Why must the Sense Lines be used with C2® Second Generation Calibration?

The sense lines must be used with the C2® load cells to obtain accurate weight readings. The function of the sense lines is to measure the resistance of your cable so the controller can include that resistance into your weight reading to increase the accuracy. If the sense lines are not used to measure the actual excitation voltage at the junction box, the accuracy of your system will be affected at an amount equal to the percentage of excitation voltage lost between the instrument and the junction box due to wire resistance. For example, if the excitation voltage at the back of the instrument was 5 volts and the excitation voltage at the junction box was 4.9 volts, 0.1 volts was lost due to wire resistance. This loss will cause a linear error of 2% of applied load for all weight readings. This error is introduced because the C2® programmed millivolt per volt data of the load cell is multiplied by the voltage between the sense lines to compute the calibration curve of the load cell.

See the attached Tech Notes for additional information.