Can Your Power Supply Be Repaired?
A power supply is like an unsung hero in computing. You don’t pay much attention to it until it fails you. Without a spare, power supply failure means halting operations until it’s replaced or repaired.
(more…)Tag: power supply repairs
Got Bad Capacitors? Here’s What to Do!
FIVE bad capacitors are what got a Condor power supply grounded! Output voltage reduced to zero! Our customer had fallen victim to one of the most failure-prone components in a power supply: the electrolytic capacitor.
Staying informed on the facts about bad capacitors is IMPORTANT to protecting your power supply and your other critical electronic assets! The two primary items that are affected by bad capacitors are Drives and Power Supplies. All Drives and Power Supplies use Electrolytic Capacitors in some part of the unit!
Here are some things to know about bad capacitors:
4 Ways to Protect Your Industrial Electronics from Lightning Damage
Is it possible to protect your industrial electronics from lightning damage? Often! Is the lightning damage to electronics repairable? Sometimes.
Some “shocking” facts first:
A lightning strike lasts about 1-2 microseconds…not even time to blink an eye and yet long enough to cause destruction of life and property. Storms this spring are already ferocious and violent in the U.S. Lightning and electronics do not play well together. Check out some shocking facts that put your electronic gear (and YOU) in danger:
How to Get Lambda V404P4K Power Supply Repairs
Won’t power up! Erratic vacuum readback! Load issue/no output under load. No output. Intermittently trips instrumentation. Power Supply DEAD! Bad news, right? “DEAD” in this case is not always dead, of course. As it turns out, all of these Lambda v404P4K power supply repairs HAD failed, but were not “dead” forever. In fact, these Lambda power supply examples were all successfully repaired!
Here’s a quick summary of typical problems that cause these types of 
failures in Lambda V404P4K 450 watt power supplies:
- Cracked solder joints
- Bad capacitors
- Bad power section
- Bad power board
- Overheating damage
- All of the above simultaneously
These Lambda 450 watt V404P4K power supplies are long lasting workhorses. There are a lot of them out there working hard. Eventually they will break down, mostly from aging components.
If your business relies on these Lambda power supplies you are in good company. If your power supply fails, relax. The good news is that most of these power supplies are repairable!
Did you know that you can often extend the life of your power supply? Preventing your power supply from getting fried in the first place is pretty useful information! If you’d like some tips on that from a previous post click this link!
Are you experiencing a power supply failure right now? Think you might need industrial power supply repairs? Check first to see if your equipment is still under warranty. If so, contact the OEM about repairs. If it is out of warranty, hopefully you have a go-to repair center.
If you need a repair center, contact an independent industrial electronic repair center to find out if they are a good fit for your company and your particular repair needs. They should offer free evaluations for your damaged power supplies and a free quote for repairs (no bench fees!). They should also provide repair reports if requested and a good warranty of at least one year that covers both parts and labor.
About the Author:
ACS Industrial Services is an independent industrial electronic repair center providing power supply repairs for all types and manufacturers, circuit board repairs, repairs for drives, servo motors, CNC equipment, encoders, monitors and touchscreens, PLCs, HMIs, test equipment, and much more. RUSH SERVICE is available on request and Two Year Warranties cover most repairs. The very helpful customer service team is available live to answer your questions and help you solve your toughest industrial electronic repair problems. You can reach them by calling 800-605-6419 or going to www.acsindustrial.com.
How to Extend the Life of Your Circuit Boards and Avoid Circuit Board Repairs
As you probably know by now, printed circuit boards don’t last forever. Not even the expensive ones inside your industrial equipment. But did you know that you can extend the life of your circuit boards? And, potentially put off the need for circuit board repairs a little longer?
The number one reason printed circuit boards need repair is aging components. There’s not much you can do about that. But, what about the second biggest reason they end up needing repair? That is damage caused by dirt, heat, moisture, and neglect/accidents. Now THAT is something you CAN control.
Here’s 5 key tips to save money with good circuit board maintenance:
- Clean house. – Clean the dust that accumulates on the PCB boards every 3-6 months. You can also use special cleaning fluid designed for electronics. After all the dust and dirt is cleaned, use a blower to dry the boards before reinstalling them or using the equipment. Keep your work environment as clean and moisture-free as is possible to delay the need for circuit board repairs.
- Be Proactive – Why wait until your line goes down to troubleshoot…that’s just expensive down time with a side dish of aggravation. Regularly check your PCB components to look for obvious trace damage (usually caused by overheating). Look for burn marks, solder blobs, broken traces, and check the electrolytic capacitors for bulging or leakage. Anyone can do this as these are all obvious problems, visible to the naked eye, and require no test equipment.
- Check connectors for signs of corrosion which is common, especially with edge connectors. They can be gently cleaned with an eraser and soft, lint-free/static-free cloth. Corrosion is a sign of excess moisture so to avoid future damage, find out where the moisture is coming from and eliminate it if possible.
- Treat equipment as the manufacturer requires – For example, if you are using a device coated with thermal grease, you should check to see if the thermal grease is dried. If it has become overly dry, gently wipe it out and then coat with new thermal grease to aid with heat dissipation – especially important since we know that too much heat will result in damage
- Protect your PCBs with Good Storage and Handling Techniques –
- Store your electronic equipment in Moisture Vapor Barrier Bags (MVBs). Thicker is better so buy the best you can afford. Vacuum and heat seal the bags to remove as much air as possible.
- Use desiccant bags to absorb moisture and include a moisture/humidity card which can detect any moisture. This will let you know if the storage bag has been compromised.
- Keep your spare circuit boards at a consistent and cool temperature – between 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit
- If you have many circuit boards or other electronics stored, invest in the best moisture-free environment you can afford. Best choice is a Dry Atmosphere Cabinet to maintain a very low humidity (>5% Relative Humidity). By using this type of cabinet you can forego the MVBs.
- Locate your electronics storeroom away from dirt, temperature extremes, and moisture, as well as excess vibration. It is best if you have a dedicated and secure Storeroom with strict access records on what parts come and go.
If your industrial circuit board has lasted a solid 10 years before failure – congratulations! You’re doing something right! But if the time has come for circuit board repairs and you find yourself searching for a repair center for your damaged electronics, check first to see if your equipment is still under warranty. If it is still under warranty contact the OEM about repairs.
If it is out of warranty, contact an independent industrial electronic repair center to find out if they are a good fit for your company and your particular repair needs. They should offer free evaluations for your damaged equipment and, if needed, a free quote for repairs (no bench fees!). They should also provide repair reports if requested and a good warranty of at least one year that covers both parts and labor.
About the Author: ACS Industrial Services is an independent industrial electronic repair center providing repairs for all types of industrial electronic equipment and most all manufacturers including circuit board repairs, logic board repairs, industrial power supply repairs, drives, servo motors, CNC equipment, encoders, monitor and touchscreen repairs, test equipment, and much more. Rush Service is available and a comprehensive 2-Year Warranty covers most repairs. The knowledgeable and helpful customer service team is available to answer your questions and help solve your toughest industrial electronic repair problems. You can reach them by calling 800-605-6419.
What To Do When Your Display Unit Won’t Power Up
WON’T POWER UP 🙁
Ugh! Have you had this happen to your formerly reliable display equipment? It’s a frustrating, but not uncommon problem. From metalworkers to fabricators to scientists – work can come to a sudden stop when your display unit won’t power up.
Why Won’t Your Display Unit Power Up?
There are more reasons than you can shake a stick at for failure to power up. But some reasons are more common than others. DRO display units often get hard use in harsh environments. And because they are sturdy yet familiar, operators tend to hang on to them for a very long time. Eventually problems will develop and most of the causes boil down to one thing: aged components.
The most common problem areas are:
- Bad power supply overall (this means most likely several bad components)
- Bad or very weak capacitors
- Bad PWM IC chips
- Bad connections and solder joints
Case Study: Heidenhain Operator Display Unit p/n PGM246271-07 Repairs
These Heidenhain DRO display units are perfect examples of excellent quality display units that last a long time but may develop intermittent problems. Eventually, they may fail to power up at all. In most cases the display unit’s power supply has gone bad. Bad capacitors and bad PWM IC chips are the main cause, although there can be others. Often the units are also covered in dirt and grease. They typically need a good cleaning, in addition to repairs, for optimum performance.
Virtually all of the many Heidenhain display units p/n PGM246271-07 that our technicians have received for repairs have been successfully repaired. These units can be repaired for less than the cost of purchasing a new one. They are sturdy units that will go back to work after repairs for many more years of good service.
What Can You Do?
If you have some experience with electronics AND you are absolutely certain that the electrical power is OFF to your display unit, you can do a visual inspection. Check to see if the capacitors are bulging or leaking (please don’t touch them!). Look for burn marks or cracked solder on the circuit board. These are obvious problems and can usually be repaired. However, problems with these components are not always visible to the naked eye and good quality test equipment will be needed. For your safety and to minimize any self-inflicted additional repair costs, testing is best completed by trained technicians.
If you think you need your display unit and/or its related power supply needs repairs check first to see if your equipment is still under warranty. If so, contact the OEM about repairs. If it is out of warranty, send it to your go-to industrial electronic repair center.
If you do not have a reliable repair center, contact an independent industrial electronic repair center to find out if they are a good fit for your company and your particular repair needs. They should offer free evaluations for your damaged display units or other equipment, and a free quote for repairs (no bench fees!). They should also provide repair reports if requested and a good warranty of at least one year that covers both parts and labor. If you want to know more about whether your industrial power supply can be repaired here’s more on that!
About the Author: ACS Industrial Services is an independent industrial electronic repair center providing power supply repairs for all types and manufacturers, DRO display unit repairs, circuit board repairs, power supply repairs, repairs for drives, servo motors, CNC equipment, encoders, monitors and touchscreens, PLCs, HMIs, test equipment, and much more. RUSH SERVICE is available on request and Two Year Warranties cover most repairs. The very helpful customer service team is available live to answer your questions and help you solve your toughest industrial electronic repair problems. You can reach them by calling 800-605-6419 or going to www.acsindustrial.com.
Can My Industrial Power Supply be Repaired?
Many power supplies can be repaired! That’s the good news! So, what’s the bad news then? The bad news is that your power supply might not be WORTH repairing.
The determining factors for deciding whether you should get power supply repairs go something like this:
- Will it be Economical? (What you paid for the power supply originally) – in the world of industrial power supplies, if the original cost was less than $250 (really $500 might be more realistic) it is probably more economical to buy a brand new power supply, IF a new one is even available, and dispose of the damaged one properly.
- Availability of parts to complete the repair – Is your power supply obsolete? Ancient? Often a well-stocked electronic repair shop has, or can get, parts for legacy power supplies; but not always.
- Cost to Repair vs Cost of New – self explanatory here. Do you have the budget for repairs? New? Often repairs will be less than the cost of new, but again, not always if it was an inexpensive power supply and labor costs exceed the cost of the power supply.
- How Much Damage? – This one may or may not be obvious to the naked eye and is really part of “Cost to Repair vs Cost of New” above. Was it caught in a flood or major fire? Is it literally charred? Probably dead, get a new one. Take pictures of the damage and have a technician give the photos a once over to say yes, no or maybe. Having a knowledgeable technician check to see if your power supply is repairable before you send it for repairs may well be worth the effort. Did you wonder if that charred bridge rectifier in the photo above was repairable? Believe it or not, YES, it was repaired!
- Availability of a Replacement – If you have a damaged legacy power supply you might get lucky and find a used replacement at a good price. But will it have a warranty? Likely not much, if any. A good industrial electronic repair center will offer a better warranty on a repair – sometimes as much as two years – making a repaired OLD power supply with a warranty a smarter spend than replacement OLD power supply with no warranty. If a replacement cannot be found at ANY price, then repair is your ONLY option. No painful decision making required.
- Impact of Buying a New Power Supply for an Expensive Larger System – would replacing your power supply require you to replace an entire system from the OEM costing thousands? Then repairs for your power supply make a lot of sense and this is where many of our customers find themselves and the decision makes itself!
Here’s a couple of recent examples of modestly priced legacy power supplies that were WORTH repairing:
Kingshill Power Supply KN520 – damaged, would not hold voltage. New capacitors and reflowing of solder made this old power supply like new! This customer has lots of these old power supplies. Kingshill power supply repairs made perfect sense.
Kingshill Power Supply KN15-8 – damaged, NO output. This one required more parts and labor but this Kingshill power supply repairs were STILL worth it! This power supply needed replacements for the rectifier diode, transistors, capacitors, power fets as well as reflowed solder before it was back in working order.
So what’s NOT worth repairing? At the top of the list would be inexpensive, mass produced power supplies such as those that come out of computers and televisions. These power supplies can be fairly complicated because of some of the functions and their compact size. This makes them poor candidates for repairs.
Preventing your power supply from getting fried in the first place is pretty useful information! If you’d like some tips on that from a previous post click this link!
If you think you need industrial power supply repairs check first to see if your equipment is still under warranty. If so, contact the OEM about repairs. If it is out of warranty, hopefully you have a go-to repair center.
If not, contact an independent industrial electronic repair center to find out if they are a good fit for your company and your particular repair needs. They should offer free evaluations for your damaged power supplies and a free quote for repairs (no bench fees!). They should also provide repair reports if requested and a good warranty of at least one year that covers both parts and labor.
About the Author: ACS Industrial Services is an independent industrial electronic repair center providing power supply repairs for all types and manufacturers, circuit board repairs, repairs for drives, servo motors, CNC equipment, encoders, monitors and touchscreens, PLCs, HMIs, test equipment, Kingshill kn520 power supply repairs, Kingshill kn158 repairs, and much more. RUSH SERVICE is available on request and Two Year Warranties cover most repairs. The very helpful customer service team is available live to answer your questions and help you solve your toughest industrial electronic repair problems. You can reach them by calling 800-605-6419 or going to www.acsindustrial.com.
What Have We Done Lately – Mitsubishi Repairs!
In our experience, Mitsubishi industrial electronic products are pretty great products. Even older, legacy Mitsubishi products are usually WELL worth getting Mitsubishi repairs.
Many of our ACS customers have legacy Mitsubishi products in their plants and shops. Lately, we’ve had lots of damaged or malfunctioning Mitsubishi industrial electronics in our shop for repairs– servo amps, inverters, operator panels, circuit board assemblies, servo drives, PLCs, controllers, and power supplies – just to name a few!
Why so many? No, not because they are all failing at once! More likely just because there are SO many good industrial electronic Mitsubishi products out there in use. And our customers know the value of maintaining their equipment. These units may no longer be under the OEM warranty, but they are also nowhere near needing to be replaced. They are still perfectly good!
Electronic repairs and refurbishing are a great way to keep good, strong Mitsubishi and other equipment in place. This can potentially save you a ton of money over buying NEW equipment that could be better spent elsewhere in your plant!
So what have we done lately?
Here’s a few examples of successful electronic Mitsubishi repairs that have arrived on our docks for lately!
Mitsubishi Operator Control Panel E-1061 – arrived with a broken screen, bad battery, bad IC and a lot of dirt/wear and tear all of which was replaceable/repairable!
Mitsubishi Servo Drive MDS-B-V2-4520 – arrived making noise in the z axis which kept 
getting worse and alarming out with an overcurrent Z alarm. This very dirty unit was full of weak and bad components including all of the capacitors, IGBT, and heat sinks – all replaced.
Mitsubishi PLC FX0S-14MT-D12SS – this damaged PLC required new capacitors, driver ic, resistors, and a dc to dc converter
Mitsubishi Power Supply MDS-B-CV-185 – damaged power supply arrived with a voltage problem, 41 alarm, and flashing LEDs; intermittent current – altogether this successfully repaired power supply needed replaced resistors in internal contactor circuit, replaced
capacitors on the control board plus replacement of 7 other capacitors and replacement of broken leads that were not making contact.
Mitsubishi Controller F9421500 – this sturdy but damaged controller arrived covered
inside and out with grease and dirt with power problems and the ready light not flashing. Repairs needed included replacements for all of the capacitors, diodes, repair of cracked solder joints, plus a thorough cleaning/degreasing – which every unit gets!
Knowledge is Power
At ACS we believe knowledge is power. If you are searching for a repair center for your damaged industrial electronics check first to see if your equipment is still under warranty. If it is still under warranty contact the OEM about repairs. If it is out of warranty, contact an independent industrial electronic repair center to find out if they are a good fit for your company and your particular repair needs. They should offer free evaluations for your damaged equipment and, if needed, a free quote for repairs (no bench fees!). They should also provide repair reports if requested and a good warranty of at least one year (more would be better!) that covers both parts AND labor.
About the Author: ACS Industrial Services is an independent industrial electronic repair center providing repairs for all types of industrial electronic equipment and most all manufacturers including operator control repairs, circuit board repairs, touch screen repairs, power supplies, VFD AC & DC drive repairs, servo motors, CNC equipment, encoders, monitors, test equipment, and much more. RUSH SERVICE is available and a comprehensive 2-Year Warranty covers most repairs. The super-helpful customer service team is available to answer your questions and help solve your toughest industrial electronic repair problems. You can reach them by calling 800-605-6419. Or check out ACS’s incredible new easy-to-search Repair Catalog!
The Show Must Go On! What To Do About Damaged Power Supplies
The show must go on! Power surges, lightning strikes, and just sheer component aging are all problems our broadcaster customers deal with often – especially with their damaged power supplies. Keeping good backups around is key to making sure the show DOES go on! Good surge protection can also help prevent disaster. Knowing where and how to get fast and reliable power supply repairs, monitor and signal analyzer repairs is also critical!
These pictured damaged television broadcast power supplies are just two of the MANY that have come in to us for repairs.
This Vinten power supply AM-SP-2000PS came in for repairs with a “low voltage” problem. Aging components – primarily the output module was the problem. The Power Supply Concepts unit, PSC221/, came in with a “no voltage output” problem. Damaged components were replaced including capacitors and resistors. Both units were successfully repaired, cleaned, tested and back to work in the broadcast business!
Our tech team has provided equipment evaluations and repairs for more than 88 television broadcast stations from all over the U.S. and Canada! Monitor, signal analyzer and power supply brands serviced include ELO, Barco, APC, Harris, Vincent, Power One, Lambda, Pioneer Magnetics, Ross, Agilent, Hitron, Emacs, TK Power, Switching Power, ASTEC, 3M Microtouch, Nortech Engineering, Mean Well, Jeta Power Systems, Vicor, Ablecom, Tectrol, Harmer Simmons, Sony, Technology Dynamics, Tektronix, Todd Products, AcBel, Sincho, Deltron, Vinten, and more.
None of this may sound very dramatic unless YOU are the one whose broadcast can’t go on because you are suffering equipment failure or damage and don’t have a working backup! It is true that occasionally the damage is too catastrophic or not cost efficient to repair. But MOST of these broadcaster power supplies, monitors, and signal analyzers WERE repairable.
To Trouble Shoot or to NOT Troubleshoot?
That is the question many customers have. It all depends on the skill sets you or your team have and the time you’ve got to deal with the problem. If you’ve got the skills, the safety knowledge to prevent getting injured, and the time, then troubleshooting may be in the cards. If not, stop reading here and call your power supply repair depot!
Still reading? Power supplies are everywhere and pretty much nothing runs without them. The power supply unit is one of the most critical components in any automation system. Power supplies frequently exhibit intermittent problems and have low wattage. Or, sometimes they are just simply “dead” or “no output”.
You might see an “error” LED on a DC power supply has turned on. Your task then is to determine if the problem is the power supply, the input supply voltage, or a load change on the demand side of the unit.
At this point you can measure the line input voltage, and see that checks out. Then you can check the DC output voltage. Now, if you have a spare, you could swap out the bad PSU with a known good replacement unit. If everything is working, you will know it is that power supply.
Still having problems? Do you have an oscilloscope? If so, then consider checking the PSU’s input and output waveforms with the oscilloscope. Connect the oscilloscope to the power supply’s AC line input terminals and check the input waveform for any fluctuation, distortion, or dropouts. You want to see that the AC line voltage is a perfect sine wave. If the AC supply voltage is good, you would now consider checking the DC output voltage.
If there are still no obvious problems, your could then try checking the PSU’s input and output waveforms over time. This could tell you the fault is in the AC supply, not the PSU. Still not the problem? Then you need to check the power supply’s (PSU’s)DC output voltage over time by placing a clamp on one of the DC supply conductors and connect the clamp to the channel A of the oscilloscope. Then connect channel B to the power supply’s DC output voltage. You can plot both the output current and voltage over time.
Consider that the load current might exceed the maximum rating of the power supply at various times which causes it to drop out. Next consider looking to see what might be drawing too much current. Or maybe you just need a BIGGER power supply! If you have done all of this and are still stuck, it is past time to get some professional help!
If you think you need power supply repairs check first to see if your equipment is still under warranty. If so, contact the OEM about repairs. If it is out of warranty, hopefully you have a go-to repair center.
If not, contact an independent industrial electronic repair center to find out if they are a good fit for your company and your particular repair needs. They should offer free evaluations and q for your damaged power supplies, monitors, signal analyzers and other equipment, and a free quote for repairs (no bench fees!). They should also provide repair reports if requested and a good warranty of at least one year that covers both parts and labor.
About the Author: ACS Industrial Services is an independent industrial electronic repair center providing Vinten power supply repairs AM-SP-2000PS, power supply repairs for all types and manufacturers, circuit board repairs, repairs for drives, servo motors, CNC equipment, encoders, monitors and touchscreens, PLCs, HMIs, test equipment, and much more. Rush Service is available and Two Year Warranties cover most repairs. The very helpful customer service team is available to answer your questions and help you solve your toughest industrial electronic repair problems. You can reach them by calling 800-605-6419 or going to www.acsindustrial.com.
REAL LIFE REPAIR SOLUTIONS: Can a Water Damaged Sorenson Power Supply be Saved?
REAL LIFE ELECTRONIC REPAIR SOLUTIONS FROM THE PLANT FLOOR: As a plant manager or owner, a number of situations come to mind as being “nightmarish”. One of them would probably include “flood” and “water damaged electronics”. In this case, rain poured into a roof vent accidentally left open in our customer’s clean lab. The end result was a water-damaged Sorenson power supply SGI100/200E-1CAA/A that no longer worked and a very unhappy lab manager.
Fortunately, the damage to the power supply was not catastrophic, as can often be the case with water damaged electronics. Still, it was a lot of work to take this unit apart and clean it, dry it, do a component level evaluation, replace all damaged components including the bus-caps on the power output module, reflow the cold solder joints, test it repeatedly, and reassemble it.
Even with ALL of that, the cost to repair this Sorenson power supply was STILL considerably less than buying either a new or a reconditioned power supply. AND, it now has a two-year warranty which, considering its recent history, is probably a very good thing!
Our customer was relieved, to say the least, when the unit arrived back in their lab and worked! Here’s what they had to say, “…It was received in good condition and so far I am happy with the work. We are new to you guys and I will now be using you for any needs I have. Thanks for the excellent support!” – Jesse.
We have to say, when we are able to save the day from what could have been an expensive disaster, our whole ACS team feels great! Job well done! And Jesse, we would be delighted to help you solve more of your toughest electronics repair challenges! It was a pleasure doing business with you!
As for water damaged electronics, many can be repaired. If your item is of high value and did not receive extensive water damage, there is a chance it can be saved! In a previous post we discussed how to tell if your water damaged electronics are repairable.
About the Author: ACS Industrial is an independent industrial electronic repair center providing repair services for power supplies of all types and most all manufacturers as well as servo drive repairs, AC/DC drives, VFD drives, servo motors, encoders, printed circuit board repairs, monitors and touchscreens, HMIs, controls & PLCs, test equipment, and much more. Our customer service team is available to answer your questions and help solve your industrial electronic repair concerns. Legacy equipment can be repaired! RUSH Service is available. You can reach them by calling 800-605-6419.