Blown fuse, Melted wires

[callycoon]

Hey guys had a question regarding an apparent blown fuse in my CTB16PC box. Blew a fuse during X-mas and upon opening the box to repair it noticed some major damage to the 1-8 hot input wire as well as two neutrals. Not sure what caused this because I've been running the same show and light setup for three years. I remember a good amount of rain that week which could have played a role but nonetheless it happened. Is it possible to just replace the wires that were fried or is this box toast. Any help would be appreciated on as to why or repair options if any. Thanks, Chris

 

 

 

Here are a few pics

[callycoon]

[k6ccc]

Could have been water, but also check for insects that got into something and cooked. If you want to attempt repair, the first time you power it up, use a small fuse, so hopefully if there is still a fault, the fuse will blow before the new wires melt. Obviously very carefully inspect for anything else damaged or possible cause before powering up.

[EmmienLightFan]

If you need a replacement, look at this thread.

 

[bdwillie]

From the looks of the second picture, lots of heat built up there, causing the circuit card to burn around the fuse connector and the input wire tab.  A bad connection at that input wire tab would cause a resistance which would cause heat. The first set of pictures looks like there may be corrosion on that black input wire.   All may not be lost.  If you are handy with a soldering iron flip that board over and reflow the solder connections on both the fuse holder and the input wire tab to ensure the old dead overheated solder is removed,  clean it up good,  and as long as the components are still tight and not wiggly, the board will be ok with the discoloring.  Clean all the connector tabs and connectors so they will be free of corrosion and use some sort of moisture barrier on the connections, I:E dielectric grease or such to keep the corrosion from reappearing.  Hope you can save it!.  If you are adventurous, and that section is not salvageable, you can also flip the board over, remove the other side (left half) of the fuse holder (the side not burned) on the board, solder in a wire, and use an inline fuse holder of appropriate sized wire for the amperage you are forecasting to draw.  Best of luck to you and hope this helps!

 

Bobby

 

 

Edited February 27, 2016 by bdwillie
Fixed a sentence

[DevMike]

Are you sure the total load on that side was 15A or less?  The pix are a little small for me to get a good look, but that off-color neutral usually tells the story of a controller that was overloaded. 

If you don't want to do the work yourself, we should be able to repair it.  I don't see any burnt traces, so it's probably OK.  Open a help desk ticket and we can get you an RMA set up for repair.