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Re: (ET) ok, not the fusible link




On Mon, 31 Jul 2006, David C Robie wrote:

That don't explain the smoke.  Or why the fuse blew in the first place
with smoke showing.  Whatever it was (maybe even a bug got across that
36V and fried) could happen again.  YES, fuses go by themselves from
internal fatigue but not with any smoke.

Hate it when a trouble fixes itself.

Me too. :) Although, since it turned out that the problem didn't really fix itself, I guess I hate it even worse when the problem *doesn't* fix itself. ;)

Mike


Dave
Weymouth MA


On Sun, 30 Jul 2006 16:28:01 -0400 (EDT) Michael S Briggs
<msbriggs alberti unh edu> writes:

Ok, update on this - I seem to have it working now. I checked CB-1
this
morning, and it was fine (although it may have tripped and had to
cool
down - how long does it normally take for CB-1 to cool down and
close
again?). Checked the power disconnect, and it's fine.
        I put a new inline fuse holder in where the control fuse
goes on
the fuse block, with a new fuse. I also checked the main power
switch, and
it's fine. So, being stumped about why it stopped working, I decided
to
just give her another try since I had replaced that bad fuse block
terminal with a new inline fuse - and she works!
        I'll still go through again and do some more inspecting for
melting insulation on wires, that could have caused the smoke, but
as of
now, it seems like the only problem was the blown control fuse,
which then
blew that part of the fuse block (so just replacing the fuse didn't
get it
working). CB-1 *may* have been tripped also though, I'm not sure.

Thanks for your help guys,
Mike

--

--------------------------------------------------------------
Michael S. Briggs
UNH Physics Department
(603) 862-2828
---------------------------------------------------------------

On Sun, 30 Jul 2006, David C Robie wrote:

Open to high currents does not mean 'open to the extreme low
current that
a power metr takes.  A carbon track or rust across an open is
enough to
move a voltmeter.  Especially as it reads low I would suspect
that.  Look
carefully with good light to see if any connection (ends of both
big and
small wires) show signs of getting hot.  This would also make
smoke from
burned insulation right at the wire terminal.

Dave
Weymouth MA


On Sat, 29 Jul 2006 22:08:49 -0400 (EDT) Michael S Briggs
<msbriggs alberti unh edu> writes:

RJ,
        Alrighty, will do (tomorrow morning). It will be my first
time
doing anything on the drive motor - haven't touched it yet.
        Kind of funny - based on the schematics, I figured it
could
be
CB-1 - but I thought that was the thermal breaker near the fuse
panel. :)
        It may have failed - but it's seeming now like it should
be

something else, since after soldering that control fuse holder, I
am

seeing some voltage on the fuel gauge (doesn't seem to be reading
accurately though), and from the schematic, it looks like the fuel
gauge
shouldn't read anything if CB-1 is open. Also, the PTO outlet
isn't
working, and CB-1 isn't on that circuit (at least it looks that
way
from
the schematic).
        On the fuse holder - is there any way to fix the old one,
or
should the whole thing be replaced? So far, it's seemed like my
attempt at
soldering the connection there hasn't been very effective.
        Hm, just realized that I haven't tried running the lift
motor
since it died - I'm assuming it doesn't work, but knowing for sure
might
help isolate the problem. I'll try that in the morning too.

Thanks,
Mike

--

--------------------------------------------------------------
Michael S. Briggs
UNH Physics Department
(603) 862-2828
---------------------------------------------------------------

On Sat, 29 Jul 2006, RJ Kanary wrote:

   Knowing now that you have an AA model..................<VBG>,
I
can tell
you that the early fuse holders were problematic. What ever fault
cause the
fuse to open could well have finished off the holder as well.
     Remember that bad high current connection that I suspected
that you may
have, due to the motorboating and chattering that you had ?  I
think that you
just may find it now. Take a look at CB-1, that large Klixon®
thermal limiter
on the traction motor case . If it has failed open, nothing would
power up,
including the "Fuel Gauge".
       Fix the fuse holder, investigate CB-1, and report back
with
your
findings. :)

----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael S Briggs"
<msbriggs alberti unh edu>
To: "RJ Kanary" <rjkanary nauticom net>
Cc: <elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu>
Sent: Saturday, July 29, 2006 9:08 PM
Subject: Re: (ET) ok, not the fusible link



RJ,
 Mine's an AA.
 An update on what I've looked over:
 Since the fuel gauge wasn't showing anything, I decided to try
tracking
the path around it to see where the path was broken. From the
positive end
of the pack to the fuel gauge was fine, the problem was on the
end from the
- end of the pack to the fuel gauge. The path was fine to the
fuse holder,
and fine from the fuel gauge to the side of the fuse holder
closest to it.
So, that would seem to indicate blown fuse - but the fuse was
fine. What I
ended up finding was that with the fuse in the fuse holder, it
had no
connection to the screw terminal where the wires connect.
 I tried just cleaning everything out well, filing off any
possible rust,
and then sprayed it down with De-Oxit cleaner, but still
nothing.
 The rivet connection where the fuse holder is connected to the
plate that
the screw is on (where the wires connect) was loose and wobbly,
apparently
not making a good connection. The other fuse holders looked nice
and tight
at that rivet, but not this one - so I figured maybe I had
somehow weakened
the rivet when I pulled out the blown fuse to replace it.
 So, I figured I'd try soldering that connection to make a
better
contact
between the fuse holder and the screwed in connections. That may
not have
been a great idea (that block with the fuse holders connected
doesn't seem
to like the heat), but it did at least get it where now when I
engage the
power disconnect, I do get a reading on the fuel meter gauge -
but it was
much lower than it should have been, and still nothing works -
no
drive
motor, no PTO, etc..
 So, for the time being I pushed the tractor back into the
garage
(man that
thing is heavy - especially when you're pushing it up a hill).
Got a good
workout though. :)
 It may just be that the fuel gauge is reading low due to some
additional
resistance somewhere in the path (perhaps at the fuse holder),
but I'm also
suspicious that the pack may have been slowly discharging
through
some
short somewhere - so I disconnected the negative-most battery
terminal.
 Apparently something other than just the fuse did blow, I just
need to
figure out what. What could cause this symptom of no power to
anything? The
fuel gauge meter was showing nothing also, until I tried
soldering that
fuse holder connection - but perhaps I shouldn't have done that.
When I
then decided to check the resistance between the fuses
themselves
and the
wires connected to the terminals on the fuseholders for the
other
two
fuses, they also seem to have no connection (between the fuse
and
the
screws on the fuse block) - don't know if they were like that
initially, if
they're supposed to be that way, or if I screwed something up
when
soldering that one fuse block.

Thanks,
Mike

--

--------------------------------------------------------------
Michael S. Briggs
UNH Physics Department
(603) 862-2828
---------------------------------------------------------------

On Sat, 29 Jul 2006, RJ Kanary wrote:

  Once again, I will ask what flavor of E-15 you have. Since
they have
three different wiring configurations, knowing which revision
yours is,
{AA, BA and so on.} would help me help you. The pertinent
information is
on the data plate under the hood.
Thanks.

----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael S Briggs"
<msbriggs alberti unh edu>
To: <elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu>
Sent: Saturday, July 29, 2006 4:08 PM
Subject: (ET) ok, not the fusible link



Found a post from Wombat in the archives saying where the
fusible link is
- just a wire going across two terminals on the Power
Disconnect. Ok, so
the fusible link is fine, so it's apparnetly something else.
 Based on the wisps of smoke that came up around the speed
lever,
it seems reasonable to suspect something underneath it may
have
blown.
There's that big ol relay down underneath there - but that's
just the PTO
contactor. Unless it's failure mode is creating a short across
the
batteries, I can't see that being the problem, since it's not
just the
PTO
that's not working - nothing is.
 I suppose the smoke could have come from something in the
speed
control itself, but that shouldn't cause the no power at all
problem (at
least from looking at the schematics, I don't think it
should).
 From looking at the Troubleshooting sketch schematic for the
E-15
in the manual, and just looking at what might result in the
fuel level
gauge not seeing squat, the only things between the fuel level
gauge and
the batteries (so the only things that keep it from reading
batt voltage)
are:
1. Power Use gauge - checked it with the multimeter, it's
fine.
2. 20 Amp fuse 3 - it blew initially, I replaced it with 20
amp
light
fuse
for the moment.
3. Wire 13 goes from that fuse to the PTO coil (is this the
PTO

contactor?
Or some other coil?), but you don't seem to need to have a
connection
THROUGH the coil for the fuel gauge, since line 13 comes off
of
that same
connection point on the terminal, and continues to the fuel
gauge - on
the
negative side of it.
4. Line 5 comes off the + side of the fuel gauge, goes to fuse
2 (the
lift
fuse, but doesn't go through it, just connects to one end of
it, and
continues on from that same connection point), continues to
the
L
contactor, but not through it, and to circuit breaker 1. Hm,
haven't
checked that yet - isn't that the main circuit breaker on the
back of the
panel that has the forward/reverse relay and such on it? I
pressed it to
reset in case it was the issue, but it seemed to be fine. I'll
check
again
in a  minute just in case.
5. Power Disconnect, which presumably doesn't itself fail in
any way -
I'll check though.
6. Fusible link - fine.
7. And then to the + side of the pack.

So, presumably something in there is failed. I'll head back
out
with my
multimeter and trace the line all around.
 This is kinda fun, albeit somewhat frustrating, since I had
other
things I wanted to do.

Mike

--

--------------------------------------------------------------
Michael S. Briggs
UNH Physics Department
(603) 862-2828

---------------------------------------------------------------

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