the parameters have been
chosen. The file that is to be saved will be the file
that is loaded onto the PL1000E.
2. Go to the Options menu (27) in the dialog. Click
Save (28).
g01471224
Illustration 16
3. Once the file has been saved, click on a translation
line (26). The parameter list dialog (30) for the
translation line will appear on the right hand side
of the .pte dialog.
 4. Click the View/Save Parameter List Report icon
(31). The parameter list report will appear. Refer
to Illustration 18.

g01474713
Illustration 17
(26) Translation Line
(30) Parameter List
(31) View/Save Parameter List Report Icon
(32) Reassign Modbus Registers Icon
(33) Select All Parameters Icon

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 g01471226
Illustration 18

5. Click Save to file. The Save to file command

will create an Excel file. The Excel file will contain
necessary information that is useful for the
process to configure the communication between
the PLC and the PL1000E.

6. The process that is discussed in this section must

be repeated for each translation line.

Configure the PL1000E

1. If multiple ECMs are on the Cat Datalink (CDL)
or J1939, then click on the PL1000E (36). Click
OK (37).

Note: By default, the PL1000E is set to #2. The

ECM Module Identifier (MID) number can be
changed in the configuration menu.

g01471232
Illustration 19

2. After the laptop has connected to the PL1000E,

then click the Configure icon (38) or press the
F5 key.

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 g01471255
Illustration 20

3. Click Expand All (39) that is located at the bottom

of the dialog.

g01515198
Illustration 22
After the Dialog is Expanded, the Configuration Information will
be show.

4. If the network uses DHCP, then ensure the DHCP

setting is enabled. If the network uses Static
network addressing, then ensure that DHCP is
disabled (40) before entering the IP address.
Refer to Illustration 23.

Note: Illustration 23 shows an example IP address.

Note: If needed, then contact the network

administrator in order to obtain the correct IP
address.

g01471273
Illustration 21

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 g01471276
Illustration 23

5. Determine which serial port is required in order to

integrate the PL1000E to the PLC. Ensure that
the baud rates match the PLC.

Note: If the Modbus TCP is used, then the Modbus

port selections do not need to be configured.

Note: Echo (43), Data Size(44), and Parity (45)

are for reference only.

g01471334
Illustration 24

11
6. Each port can be configured as necessary. Click
on a Modbus Port Selection (42). Refer to
Illustration 24. The Change Parameter Value
dialog will appear for that specific port. Refer to
Illustration 25.

The serial ports are configured as follows:

Serial port 1 is RS232

Serial port 2 is RS232
Serial port 4 is RS422 and RS485

g01471336
Illustration 25

Note: Serial port 3 is not available for Modbus

because the port is permanently configured as the
Embedded Comm Adapter (ECA).

Note: Be sure to leave the Modbus Datalink

Addresses at default 254 or 255.

7. The RS485 is defaulted to the 4 wire (full duplex)

configuration. If the RS484 2 wire (half duplex)
configuration is desired, then the .pcl file will have
to be installed first. After the .pcl file has been
installed, then the changes must be made on the
configuration screen in order to select 2 wire.
Refer to Illustration 26.

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 g01471340
Illustration 26

Note: Only PL1000 hardware that is stamped with

285-1138 are able to utilize the 2 wire configuration.

8. The power to the PL1000E must be cycled in

order for the settings to be applied.

Load the .pcl File onto the PL1000E

1. The computer must be configured in order to
connect to the PL1000E over Ethernet. Click on
the Start button (46). Then select Control Panel
(47).

Note: The following instructions use Windows XPtm.

Even if other Windows based operating systems are
used, the same, or similar, instructions can be used
in order to perform the process to load the .pcl file.

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 g01471348
Illustration 29

a. Click the Connections tab (49). Then click the

LAN Settings button (50).

g01471342
Illustration 27

2. After the Control Panel dialog has appeared,

click the Internet Options icon (48).

g01471345 g01471349
Illustration 28 Illustration 30

3. The Internet Properties dialog will appear.

14
 b. Ensure that the box for the Automatically
detect settings (51) and the box for the Use
automatic configuration script (52) are not
checked.

g01516952
Illustration 33

c. In the Local Area Connection Status window

click Properties (58).

g01471351
Illustration 31

c. Click OK in order to apply the changes.

Return to the Control Panel dialog.

4. Set up the network address for the computer for

static IP addressing. If DHCP addressing is used
on the network, then open Cat ET or CTK in order
to determine the PL1000Es IP address and then
proceed to Step 5.

a. In the Control Panel dialog, click the Network

Connections (55) icon.

g01516958
Illustration 34

d. In the field that is titled This connection uses

the following items:, use the scroll bar to
scroll down in order to locate Internet Protocol
(TCP/IP). Double click Internet Protocol
(TCP/IP) (59).

g01516836
Illustration 32

b. Click Local Area Connection (57).

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 g01475956
Illustration 35
e. The Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties
dialog will appear. Click Use the Following IP
address (60).
f. Enter in the IP address (61) that was used for
the PL1000E, except for the last set of numbers
that are on the right end of the address. The last
set of numbers that are on the right end of the
address must be different than the PL1000E.
Note: An example address for the PL1000E is
192.168.10.10. A typical subnet (62)for both
the PL1000E and the PC is 255.255.255.0. The
PL1000E address and the PCs defualt gateway need
to match. An example default gateway is 1.0.0.0.
16
g01471389
Illustration 36
Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties Dialog
g. After the required information has been
entered, then click OK (63). Return to the
Control Panel dialog.
5. Open Internet Explorer. Type the IP address that
has been set for the PL1000E in the Address
bar (65).
g01471392
Illustration 37
6. A dialog will appear asking if the user has
permission to access the folder and to ask the
user to log on. Press OK. Refer to Illustration 38.
 g01471393
Illustration 38

7. A dialog, for the address that was typed, will

appear. Click File that is on the tool bar.

8. From the drop down menu, click Login As.

Note: The default user name is admin. The default

password is admin.

9. Double click the New file folder (66).

g01471395
Illustration 39

10. Drag the .pcl file, that was created, into the New
file folder.

17
 g01471396
Illustration 40

11. Cycle the power to the PL1000E. After the power

has been applied to the PL1000E, click View,
then click Refresh. The .pcl file should disappear.

g01471397
Illustration 41

12. Click the Back button (67), then click the

Current folder. The file should appear in the
Current folder. The screen may need to be
updated. Click the Refresh button.

18
 g01471398
Illustration 42

13. The .pcl file is now loaded onto the PL1000E.

Click the Back button.

Verify Communications
The following procedure can be used in order to
confirm that the .pcl file has been properly loaded and
to confirm that the hardware configuration is correct.

1. Change the FTP to HTTP (68) in the Address

bar in order to enter the embedded web browser.

g01471413
Illustration 43

2. Click Status (70).

3. Click ECM Mapping (71). The ECM Mapping

dialog will appear. If the file has been loaded
correctly and if the ports are configured correctly
to match the .pcl file, then there will no red writing
on this page. Refer to Illustration 44.

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 g01471414
Illustration 44

4. Click Statistics (72) in order to view the port

activity. The Statistics screen shows an example
of proper port activity.

Note: If the port activity is operating properly, then

the Bytes Transmitted and the Bytes Received will
increment for the configured and for the active ports.
Refer to Illustration 45.

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 g01471415
Illustration 45

Summary
If needed, refer to the latest revision of
Systems Operation, Testing and Adjusting, and
Troubleshooting, RENR8091 and Special Instruction,
REHS2362 for detailed information.

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