In need of help , please .
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In need of help , please .
Hi all ,
Any help would be much appreciated .
In a pc board ,
D = diode
C = capacitor
R = resistor
What does E represent .
I have opened my inverter completely and found some paper mache inside on other parts , so I knew a cap has exploded and deposited the dry material on close by components , by looking for a defunct cap I discovered a empty spot where the deposit came from , the back side of the pc board also has indication that a component was soldered but now missing , completely and totally missing , no debris when opened up the first time . The missing component should be + - 10 mm in dia , with a dedicated orientation as the base is one half circle marked , how long it was I have no idea , but I suspect it could have been 20 mm long .
The thing is , the cb is marked E , not as a cap would be marked as C . What could it be .
Any help would be much appreciated .
Thank you
Daan .
Any help would be much appreciated .
In a pc board ,
D = diode
C = capacitor
R = resistor
What does E represent .
I have opened my inverter completely and found some paper mache inside on other parts , so I knew a cap has exploded and deposited the dry material on close by components , by looking for a defunct cap I discovered a empty spot where the deposit came from , the back side of the pc board also has indication that a component was soldered but now missing , completely and totally missing , no debris when opened up the first time . The missing component should be + - 10 mm in dia , with a dedicated orientation as the base is one half circle marked , how long it was I have no idea , but I suspect it could have been 20 mm long .
The thing is , the cb is marked E , not as a cap would be marked as C . What could it be .
Any help would be much appreciated .
Thank you
Daan .
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re: In need of help , please .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varistor
May be a MOV, destructed after an overvoltage. This kind of component has a ability of autoscaring, but the scar is autohealing only a dozen of times, after that it explodes.
May be a MOV, destructed after an overvoltage. This kind of component has a ability of autoscaring, but the scar is autohealing only a dozen of times, after that it explodes.
I cannot imagine why nobody though on this before, including myself? It is so simple!...
re: In need of help , please .
Hi daan...
Electrolytic Capacitor perhaps?
Regards
Mick
Electrolytic Capacitor perhaps?
Regards
Mick
Re: In need of help , please .
Daan,daanopperman wrote:Hi all ,
Any help would be much appreciated .
In a pc board ,
D = diode
C = capacitor
R = resistor
What does E represent .
I have opened my inverter completely and found some paper mache inside on other parts , so I knew a cap has exploded and deposited the dry material on close by components , by looking for a defunct cap I discovered a empty spot where the deposit came from , the back side of the pc board also has indication that a component was soldered but now missing , completely and totally missing , no debris when opened up the first time . The missing component should be + - 10 mm in dia , with a dedicated orientation as the base is one half circle marked , how long it was I have no idea , but I suspect it could have been 20 mm long .
The thing is , the cb is marked E , not as a cap would be marked as C . What could it be .
Any help would be much appreciated .
Thank you
Daan .
possibly this is just a 'snubber' circuit, where the R and its series C are in parallel to the diode, or SCR.
It's protective and also resource the DV/DT in some circuits, using for general an AC capacitor.
They may also be part of the 'inversion' circuit sector, where they work differently and generally use capacitors DC, which like very much to explode.
Tell me if they are near 'power entrance' or 'power output' of inverter.
If there is any other diode near by - other phase -, maybe they work in pairs and the same C specification should be good to replace it.
Worst of all is if the diode is burn... if not, you can try work without the protective RC, or snubber.
Just 2 cents.
Good luck!
Any intelligent comparison with 'avalanchedrive' will show that all PM turning wheels are only baby's toys!
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re: In need of help , please .
Hi all ,
Firstly thank you for your response .
path-finder , the component you describe is a metal based component , but very interesting to read up on . On exploding the component in the inverter deposited some paper like debris on nearby walls .
Looking at the amount of debris inside tells me the ghost component should be about the amount of a 5ml spoon full .
mickegg , I have very little knowledge in this field , but I think you might have hit the nail on the head . Could the electrolyte be impregnated into paper .
murilo , I think the cap is on the DC circuit/side of the inverter , as the cables from the battery and all the transistors with the heat sink and all 12v 30 amp fuses ( 8 off ) is there as well . I cannot see any damage to other components nor signs of overheating any where .
The inverter will start up and power led will just flash green and go to red almost immediately indicating a low battery , which is not the case , at switch on , when having a ac tester on the ac outlet , the potential will just start to show before the low voltage battery light comes on .
The battery is 12 v , what voltage cap will I try , if it blows up , the request for help list will just grow longer . ( maybe a 16 v cap ) also , what value for mf is best to start test with , I have enough spares to build a A380 , form 4.7mf till 200mf
Thanks again
Daan
Firstly thank you for your response .
path-finder , the component you describe is a metal based component , but very interesting to read up on . On exploding the component in the inverter deposited some paper like debris on nearby walls .
Looking at the amount of debris inside tells me the ghost component should be about the amount of a 5ml spoon full .
mickegg , I have very little knowledge in this field , but I think you might have hit the nail on the head . Could the electrolyte be impregnated into paper .
murilo , I think the cap is on the DC circuit/side of the inverter , as the cables from the battery and all the transistors with the heat sink and all 12v 30 amp fuses ( 8 off ) is there as well . I cannot see any damage to other components nor signs of overheating any where .
The inverter will start up and power led will just flash green and go to red almost immediately indicating a low battery , which is not the case , at switch on , when having a ac tester on the ac outlet , the potential will just start to show before the low voltage battery light comes on .
The battery is 12 v , what voltage cap will I try , if it blows up , the request for help list will just grow longer . ( maybe a 16 v cap ) also , what value for mf is best to start test with , I have enough spares to build a A380 , form 4.7mf till 200mf
Thanks again
Daan
re: In need of help , please .
Daan,
as I can remember, this is not the first issue you deal with your inverter.
I guess that before put it 'on' again someone should test all semiconductors and capacitors.
Maybe you deal 'just' to a low quality of C.
Lookout with Cs that are very sensible to reverse polarity connection and will explode with violence, almost a bomb! B(
Many electronic circuits will apply a R at output in order to avoid the A reaches zero, what may cause V surges. So check this R also, IF it's there.
TC!
as I can remember, this is not the first issue you deal with your inverter.
I guess that before put it 'on' again someone should test all semiconductors and capacitors.
Maybe you deal 'just' to a low quality of C.
Lookout with Cs that are very sensible to reverse polarity connection and will explode with violence, almost a bomb! B(
Many electronic circuits will apply a R at output in order to avoid the A reaches zero, what may cause V surges. So check this R also, IF it's there.
TC!
Any intelligent comparison with 'avalanchedrive' will show that all PM turning wheels are only baby's toys!
re: In need of help , please .
Hi daan...
It does appear that the electrolyte is soaked into a medium.....
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=elect ... 24&bih=653
Regards
Mick
It does appear that the electrolyte is soaked into a medium.....
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=elect ... 24&bih=653
Regards
Mick
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Yeah, the last time I ripped apart a bad electrolytic capacitor, that's what I saw - strips of foil separated by strips of paper, one of them apparently moist, and all rolled up together and stuffed inside the aluminum can.
As someone with an electrical engineering degree, when I see "E", I think "voltage" - as in "electromotive force." If you are familiar with Ohm's Law, you may have noticed that sometimes it is written V=IR but at other times E=IR.
I suppose "E" could mean "electrolytic" as a label on a printed circuit board. ...or a voltage test point if not referring to a specific component?
Speaking of electrolytic capacitors, that reminds me of an incident that happened when I was working in a computer switch mode power supply design group at IBM during my college days - about 30 years ago now (ouch). There had apparently been a problem with some power supplies catching fire or something out in the field, so the engineers had to quickly try to track down what was going on. They discovered that some small tantalum capacitors had apparently been inserted backwards when the power supplies were being manufactured - and that wasn't a good thing.
To show some of us why that wasn't a good thing, in the lab the engineers applied a voltage in reverse to a few of the capacitors and they turned into miniature torches!! Literally, an intense flame would shoot out of the side of the things just like a miniature blow torch - and lasting for quite a few seconds.
I don't remember exactly what the solution was to make sure the capacitors could no longer be inserted backwards during the power supply manufacturing process, it wasn't something I was directly involved with, but I think at least the temporary solution may have involved the manufacturer(s) of the capacitors themselves making sure that the capacitor leads were at least at different lengths so that the polarity could be more easily determined.
Back to the topic of the thread, though, I would probably try to find a schematic of the inverter online to see what components need to be replaced. ...for I agree that other nearby components might need to be replaced along with the missing one. Does sound like a blown capacitor to me, too, however.
Dwayne
ETA: ...hmm... It seems an "E" in the part number of an aluminum electrolytic capacitor would mean it had a maximum voltage rating of 25V. This, of course, may just be coincidental, but it probably is in the ballpark of what I would expect the rating to be for an electrolytic capacitor in a 12V circuit. ...anyway, here is a link to some more information that includes a list of the letters corresponding to different voltage ratings.
http://www.capacitorguide.com/electrolytic-capacitor/
I replaced some electrolytic capacitors that were in the power supply of my pro quality external computer sound (card)/digitizer. They were overheating and causing some problems. I had bought quite a few as bulk surplus prior to that and so just found some in my stash that had the same capacitance or close in value and a voltage rating the same or greater than what was already there. I think I opted for physically larger capacitors, too, if I remember correctly, so that they could dissipate more heat.
As someone with an electrical engineering degree, when I see "E", I think "voltage" - as in "electromotive force." If you are familiar with Ohm's Law, you may have noticed that sometimes it is written V=IR but at other times E=IR.
I suppose "E" could mean "electrolytic" as a label on a printed circuit board. ...or a voltage test point if not referring to a specific component?
Speaking of electrolytic capacitors, that reminds me of an incident that happened when I was working in a computer switch mode power supply design group at IBM during my college days - about 30 years ago now (ouch). There had apparently been a problem with some power supplies catching fire or something out in the field, so the engineers had to quickly try to track down what was going on. They discovered that some small tantalum capacitors had apparently been inserted backwards when the power supplies were being manufactured - and that wasn't a good thing.
To show some of us why that wasn't a good thing, in the lab the engineers applied a voltage in reverse to a few of the capacitors and they turned into miniature torches!! Literally, an intense flame would shoot out of the side of the things just like a miniature blow torch - and lasting for quite a few seconds.
I don't remember exactly what the solution was to make sure the capacitors could no longer be inserted backwards during the power supply manufacturing process, it wasn't something I was directly involved with, but I think at least the temporary solution may have involved the manufacturer(s) of the capacitors themselves making sure that the capacitor leads were at least at different lengths so that the polarity could be more easily determined.
Back to the topic of the thread, though, I would probably try to find a schematic of the inverter online to see what components need to be replaced. ...for I agree that other nearby components might need to be replaced along with the missing one. Does sound like a blown capacitor to me, too, however.
Dwayne
ETA: ...hmm... It seems an "E" in the part number of an aluminum electrolytic capacitor would mean it had a maximum voltage rating of 25V. This, of course, may just be coincidental, but it probably is in the ballpark of what I would expect the rating to be for an electrolytic capacitor in a 12V circuit. ...anyway, here is a link to some more information that includes a list of the letters corresponding to different voltage ratings.
http://www.capacitorguide.com/electrolytic-capacitor/
I replaced some electrolytic capacitors that were in the power supply of my pro quality external computer sound (card)/digitizer. They were overheating and causing some problems. I had bought quite a few as bulk surplus prior to that and so just found some in my stash that had the same capacitance or close in value and a voltage rating the same or greater than what was already there. I think I opted for physically larger capacitors, too, if I remember correctly, so that they could dissipate more heat.
re: In need of help , please .
Once, at no more than 1,5m, a 10x10x15cm epoxy block exploded! B)
It's a serious stuff! A part of the block, still added to a 50cm cable, passed very near to my precious face... B∫
The basic for inverters can be found on this link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_inve ... plications
I guess that Daan's circuit must be the first one shown as 'simple', that applies huge polarized C.
TC!!
It's a serious stuff! A part of the block, still added to a 50cm cable, passed very near to my precious face... B∫
The basic for inverters can be found on this link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_inve ... plications
I guess that Daan's circuit must be the first one shown as 'simple', that applies huge polarized C.
TC!!
Any intelligent comparison with 'avalanchedrive' will show that all PM turning wheels are only baby's toys!
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re: In need of help , please .
Hi murilo ,
Very informative feedback , much appreciated , now if I cannot fix my inverter , I can build a new one .
Very informative feedback , much appreciated , now if I cannot fix my inverter , I can build a new one .
re: In need of help , please .
Sure... B)
And take care with those truly wild CB!
And take care with those truly wild CB!
Any intelligent comparison with 'avalanchedrive' will show that all PM turning wheels are only baby's toys!