Re: (ET) Elec trak charger short?

[Chad Bush <bushman165s aol com>]

Some people believe that the transformer windings can one way or 
another "go bad." I have yet to run across one that has shorted. 
However, I can see that this would happen if it has been used 
extensively without a load (whether a cap or diode has passed or 
disconnect bad or off) and gotten hot enough to burn through the 
insulation between windings. All in all, your circuit breaker on the 
tractor or electrical panel should trip before this happens.

With a good multimeter, you should get some resistance reading across 
the windings. It's not really important that the winding has a reading, 
it's more important that readings are taken from one winding to another 
and there isn't a short between other windings.

Honestly, we don't need 20 people guessing at diodes or capacitor. The 
charger literally consists of 3-4 components, and only 2 components are 
a culprit for it humming loudly and not rectifying the AC. So, when a 
charger acts up and still turns on with the timer, replace the cap and 
diodes with equivalent components and get back to charging. Simple, 
simple, simple! I would suggest having spare parts on hand.

Chad


-----Original Message-----
From: The CZ Unit <cz alembic crystel com>
To: elec-trak <elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu>
Sent: Fri, May 11, 2012 8:52 am
Subject: (ET) Elec trak charger short?


Why would one think the capacitor windings are shorted on their 
tractor?
It's a very small loop and would probably read 0 ohms on a VOM.

I would recommend replacing the diodes, they're probably what failed.

C

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