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FAQ & Troubleshooting

Installation & Setup​

The EA is attached but I see no dashboard​

  • Check that AutoTrading is enabled (green button in the toolbar).
  • Check Show Dashboard is set to true in the inputs.
  • Make sure the panel is not positioned off-screen — if it is, reset its position via the Panel Corner Position and offset inputs, then reload the EA.
  • Check the MT5 Experts tab (bottom panel) for any error or warning messages.

I get a "license error" message​

  • Verify the key was pasted exactly — no leading or trailing spaces.
  • Ensure your license covers the terminal instance you are using.
  • Contact iTradeAIMS support if you have recently changed machine or broker and need to transfer your activation.

The EA is running but no trades are being placed​

Common causes:

  1. Outside session hours — check the dashboard Session section. If it shows Inactive, you are outside your configured time windows.
  2. Drawdown protection active — a daily DD cap, HWM protection, or consecutive loss breaker has paused new entries. Check the Smart Risk Monitor panel.
  3. No qualifying signals — all filters may be passing but no Banana or Seed pattern has formed. This is normal; the EA only fires when a valid structure appears on the closed bar.
  4. AutoTrading off — confirm the toolbar button is green.

Signals & Strategy​

The EA is not firing trades on a pair it used to trade​

A market filter has likely become too restrictive for current conditions. Common causes:

  • Daily Range filter — the pair's current range is exceeding Max Daily Range %. Raise the threshold or disable the filter temporarily to diagnose.
  • Session Movement filter — the pair is making large early-session moves. Raise Max Session Movement % of ADR.
  • EMA stack — the pair is in a sideways regime where the three EMAs are not cleanly aligned. Reduce or disable the EMA Slope filter.

Signals appear on the chart but no order was placed​

Chart arrows drawn by Historical Signal Depth (MaxBarsToPlot) show all detected patterns, including ones blocked by filters. An arrow does not mean an order was placed — it means a pattern was detected on that bar.

Enable Show Debug Messages in Console to see real-time filter pass/fail decisions in the MT5 Experts journal.

Why was my pending order cancelled?​

The EA cancels pending orders when:

  • Cancel PO Bars closed bars have elapsed without a trigger.
  • The Cancel PO on EMA Close condition fires (a bar closes on the wrong side of the selected EMA).
  • The session window closes.
  • A drawdown protection gate activates.

Check the Experts journal for the specific cancellation reason.

Risk & Money Management​

My lot sizes changed after a deposit or withdrawal​

The EA calculates lot size at the moment of each new signal, based on the current balance. After a deposit or withdrawal the next new trade will correctly reflect the updated balance. Existing open trades are not affected.

Can I run the EA on multiple pairs simultaneously?​

Yes — attach the EA to a separate chart for each pair. Use a unique Magic number on each chart (e.g. 40001 for EURUSD, 40002 for GBPUSD) so trade management remains independent per symbol.

Netting vs hedging account — does it matter?​

Banana EA MT5 supports both account types. On a netting account, opening a second trade in the same direction on the same symbol modifies the existing position. On a hedging account, each trade is independent. The Scale-In mode (Multi-Trade Mode) is designed with hedging in mind; on netting accounts with scale-in enabled, be aware that the second signal increases the net position rather than creating a separate ticket.

Backtesting​

My backtest looks great but live performance is different​

Possible causes:

  • Spread and slippage: live spreads (especially during news) are wider than typical backtest assumptions. Use realistic spread values in tester settings.
  • Session time offset: confirm your broker's server time matches the session times used in the backtest.
  • Forward test first: always demo-trade for at least 4–8 weeks before committing real capital.

The backtest is running very slowly​

  • Set MaxBarsToPlot = 0 — chart drawing is expensive in tester mode.
  • Use Open prices only modelling for quick exploratory runs; switch to Every tick based on real ticks for final validation.
  • Disable Log Pending Order History (CSV writes slow down tester runs).

Technical​

The EA restarts when I change the chart timeframe​

This is standard MT5 behaviour — changing the timeframe reloads all Expert Advisors on the chart. Inputs are preserved and trade management resumes automatically on restart.

Where are the log files?​

When Enable Enhanced Trading Log is true, the EA writes a CSV to the MT5 Files folder. Access it via File → Open Data Folder → MQL5 → Files in MT5.

How do I report a bug?​

Contact iTradeAIMS support with:

  • Your MT5 build number (Help → About)
  • The EA version and build date (shown on the dashboard header)
  • A description of the issue and the relevant section of the MT5 Experts journal