pelco spectra iii blowing fuses

[mikeloew1 0]

Hi guys, I have a pelco spectra iii that is blowing the small 1.25a fuse. It is the the fuse in the camera dome housing. Not the camera itself. I believe on my setup when you snap the camera out of the housing, there is a small door that looks like a power supply, however it could also be the fiber optic converter. As my cameras are long runs and are on fiber optics runs. Anyone have any ideas on what to look for? I am thinking about swapping that camera with another one to start, if it still blows the fuse I would at least be able to rule out the camera itself?

[survtech 0]

It's probably a failed Power Supply board. You can order the DD53KIT here: Time Lapse Supply

[Soundy 1]

^Agreed - this is a fairly well-known issue with Spectra IIIs (not COMMON, as they're very, very good cameras... but well-known). Power board fails and fuses blow all the time. Replace the power board and you're good to go.

[mikeloew1 0]

Thanks guys, my board looks nothing like the DD53KIT. That DD53KIT looks like it mounts inside of the camera. I must be thinking something different. The board I was thinking is mounted by the fuse, in the back-box itself. it is labeled VT1500WDM-PELCO

Integrated Video Transmitter with Reverse Data for Pelco Spectra™ III . I just called Pelco and they recommended I do just what I was going to do, swap the camera with another camera and see if the problem follows. I would then be able to see if it is the back-box or camera, if that makes sense.

[dustmop 0]

Is the fuse burning out as soon as you replace it, before you even get to put the camera back in? If so, I have that issue with Spectra IV's about 3 times a year (I have several hundred of them). I usually just replace the back-box, or if it's a pendant-mount, I swap out the board itself.

 

If it is NOT burning out as soon as you change it, but burns when the camera is plugged in, try a different camera.

[survtech 0]

Yes, the fuse is on the back box PC board but the it is likely blowing due to a power supply problem in the dome drive. The proof of that would be to replace the fuse but not reinstall the dome drive. If the fuse doesn't blow with power applied, the problem is in the dome drive. There is very little circuitry on the back box PC board.

[mikeloew1 0]

Ok guys I replaced the fuse, and the camera came back up for a few hours, then went out again, this time it did not blow the fuse, I took the camera apart and it has a small 12v cooling fan that seems a little bit have a small amount of resistance when turning the fan blade? Would that cause the camera to go out compleatly, I know I have had computers do this and I could not even start them. I was going to try and unplug the fan and put 12v to it directly, however it does not say if its 12v dc or ac. If the fan does spin freely on 12v do you think I should replace the power board and the fan at the same time or do one or the other first? Forgot to mention these are heated cameras, I have only pulled the round metal data cover off the camera so far, the one with the 4 torks screws, and that where I saw the small fan, Thanks Mike

[survtech 0]

DC fans don't spin freely. When not powered up, they have spots where there is resistance all around the 360-degree range.

 

Again - replace the power supply. An easy job.

 

Trust me - I work with hundreds of Spectra II, III and IV dome drives daily. I know whereof I speak. The DD53KIT is your friend...

[mikeloew1 0]

Thank you survtech, I will order the DD53KIT tomorrow, Thanks again. Mike

[mikeloew1 0]

survtech just for the heck of it I pulled the 12v fan this morning and bench tested it, put 12v dc to it and it would not run, it kind of just hummed, but would not turn over, so I know its bad, would you recommend at this point that I just order the fan only first, or order the fan and the board. Just hate to spend $200 on the board if the fan only is bad, I don't know if the fan being seized up could take the power board out or a bad fan could shut the camera down? Thanks again Mike

[survtech 0]

Mike, both scenarios are possible. However, a bad fan will likely cause other parts on the PC Board to fry. I believe that was the situation with a number of our Spectra III's.

 

Seriously, call Time Lapse Supply. We've always found their advice sound.

[mikeloew1 0]

DC fans don't spin freely. When not powered up, they have spots where there is resistance all around the 360-degree range.

 

Again - replace the power supply. An easy job.

 

Trust me - I work with hundreds of Spectra II, III and IV dome drives daily. I know whereof I speak. The DD53KIT is your friend...

 

You were right it was the failed Power Supply board. DD53KIT. i was a little nervous cutting the pins off of the board, but I followed the directions and it works great now. Thanks again. Mike

[survtech 0]

You're welcome, Mike.

[Roger Smith 0]

Hi guys, I have a pelco spectra iii that is blowing the small 1.25a fuse. It is the the fuse in the camera dome housing. Not the camera itself. I believe on my setup when you snap the camera out of the housing, there is a small door that looks like a power supply, however it could also be the fiber optic converter. As my cameras are long runs and are on fiber optics runs. Anyone have any ideas on what to look for? I am thinking about swapping that camera with another one to start, if it still blows the fuse I would at least be able to rule out the camera itself?

I have had the same problem. You can see the part of the PCB board that is fried in the center. What would cause that?

[Horizon 0]

Hi Roger.

I'm not familiar with these boards, so I'm mostly guessing from the photo.

That used to be a ceramic capacitor. Probably either a voltage spike destroyed it, or it was faulty/marginal when manufactured. Basically, the insulation (dielectric) layer between the capacitor plates has broken down, and the capacitor shorted out.

 

If you're handy with a soldering iron you could remove and replace it.

There appears to be an identical capacitor on the other side of the two black and silver inductors (which are immediately above the burnt cap in the photo). You should replace the burnt out capacitor with one like that - remove the identical one, and measure it's capacitance. If this is part of the 24 volt AC power input (which I suspect it is judging by the thick tracks), then it will need to be rated to at least 50 volts. This gives you a 50% safety margin above the peak power supply voltage.

 

However, if this is your own camera, and you don't mind the extra electrical noise it might radiate, you could remove the capacitor and see if the camera still works. The dead cap is part of a filter - it helps suppress interference from (I'm guessing) the power supply mounted on the camera assembly.

So options are:

* Replace whole board <-- expensive, but easy

* Replace faulty cap <-- what I'd do, because I'm cheap and I can

* Remove the cap <-- not the best, but will prove that the camera still works.

[Roger Smith 0]

Hi Roger.

I'm not familiar with these boards, so I'm mostly guessing from the photo.

That used to be a ceramic capacitor. Probably either a voltage spike destroyed it, or it was faulty/marginal when manufactured. Basically, the insulation (dielectric) layer between the capacitor plates has broken down, and the capacitor shorted out.

 

If you're handy with a soldering iron you could remove and replace it.

There appears to be an identical capacitor on the other side of the two black and silver inductors (which are immediately above the burnt cap in the photo). You should replace the burnt out capacitor with one like that - remove the identical one, and measure it's capacitance. If this is part of the 24 volt AC power input (which I suspect it is judging by the thick tracks), then it will need to be rated to at least 50 volts. This gives you a 50% safety margin above the peak power supply voltage.

 

However, if this is your own camera, and you don't mind the extra electrical noise it might radiate, you could remove the capacitor and see if the camera still works. The dead cap is part of a filter - it helps suppress interference from (I'm guessing) the power supply mounted on the camera assembly.

So options are:

* Replace whole board <-- expensive, but easy

* Replace faulty cap <-- what I'd do, because I'm cheap and I can

* Remove the cap <-- not the best, but will prove that the camera still works.

Hello Horizon, thanks for the reply. I do not have any experience with soldering, probably just replace the board when i get the money. Do you think a dying power supply in the camera module, or a faulty 24v power adapter could have caused the voltage spike that fried the cap?

[survtech 0]

Spectra III's are noted for burned out power supplies. Although I've never troubleshot one to component level, I do know that the cooling fans go bad so it's very possible more than one component overheated, although that is rare for ceramic capacitors. Typically, they will short out if their rated voltage is substantially exceeded. That could happen with a nearby lightning strike.

 

Not having a schematic and a component location diagram, I can't speculate.

[Horizon 0]

It could have been a spike, but more likely just a bad capacitor.

The voltage spike would have come from the mains, then passed through the 24V power supply. You could fit one of those plug-in surge suppressors into your wall outlet if you're worried about another spike. The 24V supply will still be ok - it takes something pretty major to damage it.

It's more likely the capacitor has failed due to damage during manufacture. They sometimes just fail like that, although normally they're very reliable. The camera itself should still be fine, and wouldn't have caused this.

 

I reckon it's still worthwhile to remove the burnt cap, and then test the camera. You don't need to unsolder it, you can grip it with some pliers and gently work away at it. It's brittle (having been over cooked!), and should come away in pieces. Don't bother trying to remove the soldered ends, its the part in the middle that is removed, like digging a ditch across a road, kind of thing. Also, being brittle, some eye protection is needed

There is probably a fuse somewhere that needs replacing.

 

It's worth trying this before splashing out on a new board, in case the camera is stuffed.

[survtech 0]

It could have been a spike, but more likely just a bad capacitor.

Ceramic capacitors are one of the most reliable and long-lived electronic components.

[Horizon 0]

Yep, totally agree. I prefer ceramic over the other capacitor types, although the others (electrolytic, tantalum) also have their advantages. Large capacitance ceramics are a bit expensive.

However, you still get the odd one that is defective at manufacture, or which hasn't survived the thermal stresses during soldering.

[dustmop 0]

Typically, they will short out if their rated voltage is substantially exceeded. That could happen with a nearby lightning strike.

 

I've had this EXACT failure on 4 boards over the past 4 years, and all were related to a lightning strike in some way. It's amazing what lightning can do, even in a setting where everything is powered from massive building UPS units.

 

Personal experience from attempting to repair one of these boards and having our in-house bench technician attempt to repair two, is that it's never just that cap. There's going to be something else wrong with the board, somewhere.

 

Sometimes you can find the boards or back boxes on ebay for fairly cheap.

[Horizon 0]

Hi Dustmop.

Shame to hear that these are failing. It looks like who-ever designed them went to a lot of effort and expense to protect the camera from spikes. The board is chock full of Transils on the aux/relay/comms lines, and there's even a gasseous arrestor on the video feed (?!). I'd hoped there was similar protection on the power feed (somewhere out of the photo frame), but maybe there isn't. There doesn't appear to be much else to the board, at least what's shown in the photo. Well, there is a small series regulator, but i'm not certain what it powers.

Also, what are the white connectors for? Fans?

I'm curious about these boards, because Spectra domes (or at least parts of them) sometimes come up for auction locally. I've usually assumed that they were being auctioned due to faults, since the cameras are usually missing the back box and dome. There is enough detail in the photo to allow me to rig up a replacement back box, and any other info I can find will be useful. Schematics would be even better

[survtech 0]

Horizon, it's two different things. The board pictured is in the back box. There isn't much circuitry on it because it doesn't do much - mostly just interfaces between the dome drive and the I/O (power, video and control). Back box components rarely fail and usually when they do (like pictured), it's due to a power surge like lightning.

 

Spectra III Dome drives are a different beast. Mostly the power supplies fail. I'm not sure why but my suspicion is that the cooling fan fails and the components overheat. Pelco redesigned the power supply board so they were obviously aware of some problem.

 

The back box PCB is $125 at Time Lapse Supply. The DD53KIT is around $170.

 

The same goes for Spectra II's. Although the dome drive cooling fan is located in the back box, vs. inside the dome drive on Spectra III's, I've found that the Spectra II fans typically only last 2-3 years. If they fail, especially in hot climates, parts fry inside the dome drive.

[Roger Smith 0]

Hi Dustmop.

Shame to hear that these are failing. It looks like who-ever designed them went to a lot of effort and expense to protect the camera from spikes. The board is chock full of Transils on the aux/relay/comms lines, and there's even a gasseous arrestor on the video feed (?!). I'd hoped there was similar protection on the power feed (somewhere out of the photo frame), but maybe there isn't. There doesn't appear to be much else to the board, at least what's shown in the photo. Well, there is a small series regulator, but i'm not certain what it powers.

Also, what are the white connectors for? Fans?

I'm curious about these boards, because Spectra domes (or at least parts of them) sometimes come up for auction locally. I've usually assumed that they were being auctioned due to faults, since the cameras are usually missing the back box and dome. There is enough detail in the photo to allow me to rig up a replacement back box, and any other info I can find will be useful. Schematics would be even better

Yes, fans and heater control.

[Roger Smith 0]

Hi Roger.

I'm not familiar with these boards, so I'm mostly guessing from the photo.

That used to be a ceramic capacitor. Probably either a voltage spike destroyed it, or it was faulty/marginal when manufactured. Basically, the insulation (dielectric) layer between the capacitor plates has broken down, and the capacitor shorted out.

 

If you're handy with a soldering iron you could remove and replace it.

There appears to be an identical capacitor on the other side of the two black and silver inductors (which are immediately above the burnt cap in the photo). You should replace the burnt out capacitor with one like that - remove the identical one, and measure it's capacitance. If this is part of the 24 volt AC power input (which I suspect it is judging by the thick tracks), then it will need to be rated to at least 50 volts. This gives you a 50% safety margin above the peak power supply voltage.

 

However, if this is your own camera, and you don't mind the extra electrical noise it might radiate, you could remove the capacitor and see if the camera still works. The dead cap is part of a filter - it helps suppress interference from (I'm guessing) the power supply mounted on the camera assembly.

So options are:

* Replace whole board <-- expensive, but easy

* Replace faulty cap <-- what I'd do, because I'm cheap and I can

* Remove the cap <-- not the best, but will prove that the camera still works.

How exactly do I test the camera after I knock the bad cap out? Replace the fuse and plug it in? Or do I have to solder anything?

 

[uPDATE]

Nevermind, I figured it out. I plugged it in and the camera still works! Thanks for the help