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MEP-802A short/fire

rcamacho

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Bainbridge Island Wa
Ran my 802 this afternoon for it’s monthly check. No load up to operating temperature. Upon shutdown I noticed heat and burning electrical smell coming off the unit. I disconnected the batteries and that stopped the fire.

I’ve not yet torn into it for inspection but believe the short/fire occurred in the blind compartment behind the AC phase switch.

Hmm, should be a “fun” exercise to read the TM again, teardown and inspect.



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Chainbreaker

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That's why its good to do a monthly test run, imagine if you had gone for several months and then had a power outage and went out to start it and this had happened then!

Regardless, not a good thing to encounter but good job experiencing it now without the added pressure of a power outage situation!
 

Ray70

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West greenwich/RI
once you get the top cover off, follow the AC wires too. Some people have reported shorts to ground caused by improperly routed AC wires chaffing and shorting to the aluminum body panels.
I also had a " Parts" machine once that had this same issue, I ended up rebuilding it and luckily I saw the damage while I was assessing the possibility of rebuilding the machine.
 

Light in the Dark

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Just get some 1/4" hardware cloth and self tapping sheet metal screws (I use #10 x 1/2") and cover the large hole up. The two round drain holes below the batteries are blocked when batteries are installed.
 

Light in the Dark

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The top is not needed over the radiator, they cannot enter there. The side vents can be done as shown, or just more sheet metal screws (what I did on the same prior machine).

In a perfect world you will also remove the sock at wire entry, and replace with a panel with wire grip/strain relief so NOTHING can enter.
 

rcamacho

Well-known member
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Location
Bainbridge Island Wa
Initial inspection complete. No obvious rodent attack. Looks like two shorts to chassis ground induced by improper routing of power lines to output lugs. I’m very thankful that my stationary unit is properly grounded.

A2-C2 short to chassis...

Looks like I'll need replacement wires M5086/2-6-9 (81349) or fabricate replacements and re-test. I'm very surprised to not see any cable routing grommets/insulators on the output wires to the output receptacles. Is this correct/NOS or should there be better cable routing away from the panels?







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