Thursday 19 July 2012

New PE150 fix coming very soon (I promise)...

About a year ago I promised a new fix for broken power boards. You may remember my lament that boards had a habit of blowing whenever the main motor failed and that new boards were expensive. Well, after a load of research and a bit of self-learning about electronics, I've concluded that the power board has a design fault inasmuch as there is no overload protection on the circuit which powers the motor. Perhaps one day I'll be able to design some protection into the circuit but until then, I will be repairing broken boards. I can do this because I've obtained a small supply of the long-obsolete components which comprise the circuit which powers the motor. I'll provide more details once the parts have arrived and I've completed and then soak-tested the first repair.

More soon, no doubt!

D
Posted by Dave at 21:02
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3 comments:

  1. Dave31 July 2012 at 21:38

    Update: Typically, only half the components I've ordered have arrived. This means my repair is on hold (again). I've been assured that the missing parts are on their way. Fingers crossed...

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous5 January 2013 at 22:51

      HI Dave. have you had any progress on fixing the power board. I had a short cct moter which when i replaced it now runs as soon as power is turned on, this is with the power board connected to power and nothing else connected. have not yet found replacement board or components to fix the board. Any suggestions appreciated
      Arthur

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    2. Dave7 January 2013 at 23:09

      Hi Arthur

      The parts did arrive and I've repaired a board using them. I say 'repaired' however I've yet to test the board in a machine. The only reason for not doing it is that I don't have any spare working motors and I don't want to risk wrecking a good one (just in case my calculations/repairs turn out to be nonsense!)

      The constant running motor that you have is a clear sign that your main power board has failed. In my experience, a failed board will either not work at all or will run the motor constantly. Also in my experience, the constant running board in this scenario appears to be shorted out ie: the PWM circuit for the motor is not working. This means that a constant rather than pulsed 240v is going straight to the motor from the transformer. Once again in my experience, running the motor for too long in this scenario will completely wreck the motor. My advice to you is to avoid running the motor at all until you've repaired the board. As to that, I do have a small supply of the parts which comprise the PWM circuit on the power board. I'll do a separate post about that and then if you fancy taking a punt at doing your own repair, drop me a line and I'll sell you a set for £20.

      Cheers

      D

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