AviPak Strobe power supply troubleshooting

[DakotaHawk]

My AviPak Strobes suddenly quit working yesterday afternoon. I looked at the installation guide and did the few steps of troubleshooting that they offer. I'm looking for any further troubleshooting ideas before I purchase a new power supply...

So far I've...
1) Checked voltage good at 12V+ power to power supply.
2) Checked power supply 15A fuse OK
3) removed all three strobe plugs, then plugged in each strobe plug individually to see if any strobe worked independently of the others. No joy!

I have not...
1) checked the strobes on another power supply to see if all three strobes have failed simultaneously.

Any suggestions are welcome!

[Bavafa]

It seems kind of unlikely that all three strobes go kaput all at once but you already knew that right

Does any one know if these power supplies are still available to purchase? This is what I have in my plane and have been wondering about its life and replacement if it dies.

[fl-mike]

Pretty sure they were just based on the Nova XPAK series. I'm running a 904.

http://www.strobe.com/component/opti...facturer_id,0/

http://www.strobesnmore.com/nova-x-p...-supplies.html

[apkp777]

Mine quit working a couple of weeks ago and I found that the 15a fuse was not making good contact with the socket. I had to goop it up with Dow 4 to get it working. I'm not thrilled about the quality there.

[mikehoover]

What is the shelf life of the Avi-Pak strobe power supplies that Creativair sold years ago? Mine has been installed in my project for around five years, sitting idle until now.

I hooked up the tail strobe and all wiring and turned the switch on - nothing. Went to check the molex connectors on the power supply. I unhooked both wing connectors and tried again - still no tail strobe flashing.

With the power on, I pushed on the tail strobe molex connector to make sure it was in all the way then suddenly a loud pop! I saw a flash of light and no smoke. My ears are still ringing.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

UPDATE: I found the problem thanks to the help of a friend who is finishing up an RV-12. He spotted a darkened area in the Molex pin connector; it was the middle (black) wire that must have had a poor pin connection. That is what blew when the strobe tired to fire. It popped like a Lady Finger. My ears have quit ringing now. We tested the tail and wing strobes and they are working fine now. Check your Molex pin connections well.

[roadrunner20]

Originally Posted by DakotaHawk

My AviPak Strobes suddenly quit working yesterday afternoon. I looked at the installation guide and did the few steps of troubleshooting that they offer. I'm looking for any further troubleshooting ideas before I purchase a new power supply...

So far I've...
1) Checked voltage good at 12V+ power to power supply.
2) Checked power supply 15A fuse OK
3) removed all three strobe plugs, then plugged in each strobe plug individually to see if any strobe worked independently of the others. No joy!

I have not...
1) checked the strobes on another power supply to see if all three strobes have failed simultaneously.

Any suggestions are welcome!

I have an AVI-PAK from CreativeAir and all my strobes failed at once. It began with intermittent failings. I tested as you did. I though it was the power supply. I ended up buying a new Nova pak. Turns out, I had a bad ground & a loose power terminal end.

My AVI-Pak is still good. For a quick test, connect directly to power & ground on the battery(I had an old bench battery) & add back each strobe light.
If you're interested, I will sell it at a good price. Send me a PM if interested.
New ones are available at http://www.strobesnmore.com/index.php?cPath=13