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License Plate Reader Troubleshooting

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This document is intended as a guide for troubleshooting License Plate Reader (LPR) issues. This guide will not cover solutions for each and every possible cause for License Plate Reader issues, but will provide a framework for identifying the kinds of issues that affect sites using LPR, along with recommendations for initial troubleshooting steps. Should these steps fail to resolve your issue, please contact ICS support for further assistance.

Overview

  1. Identification & Clarification

  2. Troubleshoot a Specific Vehicle's Plate

  3. Troubleshoot a Specific Lane

  4. Verify the Camera Feed

  5. Unreadable Image Based Issues

  6. Primary Image Based Issues

  7. Transmission Based Issues

  8. Additional Troubleshooting Recommendations

Identification & Clarification:

Before we begin to troubleshoot a License Plate Reader issue, it is helpful to identify the nature of the issue and whether the symptoms can be reproduced.

  • If the issue is affecting a specific customer, troubleshooting the customers vehicle & plate should be considered.
  • If the issue is affecting specific lane(s), troubleshooting the LPR camera &/or payment terminal for the affected lane(s) should be considered.
  • If the issue is affecting all customers/lanes, troubleshooting the LPR Server & Services should be considered.

If the lane's camera has never read plates, or if the last time it successfully read plates was before a replacement for a Camera, LPR Server, or a lane's motherboard, please contact ICS Support for assistance.

Troubleshoot a Specific Vehicle's Plate:

  1. Log in to WashConnect and navigate to LPR > Analysis by Plate.
  2. Define the date, time, location and lane the issue occurred at in the Search Tools Section.
  3. Enter the License in the Search field. Set the In Field dropdown to License.
    • Alternate search fields: Transaction #, Transaction Time, and RFID.
  4. Click the Search button.
  5. Confirm that the resulting transaction matches the customer who is experiencing the issue.
  6. If the OCR result field DOES NOT match the customers actual plate, set the OCR Result Status to incorrect and type the correct plate information in the New Plate field.
  7. If this does not resolve the issue, discuss the cause of the issue with the customer if their license plate frames or custom license plate images are causing the issue.
    • Offer RFID tag or Customer Club Card as alternate detection method.

Troubleshoot a Specific Lane:

Perform a Ping test to the Camera to make sure it is online

  1. Next to the Start menu in the search bar, type cmd and press the Enter key. You can also use Ctrl+R to open the RUN prompt, then search for cmd and press the Enter key.
  2. Type the following to check if the camera is powered on and communicating over the network, replace the # symbol with the lane number: ping 10.0.0.21#
    NOTE: This IP may vary if your site has a unique network configuration.
  3. Press enter on the keyboard.
  4. If the result shows any Result Timed Out messages, or if the % loss is anything other than 0, check the network cables and switches for disconnected cables or failed power over ethernet ports.
  5. If Camera responds to Ping test, physically inspect the Camera on the Camera Truss, it should not be able to be moved by hand.

Verify the Camera Feed:

  1. Open a Web Browser, and type the LPR Server IP address in the address bar and press the Enter key.
    NOTE: This is typically 10.0.0.251 but may vary if your site has a unique network configuration.
  2. Log in to InexTech with the Username and Password.
    If you do not have this information, check with management to ensure you have the privilege needed or contact ICS support.
  3. From the Calibration tab, in the Camera box select the affected lane Camera.
  4. Verify both the left and right-side of the lane where the Payment Terminal exits can be seen in the video feed.
  5. Verify the Payment Terminal can be seen in the video feed, but the top of the Payment Terminal CANNOT be seen in the video feed.
  6. Verify the red square covers the entirety of the lane.
  7. Verify the red arrow is pointing in the direction that the vehicle drives through the lane.
  8. The red horizontal line should be in the center of the lane.
  9. If the issue persists on lane(s) after resolving these, contact ICS Support for further assistance.

Unreadable Image Based Issues

These are typically the result of camera, license, or other obscuring factor causing the image to be unreadable.

Examples of this include:

  1. Licenses being physically cut off or obscured.
  2. Over/Under exposure as a result of reflective surfaces or sunrise/sunset.
  3. Custom Characters.
    • Resolution of these types of issues will typically involve interacting with the Camera, Customer, or Site Employee to resolve the cause of the complication. Please note the date, time, location and lane of any image based issue before proceeding.

Primary Image Based Issues:

Analysis by Plate:

Perform this step if a single vehicle's plate is experiencing Image issues.

  1. Open WashConnect.
  2. Select LPR > Analysis by Plate.
  3. Define the Date, Site, Device where the plate read issue occurred.
  4. Enter the License in the Search field. In the In Field list, select License.
    • Alternate search fields: Transaction #, Transaction Time, RFID.
  5. Press the Search button.
    Transaction information is displayed.
  6. Confirm the customer and plate information match the Camera Result and OCR Result shown.
    • If the Camera Result does not match or show the license properly, confirm the Transaction Time and Lane match the customer affected, check/adjust the Camera angle if needed and address any other potential causes that could affect the image result before testing again.
    • If OCR Result does not match, Change the OCR Result Status to Incorrect.
    • If the Existing Plate box does not match, enter the correct plate information in the New Plate box, click Save before testing again.
    • Press the Previous or Next buttons if needed to check additional reads.

Transmission Based Issues:

These issues are the result of improper or failed transmission of data between the Camera, Server, and WashConnect.

Examples of transmission issues include:

  1. Licenses showing in the LPR Server but not showing in WashConnect.
  2. Images showing properly in LPR Server but upside down or blurred in WashConnect.
    • Resolution of these types of issues will involve working with ICS Support to check the LPR Server and Payment Terminal configuration.

Additional Troubleshooting Recommendations:

  • Check the LPR Camera placement and stability on its truss, it should not move by hand.
    Refer to the Installation Guide for exact measurements:
  • Power cycle LPR Cameras by disconnecting the ethernet cable connected to the PoE switch briefly before reconnecting.
  • If none of the above steps resolve your issue, please note the following before contacting ICS for further support:
    • If issue affects one or more customers/lanes
    • Plate information
    • Customer information
    • Time & Lane of error occurrence

Please contact ICS Technical Support if any assistance is needed:

800-246-3469

 

 

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