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Fuse Holder Dead - Need Replacement ASAP


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Posted

Hey All:

Had a fuse go in one of the 15 amp / 250 v fuse holders and apparently last year, I replaced it with a non ceramic. Well, the fuse broke when I was taking it out - and the fuse holder is toast because the bottom of the fuse is stuck in there. Last time I make that mistake.

Luckily I have a 16 channel controller that isn't doing much this year (has 5 items on it) so I stole the fuse holder from that and replaced the original.

Now, I want to get the one I took one from up and working again but radio shack only had a 10a/250v fuse holder.

On that controller, only 5 channels are used on the left and none on the right (where I stole the holder from).

Is there any work around to get this controller working till I find a correct replacement?

Since nothing is used on that side, do you think it would be ok to put the 10amp in, not connect that side to power and just complete the circut? Or will it not even power up if both sides aren't plugged in? I really don't want to mess anything up.

Oh, and besides calling LOR, where can I find a replacement part for the Panel Mount Fuse Holder that is in the LOR Controllers?

Have any of you run into this before?

Posted

Can you not, with the controller unplugged of course, take a pair of needle nose plyers and get the piece of the fuse that is still stuck in their?

Do you have any pictures?

Posted

Please explain what you mean when you say the fuse is stuck in the holder.

Did the fuse and holder get hot and is it possible the solder stuckthe fuse in the holder. It is very strange to have the metal part of the fuse stick to the holder unless something got hot. Is it discolored any?

Have you tried a pair of needle nosed pliers to get the fuse out. BE SURE TO DISCONNECT THE POWER FIRST.

Anthony

Posted

just to clarify - you are using the 1602?

Posted

You need power to the right side in order to power up the board logic. A 10 A fuse and holder will be fine for the logic, as it should only take a tiny fraction of an amp for the logic...

There are ways to rewire to use the fuse holder on the board directly, but it isn't so easy to go back to the original configuration..

Posted

Hi Guys:

Cords disconnected - power is off.

No, I can't get the fuse out. What happened was last year we were having issues on that channel. I was overloading it. Blew the fuse, couldn't find a replacement so I used a non ceramic/glass fuse.

When I went to try to pull it out tonite, the top part came out but the glass broke in the middle. Repeated attempts using many different methods to get it out didn't work. Essentially, the metal part of the bottom is in there, and isn't coming out.

No doubt I overloaded things last year after putting the fuse in (but have got it straightened out) but my guess is the combination of the glass breaking and the heat, and the wrong type of fuse (non ceramic) got me to where I am - which is the whole fuse holder just needs to be replaced.

It's the LOR1602W

Posted

-klb- wrote:

You need power to the right side in order to power up the board logic. A 10 A fuse and holder will be fine for the logic, as it should only take a tiny fraction of an amp for the logic...

There are ways to rewire to use the fuse holder on the board directly, but it isn't so easy to go back to the original configuration..


That's what I thought. I just tried it - put it in line and it works for now. Of course, I won't plug anything into that side - and I am not even close to overloading the 5 channels on the other side.

At least the shows are running. We were on the front page of the paper and then in again last night - so the crowds are big. Of course, something goes wrong ;)

So, now that I have a temporary soltion in place, where to buy a replacement?
Posted

John,

You can also defeat the fuse holder on the front panel and use the fuse holders on the board. I think all this really does for you is make the power switch in active for that side.



Chuck

Posted

So, I'd have to put a fuse in both sides of the motherboard - and then the power switch on the front wouldn't work? I saw those there, but didn't even think about that.

Obviously, I want to fix the problem right but a workaround is good to know about.

Posted

If you look at a 1602W, and the user manual for the CTB16D, you should see a lot of similarity...

http://www.lightorama.com/Documents/CTB16D_UserGuide.pdf

On the 1602, they put a power switch and the fuse holders on the inner face. So they hook power to the card at a terminal that bypasses the on board fuse holders. Specifically, the hot jumper terminals. If you bypass the front panel fuse holder, you can disconnect the hot lead to the board from the hot jumper terminal, and connect the hot supply to the appropriate hot input, and power now goes through the on board fuse holder.

Note though that doing this voids the UL listing for the product..

- Kevin

Posted

-klb- wrote:

If you look at a 1602W, and the user manual for the CTB16D, you should see a lot of similarity...

http://www.lightorama.com/Documents/CTB16D_UserGuide.pdf

On the 1602, they put a power switch and the fuse holders on the inner face. So they hook power to the card at a terminal that bypasses the on board fuse holders. Specifically, the hot jumper terminals. If you bypass the front panel fuse holder, you can disconnect the hot lead to the board from the hot jumper terminal, and connect the hot supply to the appropriate hot input, and power now goes through the on board fuse holder.

Note though that doing this voids the UL listing for the product..

- Kevin

Are you sure this will void the UL? The original 1602 units didn't have the face panel. They were in essance a CTB16D mounted in a nema enclosure with the dangles already installed.
Posted

First of all I am no expert and I did no advocate making a permanent change. But in the "emergency? to get the show running till you can get the proper fuse holder. about 2 years ago there was a situation as I recall with several fuse holders melting.

Rather than beat your head on the wall to find a fuse holder. Call LOR and I would think they will take care of the situation.

After you make the move of the fuse to the board and the appropriate wiring. You can always place the inner face plate back in the unit. This will aid in protection from someone coming in direct contact with the high voltage.

Chuck

Posted

If you need it immediately, put in the RatShack 10A holder, with a 10A fuse, and carry on. But also let LOR know that you need a fuse holder, and they'll send you one for a nominal charge (if any). Then swap them out after the season to get it back to 100% for next year.

-Tim

Posted

Dr. Jones wrote:

-klb- wrote:
If you bypass the front panel fuse holder, you can disconnect the hot lead to the board from the hot jumper terminal, and connect the hot supply to the appropriate hot input, and power now goes through the on board fuse holder.

Note though that doing this voids the UL listing for the product..

- Kevin

Are you sure this will void the UL? The original 1602 units didn't have the face panel. They were in essance a CTB16D mounted in a nema enclosure with the dangles already installed.


And the original 1602's were not UL listed. My memory may be a bit off, but the first UL listing was just about a year ago... If they had the face panels as they were first UL listed, then the listing is for that configuration only... For most of us the UL listing is apparently not that big an issue, as the PC series is not UL listed... I only mentioned it for anyone who was reading for which the UL listing might be important.

- Kevin
Posted

I had the same problem. Can you be more specific on how to by-pass on-off switch on front panel and gain powerr through the board?

Posted

Just wanted to follow up with this...

These worked:

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/1CV90

The end needs to be bent at a 45 degree angle to match perfectly and only one side is flat instead of 2 which means they go in tight - but it works fine and otherwise seems a good fit.

Upon replacing that one, I checked the other similar fuses from last year and noticed this years model looks more like the one above. The fuse holders I got on last years model have a small gray cap that goes in the black fuse tube, and you have to use a screwdriver to turn it in place.

3 out of the 4 fuses in the two controllers (old style) were stuck to the point where even after I took them out of the box, I couldn't get the fuse out. I know there is heat but these circuits are not overloaded - and I'm wondering if the glue LOR used on these fuses (noticed it around the zip tie and connectors some how got warm enough to stick the bottom of the fuse permanently in there.

Anyway, I am replacing the old style with the newer. Easier to remove and they weren't that expensive.

Sure would love if someone official from LOR would share what the make & model of the exact part is and who the supplier is.

Posted

levelbest wrote:

Just wanted to follow up with this...

These worked:

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/1CV90

The end needs to be bent at a 45 degree angle to match perfectly and only one side is flat instead of 2 which means they go in tight - but it works fine and otherwise seems a good fit.

Upon replacing that one, I checked the other similar fuses from last year and noticed this years model looks more like the one above. The fuse holders I got on last years model have a small gray cap that goes in the black fuse tube, and you have to use a screwdriver to turn it in place.

3 out of the 4 fuses in the two controllers (old style) were stuck to the point where even after I took them out of the box, I couldn't get the fuse out. I know there is heat but these circuits are not overloaded - and I'm wondering if the glue LOR used on these fuses (noticed it around the zip tie and connectors some how got warm enough to stick the bottom of the fuse permanently in there.

Anyway, I am replacing the old style with the newer. Easier to remove and they weren't that expensive.

Sure would love if someone official from LOR would share what the make & model of the exact part is and who the supplier is.

The part number we are currently using is BK/HTB-48I-R you can get it at most parts distributors www.mouser.com for example.

As far as the glue melting... We could see how it could melt but did not think that it would get into the fulse holder but a number of people have had stuck fuses with the older fuse holder so we went with this new part. We have not had an issue with it. We have also stopped using the glue...

But if you need a fuse holder to replace yours then send an email to support@lightorama.com and they will send you free fuse holders.

Dan
Posted
The part number we are currently using is BK/HTB-48I-R you can get it at most parts distributors http://www.mouser.com for example.

As far as the glue melting... We could see how it could melt but did not think that it would get into the fulse holder but a number of people have had stuck fuses with the older fuse holder so we went with this new part. We have not had an issue with it. We have also stopped using the glue...

But if you need a fuse holder to replace yours then send an email to support@lightorama.com and they will send you free fuse holders.

Dan

Thanks Dan - I sent an email to support and will wait for a response... till then, the ones I got from grainger seem to be working just fine and the show goes on :D
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