Re: (ET) charger troubleshooting

[Steve Gaarder <gaarder ecovillage ithaca ny us>]

On Thu, 13 Jun 2002, goodguyforsure wrote:

> I have a bad charger on one of my I-5s. I believe that one or both of
> the diodes are bad.  The book says replace the whole heat sink. Is
> that necessary or can I replace the diodes? And if so where do I get
> them

I had the same problem, and got a garden-variety stud-mount diode, drilled
a hole for it on the heat sink, and connected it in place of the bad
diode.  Any diode rated at at least 25 amps 200 volts should work, but
don't use a diode with "reverse" polarity - normally the case is the
cathode, but a few diodes have the case as the anode, and these will blow
up.  I bought my diode locally, but All Electronics has a 1N1190A 40 amp,
600 volt, unit that should do fine.  (http://www.allelectronics.com).  
Make sure when you mount the diode that it is making good solid thermal
contact with the heat sink - de-burr the hole so that metal shards don't
interfere with contact.

Steve Gaarder
gaarder ecovillage ithaca ny us