Fried Transformer

[Mechanick]

I get a call last night saying that lane 8 kept blowing 3.2amp fuses.....So im expecting to come in, take an hour or less to fix it depending on what it is, but this is what I come in to:

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Sooo....I don't quite think im going to be here for an hour...bummer. I have some bad wiring to replace and the transformer. After I get it up and running, are there some electrical teading suggestions I should take to make sure all is good and I am not going to end up with another fried transformer in a day?

[mr.badwrench]

If you have 208 volt service to the pinsetter it is possible for a short to ground in the pinlight wiring or ballast to smoke a transformer. The power goes in the transformer H4 wire, out the H5 wire, and grounds without passing through a fuse. Since you got it running I would look more at wiring than ballast because I think that after a ballast shorts to ground it will stay shorted while a wire can short now and then as machine parts move.

[Mechanick]

I have not got it running yet...im in the process.

[Steve Stafford (JBEES)]

First, check to see what fuse you have installed. If it is not the right size, you might at least know why the transformer burned instead of just blowing the fuse.

There are a multitude of things that could cause this to happen. Start by being sure the inside of your deck light is in good shape as mentioned above by badwrench. Once you have the transformer installed, measure the resistance between the high side of the transformer and ground. It should show open...on the highest scale you have on your meter. Now check the low side. You can use any point in the circuit to do the measurement.

[Mechanick]

First, check to see what fuse you have installed. If it is not the right size, you might at least know why the transformer burned instead of just blowing the fuse.

There are a multitude of things that could cause this to happen. Start by being sure the inside of your deck light is in good shape as mentioned above by badwrench. Once you have the transformer installed, measure the resistance between the high side of the transformer and ground. It should show open...on the highest scale you have on your meter. Now check the low side. You can use any point in the circuit to do the measurement.

There was a 5A fuse in the 1A fuse holder.....i guess I will be going through all of them to make sure I don't have this problem elsewhere!

I put in the new transformer, and replaced the 1 and 3 amp fuses with mini breakers. I had to replace the rake switch. I had to redo the wiring that ties into the electrical box from the vector scoring. I had to rewire the reset cannon plug. The cannon plug for the switches at the front counter switch I chose to not wire up (I don't think this should cause any problems). And the cannon plug for the wires from the masking unit seemed to not have been damaged by the fire, so I left them in place. When I turned on the pinsetter it was popping the 3A fuse. The wire that goes from the accellerator electrical box to the power lift was pinched between the pin light fixture support and the accellerator strap. I repaired the wire and the pinsetter starts up and cycles fine. The only problem I am experiencing now is that the 1st and 2nd ball light do not work.

I left the wiring for the masking unit cannon plug in place because it was not melted by the fire. I did a continulty test from the top of the plug to where they connect to the terminal strip for each of the wires, and the wires are ok. I had to leave before I was able to figure it out. By looking at the wiring diagram, I think that the ball lights get thier power from the tan wire on the low voltage side of the transformer. So I have to make sure that my transformer that I used is ok, and make sure my connections are good and in the right place......Anything else you guys want to suggest for me to help troubleshoot why my 1st and 2nd ball lights are not working would be appreciated!

[Mechanick]

I cut the wires from the old transformer at a spot past where the damage caused by the fire was and put molex connectors on those wires connected to TS2 and the wires from the new transformer. While the tan wire looked fine, it wasn't. I put a new wire going to the TS2 and the 1st and 2nd ball light worked fine....I messed up some of the wiring for the scoring system but figured out what I did wrong and it works now.

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I had just stripped an electrical box and painted it because I wanted to rebuild one with a time delay relay for the pinsetter motor.....Why couldn't this wait a few weeks when I have one rebuilt!

[coachlon]

I had just stripped an electrical box and painted it because I wanted to rebuild one with a time delay relay for the pinsetter motor.....Why couldn't this wait a few weeks when I have one rebuilt!

Murphy's Law!

[SoCalTom]

Yup, blame Murphy when things go wrong.

[Mechanick]

Poor Marty Murphy, why must he get blamed for everything! lol. Im sure that if you ask him, he will say he had nothing to do with it.

[Mechanick]

The lane has been going all day and night, and no call yet that the electrical box has caught on fire again. So maybe it is safe to say that that lane is ok now....maybe Murphy is on vacation now!

[Steve Stafford (JBEES)]

I blame Murphy...he needs to stay posting on here instead of wandering through our centers. HEAR THAT MARTY!!!

[Mechanick]

There was a 5A fuse in the 1A fuse holder.....

.....When I turned on the pinsetter it was popping the 3A fuse. The wire that goes from the accellerator electrical box to the power lift was pinched between the pin light fixture support and the accellerator strap. I repaired the wire and the pinsetter starts up and cycles fine.

Everything is still fine with this lane I repaired....I just have a question

The person who was working said that the lane blew 2 fuses (probably because of the wire from the electrical box to the accellerator electrical box shorting) around 8:00 PM, and the lane was transfered and not used for the rest of the night. Then they said that they smelled a burning smell around 1:00 am that they thought was coming from lane 12 because it was the only lane running in that area at that time. I suspect that there was actually nothing wrong with lane 12 and this is actually when the electrical box caught fire on lane 8. So my question is why would the electrical box catch fire at this time when the lane was not in use?

[Roscoe]

Nick: Many transformers have burnt up with no one in the building, its always on, unless the breakers are thrown. One more reason to make sure the covers are in place.

[SoCalTom]

Good point, Roscoe. It would be an excellent idea to shut off all power to the pinsetters, at the wall mounted circuit breakers, at closing time. This will prevent an "unexplained" fire in the building when no one is there.

[Roscoe]

It also helps with TDMs during lightning storms