majuro15
Well Known Member
Funny story:
I'm ready to flip the master switch for the first time Friday night. I've poured over schematics for years, wires for months, and rechecked connections and pins for days.
My B&C contactor is ready to rock electrons through my $XX,XXX panel for the first time, so nothing more is holding me back.
I flip the switch holding my breath only to hear a pffffffsssssss and see a trail of smoke coming from the firewall. The wife says, well that's not what we wanted to see. Yeah, you're right babe.
A phone call to Parish and 40 minutes of troubleshooting later I realized that one of the contactors from B&C has the diode facing one way while the other contactor has the diode opposite. Which one is right?
Long story short, one contactor came from them with the diode installed backwards and caused a short to ground on the power lead to the coil. Fortunately the only damage was 2" of 20 AWG wire on the contactor itself.
I called B&C and expressed my displeasure knowing that it came that way since it was impossible to reinstall (I never took it off the studs) backwards due to the way the diode had the terminals crimped and heat shrunk.
So, fixed the damage, gathered up all the magic smoke, stuffed it back in the wires and then enjoyed the fruits of my labor watching all of my avionics come to life!
Check your diodes!
I'm ready to flip the master switch for the first time Friday night. I've poured over schematics for years, wires for months, and rechecked connections and pins for days.
My B&C contactor is ready to rock electrons through my $XX,XXX panel for the first time, so nothing more is holding me back.
I flip the switch holding my breath only to hear a pffffffsssssss and see a trail of smoke coming from the firewall. The wife says, well that's not what we wanted to see. Yeah, you're right babe.
A phone call to Parish and 40 minutes of troubleshooting later I realized that one of the contactors from B&C has the diode facing one way while the other contactor has the diode opposite. Which one is right?
Long story short, one contactor came from them with the diode installed backwards and caused a short to ground on the power lead to the coil. Fortunately the only damage was 2" of 20 AWG wire on the contactor itself.
I called B&C and expressed my displeasure knowing that it came that way since it was impossible to reinstall (I never took it off the studs) backwards due to the way the diode had the terminals crimped and heat shrunk.
So, fixed the damage, gathered up all the magic smoke, stuffed it back in the wires and then enjoyed the fruits of my labor watching all of my avionics come to life!
Check your diodes!