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Arcing relays on gate controller

  • 22-08-2019 09:35AM
    #1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,672 ✭✭✭


    I have a electric gate controller which stopped working last week. On examination of the main circuit board in the controller, it was obvious that the contacts on two relays were arcing, judging by the black on the inside of the plastic relay housing.

    On further examination, it also appears that the resistors which are part of the (I assume) snubber circuit which is intended to prevent arcing were both open circuit so this is most likely the cause of the arcing on the relays.

    The load on each relay is a Fadini Hindi 880 which is rated 230v at 1.2Amps.
    The resistor and capacitor in the snubber circuit are 82ohms (0.5 watt) and 0.1 microfarads (275vac) respectively.

    I'm wondering if there's any way of beefing up this circuit to prevent a repeat in the future.

    Unfortunately my multimeter can't check capacitance but I'm going to replace the capacitors anyway.

    The arcing seems to be a common problem as I have acquired another Fadini Elpro 13 with exactly the same issues.

    Any help greatly appreciated.

    E.


Comments

  • Posts: 5,326 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Diodes make better snubbers than resistors.

    Is it switching AC or DC? Usually DC is more of an issue than AC.


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