I am working on an HME/Ferrera fire engine that is about 5 years old. Suddenly the Whelen strobes on sides and rear have become intermittent or not working at all. We have replaced (ups 64) power supplies, and I can attach a test strobe to the output which works ok. When the strobes are connected they do not flash. I have checked the wires with an ohmeter and continuity is good. We have also replaced the strobes with known good tubes without success.
Any ideas? Thanks to all!
Strobe problem
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Station House Products
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My first question would be, has anyone recently sealed the ends (plugs) of the cables with any kind of weather protectant such as silicone? If so, double check if is water based or not. If it is, cut the ends off and replace. Water based silicones will conduct electricity even after they are dry and this will cause a shorting problem with strobe systems.
If this is'nt the case, than try this. Unplug all strobes and test them one at a time. Not by simply pluggung the tube into the outlet, but as though they were beingnused normally. (Cable into the pack and cable into the tube) If each one works alone, than add a second and third and so on to the pack untill you experience your problem. If this whole scenario works untill that point, I would check both the A+ and the ground powering the pack as you may not have enough voltage or a good ground. (A good ground is especially critical)
Lastly, if the problem continues to exist when you test each one individually, outboard a cable on each tube just for $#!ts and giggles. If this works, change the cables. Though your meter may show good continuity, you may have had some wires pinched somewhere and they could be grounding to the chassis of the vehicle. This would still show as good continuity, but would definately affect the way the strobes would fire.
Hope this helps, and if you should have any questions or need anything else, you can PM me or call my shop.
If this is'nt the case, than try this. Unplug all strobes and test them one at a time. Not by simply pluggung the tube into the outlet, but as though they were beingnused normally. (Cable into the pack and cable into the tube) If each one works alone, than add a second and third and so on to the pack untill you experience your problem. If this whole scenario works untill that point, I would check both the A+ and the ground powering the pack as you may not have enough voltage or a good ground. (A good ground is especially critical)
Lastly, if the problem continues to exist when you test each one individually, outboard a cable on each tube just for $#!ts and giggles. If this works, change the cables. Though your meter may show good continuity, you may have had some wires pinched somewhere and they could be grounding to the chassis of the vehicle. This would still show as good continuity, but would definately affect the way the strobes would fire.
Hope this helps, and if you should have any questions or need anything else, you can PM me or call my shop.
100% agree with Chuck, the UPS64 will shut down an entire strobe BANK if it shorts.
Remove power from the supply, and plug in one strobe at a time. If it strobes once, then you have a short in it, if it strobes not at all, probably still a short.
Sounds like a short to me. Also check the connectors, are they yanked or something? Check your signal cables too, maybe the connection that's activating your strobes is actually the culprit.
Remove power from the supply, and plug in one strobe at a time. If it strobes once, then you have a short in it, if it strobes not at all, probably still a short.
Sounds like a short to me. Also check the connectors, are they yanked or something? Check your signal cables too, maybe the connection that's activating your strobes is actually the culprit.
I returned to the engine and found a combination of problems. The plug which activated the outlets had been mistakenly plugged into the pattern outlet. One of the new power supplies had 2 dead outlets. We still have a break in one of the lines going to the rear of the vehicle. These problems were complicated by the location of the power supplies under the seats.
Thanks to all for the assistance.
Ken
Thanks to all for the assistance.
Ken
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Station House Products
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