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Blown Capacitor?

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things

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Hi all, I have a dj light here, and have accidently blown it up by plugging it inot 240V when it was meant for 110V although apon opening it up, it appears i only blew a capacitor on the light bulb circuit, and nothing on the circuit that drives the steppers and everything else. I am trying to replce this capacitor, but searching the number turns up a load of other part numbers, but no information. The capacitor has 07D181k written on it, and appears to be one of those small blue ceramic types. if it helps any better, i can get a pic.
Thanks
 
well heres a pic of the capacitor, see the ring of black around it? does anyone have any idea of the value of this capacitor, because if i can find that out, i can replace the cap and see if it will still work. If i can't find out the value, i might just have to find a different circuit to run the bulb, although finding a 110V circuit in a country with 240V might be hard:( intimi 024.jpg
 
That blue thing with the black ring looks like a MOV, not a capacitor. MOV means metal oxide varistor. Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_oxide_varistor

They're often used for transient suppression. It conducts very little below a certain voltage, at which point it starts conducting quite well. So if you plugged in a high voltage, its job was to shunt the resulting excess current to ground. It appears to have sacrificed itself in performing its duty. :)

I think what you're after is here: **broken link removed**

[Edit: use erosennin's link; he got the right part.]

Disclaimer: I am not recommending that last site as a supplier; it's just the result of a quick googling of "MOV 07D181k". I'm sure you can find suitable sellers elsewhere if that suits you better.


Hope that helps!

Torben
 
Last edited:
That's not a capacitor...
It's a Varistor... See here.
**broken link removed**

You have 2 options about the 110 to 240, pretty much rebuild the powersupply in the thing OR find a transformer that does the job, they are fairly common as people who buy TV's from overseas require these.
 
actually yeah, i found out that it was a varistor just after i posted this. Well i am glad that the little thing sacraficed itslef to protect the rest, otherwise i would have had ALOT more work to do to fix it. Well i did actually fix the light, although it turned out MUCH more expensive then i was wanting. I basically ripped the whole light apart, cut the varistor right off, replaced the fuse, bought a 250W 240V to 110V AC converter, AND IT WORKED! Although since the light bulb in this thing draws 250W itself, and the light had more steppers and stuff in it, the transformer heated up after about 10 minutes, and blew its own circuit breaker. So today i went down and bought a 500W AC converter, and it works, and doesn't shut off(well for atleast the time i have run it for)BUT it does get fairly warm. Is it usual for these transformers to get fairly warm? will it cause any damage to the transformer if i left it on, for say, 4 hours, and it got hot?? i would think it would have a thermal sensor built into it, but i don't want someone to hire me for their disco, and the light will only work for 1 hour or so at a time? IIRC, the inrush is 340W, and peak is something like 260W.
Thanks
 
And if you were thinking of a duty cycle, i don't think its gonna happen, this transformer weighs about 6kg, and is huge! It takes forever to cool down. I don't think i'm oerloading it, because even when the light bulb in the ligh switches off(250W it draws), the transformer still continues to warm. Amybe i got a really lossy transformer?:D
 
The majority of transformers get warm - due to eddy currents, and the fact that current is flowing through coils of wire.
You claim your light is 250W, and the inverter is 500W. I don't see any problem in operating this 24/7... Except it'll suck a decent load of juice over that time...
 
It should get warm but not hot enough to burn. If you run it for ten minutes and then can't touch it for more than a second or so, it's probably too warm. I also would think the 500W inverter would handle a 250W load just fine.

Ten minutes is just a figure I made up because it seems reasonable. Some of the more experienced repair guys would probably have a better rule of thumb.


Torben
 
well the 250W one cut itself off after 10 minutes or so, but i would think the 500W would handle it no prob. I have yet to get it to hot to touch, but i haven't left it running for more than 2 hours. I had this thing running about 3 hours ago, and the transformer is just starting to become ambient temperature.
 
I would replace the VAR rather than leaving it missing if I were you because if you have another huge voltage spike your appliance really will be toast.
 
Well i can replace it, although i haven't seen any local? Not much point ordering 1 VAR from overseas, postage would cost more than the component.
 
They sell them at Jaycar what are you on about? lol
Page135 of 2007 Catalogue...
OR
Part Numbers
RN-3400, RN-3406, RN-3404
Just see which diameter/rating you need.
 
Those are rated at 275VAC, he wants 140VAC as the appliance runs on 110VAC.
 
why are you running a lights with a transformer? they usually make light bulbs in a helluva lot different selections for the voltage you're using. Hell i've even seen light controllers use regular old relays to switch on full power 110/220 straight to yer light bulbs. I guess I always try to look at the simple way around things, but hell simple things last longer and are more reliable.
 
crusty said:
why are you running a lights with a transformer? they usually make light bulbs in a helluva lot different selections for the voltage you're using. Hell i've even seen light controllers use regular old relays to switch on full power 110/220 straight to yer light bulbs. I guess I always try to look at the simple way around things, but hell simple things last longer and are more reliable.
Umm, have a look at the pic i attached, its more than just a light bulb! It is what they call a "intelligent scanner" in the lighting world, and you can see why in that pic, not a matter of replacing a light bulb! Oh and thanks for the jaycar part no., will have to go down and get one!
Thanks
 

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things said:
Umm, have a look at the pic i attached, its more than just a light bulb! It is what they call a "intelligent scanner" in the lighting world, and you can see why in that pic, not a matter of replacing a light bulb! Oh and thanks for the jaycar part no., will have to go down and get one!
Thanks

I was thinking something similar. Dimming is not like relay switching--and stage lighting is not like simple home dining-room dimming. We used to use stage lighting rigs which required a refrigerator-sized dimmer bank on both stage right and stage left (one for the front towers, one for the back). These things were by weight mostly transformers and were *heavy*. The only thing we had which rivaled them in weight was the box we stored the lighting power cables in (when it was full, of course).


Torben
 
what do you mean what is it from? Its a light, or scanner, or whatever you call it, basically it projects patterns, that can be panned/tilted, colour changed ETC, and its more than just a dimmer on that board, its a full 3 stepper controller, DMX capable, sound mode, and all that other stuff. More info on this light is here **broken link removed** But wow, refridgerator sized dimmers! How many pars were you running off that beast???
 
yes an iColor is one of those except different brand... eg. Robe, Trackspot, Giotto etc. etc.... I'm a sound donkey so my lighting knowledge is minimal, lol...
Have you tried that "manolator" device? **broken link removed**
If so, does it work well?
 
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