4 - 20 MA Transmitter

For Electrical, Instrumentation &
Automation Engineers & Technicians
By electricalandcontrol.com
 4-20 mA loops are series of connected elements as illustrated in
the figure below:
 The elements of a current loop are connected in series as

illustrated above. Take note of how the power supply connections
are done: (+) → (+), (-) →(-) and how the temperature transmitter
is connected to the temperature display unit: (+) → (-), (-) → (−).
 Adding a PLC input is done in the same way as
we did for the other previous elements. All
you need to keep in mind is that all elements
are connected in this way: (+) → (-), (-) → (+)
with the exception of the power supply: (+) →
(+), (-) →(-). Thus this will look as below:
 In 2-wire control loops, we use 2-wire
transmitters to convert various process signals
representing flow, speed, position, level,
temperature, pressure, strain, pH, and so forth
to 4-20 mA DC for the purpose of transmitting
the signal over some distance with little or no
loss of signal.
 The 2-wire 4-20 mA transmitter is energized by
the loop current where the loop source voltage
is included in the receiver. The transmitter
floats and the signal ground is in the receiver:
 Power Supply: The current loop uses DC power
because the magnitude of the current represents the
signal level that is being transmitted. If AC power was
used in the loop, the magnitude of current would be
continuously changing, making it hard to observe the
signal level being transmitted. For 4-20 mA current
loop with 2-wires transmitters, the most common loop
power supply is 24 V DC, however in some instances,
12 V, 15 V and 36 V DC and even higher voltages may
be used. Note, the power supply level must be greater
than sum of the minimum voltage required to operate
the transmitter, plus the IR drop in the receiver, and for
long distances, the IR drop in the wire.
 Receiver: This is the device at the end of the
transmission line that receives the transmitted signal.
In a 4-20 mA process loop, the receiver could be
located thousands of feet from the transmitter. Since it
is much easier to measure voltage than current, we
often use a resistor to represent the Receiver in a 2-
wire current loop. This resistor can be a physical
resistor or the input impedance of the receiver channel.
The Receiver in this case could be a PLC, or any other
digital control system, or even another transmitter,
signal isolator, or even a wireless transducer.
 Receiver devices may be classified as active (supplying
power) or passive (relying on loop power). E.g. Panel
mount display may additionally provide loop power to
a temperature transmitter.
 A transmitter is a device used to transmit data
from a sensor over the two-wire current loop.
There can only be one Transmitter output in any
current loop. It acts like a variable resistor with
respect to its input signal and is the key to the 4-
20 mA signal transmission system. In other words,
the transmitter converts the real world signal, such
as, level, flow, temperature, pressure, position,
speed, and so on, into the control signal required
to regulate the flow of current in the current loop.
The level of loop current is adjusted by the
transmitter to be proportional to the actual sensor
input signal.
 The wire is used to make the connection between
the elements or wire the elements together.
Normally the resistance in the wire in the current
loop is ignored for short distances and small
installations. But, over long transmission distances,
the IR drop can be significant and must be
accounted for.
 Always ensure that the loop supply voltage is
always large enough to drive the minimum
transmitter voltage plus the IR voltage drop in the
wire, plus the IR voltage drop in the receiver and
at maximum loop current.
 Here the controller (Receiver in this case) with
its own in-built loop power supply where the
controller actually supplies DC power to the
loop as illustrated below:
 A 3-wire transmitter is energized by a supply
voltage at the transmitter. The transmitter
sources the loop current. Transmitter common
is connected to receiver common. This 4-20 mA
current transmitter type is illustrated below:
 The 4-wire 4-20 mA transmitter is energized by
a supply voltage at the transmitter. The
transmitter sources the loop current to a
floating receiver load. This 4-20 mA transmitter
type is illustrated below:
 The main reason of using a current loop for signal transmission is the
current’s loop low sensitivity to electrical noise. This is key for long
distance transmission in harsh industrial environs. As a generally low
impedance system, it is much less sensitive to induced noise.
 The use of 4 mA i.e. a “Live Zero” also enhances the signal noise ratio at
low levels, allowing us to accurately discern low signal levels without
added noise or interference.
 The accuracy of the signal is not affected by the voltage drop in the
interconnecting wiring. This allows the signal transmission to occur over
long distances, with varying conductors.
 The use of 4 mA “Live Zero”, “Zero-Offset” is failsafe. This is useful in
troubleshooting as signal integrity is verified with 0% of input and output
signal. Failed current loop due to a lead break or open device can be
immediately observed as zero current flow, which is fail-safe level
outside of the signal range. Additionally, by offsetting the signal from
zero, some transmitters will define an alarm limit just below 4 mA and
different from zero, allowing a receiver to detect other failures in the
system like an input sensor break.
 A “Live Zero” of 4 mA also permits the 2-wire current loop to power the
transmitter, simplifying the installation and reducing the costs.
 The “Live” lower-range value (LRV) of a 4-20
mA provides a way to indicate a certain type of
circuit fault in addition to indicating an analog
measurement during a normal operation.
 The NAMUR signal standard defines specific
diagnostic meaning of values of current lying
outside the 4-20 mA range. These values are
provided in a table in the next slide.
Signal Level Fault Condition
Output ≤ 3.6 mA Sensing Transducer Failed Low.
3.6 mA < Output < 3.8 mA Sensing Transducer Failed (Detected)
Low.
3.8 mA ≤ Output < 4.0 mA Measurement Under-Range.
21.0 > Output ≥ 20.5 mA Measurement Over-Range
Output ≥ 21.0 mA Sensing Transducer Failed High.
NAMUR-compliant transmitters are designed to limit their output signals

between 3.8 mA and less than 21 mA when operating properly. Signals outside
this range indicate some form of failure has occurred within the transmitter or
the circuit wiring.

4 - 20 MA Transmitter

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4 - 20 MA Transmitter

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For Electrical, Instrumentation &

Automation Engineers & Technicians

 The elements of a current loop are connected in series as

NAMUR-compliant transmitters are designed to limit their output signals

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