Repairing EB8 blown TRIAC

Waterjockey · Jul 4, 2016

Electrotech said:
This is the standard 600V rated TRIAC

Thanks for the write up! Should be a sticky in the the controller section to find quick and easy when I need to do the same

Quote:

Originally Posted by baringcs
Can you post a link to the replacement triac you used?

This is the same part as factory 600V rated

http://www.digikey.com/product-detai...21-5-ND/654429

this is the part I used a 800V rated

http://www.digikey.com/product-detai...146-ND/2827080

Cali9dub · Jul 24, 2016

Can you replace every outlet in an EB8 with these ??

Ocelaris · Feb 25, 2017

I just completed this for a friend, was a bit of a pain, but everything is working again. Thanks so much for the guide, I wouldn't have made it otherwise! For those considering this, make sure you have a solder sucker and a variety of tweezers and flush cutters. If you don't have quite a few few hours experience and a good soldering iron I wouldn't suggest this as your first attempt. It wasn't that technically difficult, however if you haven't developed your desoldering techniques it's impossible to convey those with a guide or pictures.

Torx · Jul 21, 2017

I know this is an old thread, but I just want to say thank you for the great write up. I have the same issue with it staying closed. I live in Canada, so with shipping and out of warranty repair cost I would have been at half the price of a new one. I can repair this for free now as I have an old DC8 that I am not using. They use the same TRIAC chip. Even if I didnt, it means that I can fix it in an hour for about $5 myself. So far I have removed the TRIAC from the DC8 and tomorrow I will attack installing it in the EB8. Thank you again.

Torx · Jul 22, 2017

Sorry for the double post but I just wanted to say thank you a gain.

I removed the TRIAC's from the old DC8 yesterday and used one to replace the blown one in my EB8 today. It took about an hour in total and saved me a lot of money. I will be ordering some off of ebay to fix my DC8, but it is great to get back up and running so quickly vs sending it away to be fixed. I as well put the heatsink bolts in the other way for ease of assembly. I used the swipe method to remove the chip. I put a zip tie through the hole in the TRIAC so I could put a pull on the chip while I warmed the solder. Then wicked the holes clean.

One note that I would like to add is when reassembling the faceplate to the board is to be sure that the LED diode lines up with the window. I put it all together and plugged it in and thought that I broke or messed something up as there was no status light. I tore the whole thing apart, retested, and reinstalled everything just because the freaking diode was bent a little. *face palm*

In the long run, this is a great fix for someone with the patience to do so.

Donovan Joannes · Jul 23, 2017

I repaired a lot of dimmer for stage lighting and triac is widely used. Heat is the main cause of failing triac, especially in a confined cabinet.

coralbeauties · Aug 18, 2017

I appreciate this write up. I fixed mine today but for me it was alot of aggravation and a pain in the rear. Not sure I would do it again. Separating the outlets from the board was a real pain and if your not good with circuit boards like me it is hard to get the triac unsoldered. I have 3 triacs if someone would like to try this and I'll mail one out to you.
Jeff

Torx · Aug 19, 2017

You are 100% right. It is not easy, it is extremely frustrating. I have a full write up of my lovely experience on another site. But I have it down pat now and could do one in less then an hour from start to finish easily...or at least as easily as it can be done.

coralbeauties · Aug 19, 2017

I was so afraid when I plugged it back in that something wouldnt work. In fact it took several times of powering things up to get everything communicating and working. One question is I have 2 t-5 bulbs running off this eb8 and when it is plugged in it will cause a pretty loud snap. I am assuming it has a high initial amp draw. Should I power this off one of the triac or #4 or #8 that are relay controlled?
thanks
jeff

Ocelaris · Aug 19, 2017

That shouldn't be a large draw, usually motors or old metal halide ballasts would be a big draw. But I have 2 and 4 bulb t5 (80w bulbs) and I don't have that issue or at least don't hear anything in the wiring cabinet.

coralbeauties · Aug 19, 2017

I know if I plug in the plug for my ice cap ballast for the 2 bulb setup it will snap. After reading that voltage spikes will take out the triacs I have been concerned about the t-5s.
Jeff

Ocelaris · Aug 19, 2017

I've heard that for relays, but I don't know much about triacs. Arcing is arcing, and usually the reason to use the relays over triacs is because the triacs don't always trigger at low current (and I could be wrong, but I though they could handle higher current). Maybe someone else has an idea. I'm assuming this is a repaired triac? Does it make that sound when plugging into a regular outlet or relay?

coralbeauties · Aug 20, 2017

I have a 500 watt heater that is turned on and off by a relay and I have the relay controlled by my eb8. The relay would not always allow the triac to turn off and would hold my heater on. Once I switched the heater relay over to #4 outlet problem solved.
Yes the t-5s will snap even when plugged into a regular outlet. The triac that I am running my t5s with is not the one I repaired. It has been working fine for a couple of months so far so I guess there isnt anything to be concerned about.
Jeff

badstraw · Sep 12, 2017

Yesterday I hooked up a new pm2 module with conductivity probe and a ORP probe to my apex, everything was working fine for a few hours and all of it sudden I noticed that there was a burnt smell coming from the aquabus ports on the EB8.
Now my display won’t turn on and there are no lights coming out of the base unit, just the regular orange light the EB8.

Should I replace the capacitor on the back? the tracks look damaged...

Ocelaris · Sep 12, 2017

I would start a new thread, your issue isn't really related to swapping some triacs and you're unlikely to get the response you're looking for inside another unrelated thread. Chances are if the tracks are blown, you've lost some chips. I'd send it into apex if it's the brain.

Those look like blown diodes, i.e. D8 and D9, unless you have some spare diodes in that SMD package, and the rework tools, and a schematic, it's unlikely that you're going to be able to repair it.

badstraw · Sep 13, 2017

Ocelaris said:
I would start a new thread, your issue isn't really related to swapping some triacs and you're unlikely to get the response you're looking for inside another unrelated thread. Chances are if the tracks are blown, you've lost some chips. I'd send it into apex if it's the brain.

Those look like blown diodes, i.e. D8 and D9, unless you have some spare diodes in that SMD package, and the rework tools, and a schematic, it's unlikely that you're going to be able to repair it.

Thanks for the advice, I started a new thread.

tricounty1 · Dec 30, 2017

Sent 4 back to apex for repair cost me another $40 bucks in shipping. Only to be told that cant fix them cheaper to Buy 4 more They are JUNK

Torx · Dec 30, 2017

tricounty1 said:
Sent 4 back to apex for repair cost me another $40 bucks in shipping. Only to be told that cant fix them cheaper to Buy 4 more They are JUNK

Well then it has nothing to do with the triac or this thread. No idea how you damaged 4 Powerbars to the point of non repair. Sounds more like water damage or or you had a problem with your home electrical.

Ocelaris · Dec 30, 2017

Agreed, this fix is very limited, and only the cheap triacs and relays can be replaced economically. These days if a company is even willing to keep a repair staff on hand, I'm impressed. Most places won't bother, so it's unfortunate that they couldn't fix your power bars, but I think people over estimate what this fix does. It is extremely limited, and more often than not repairing multiple components by a manufacturer is more expensive than replacing it. With the conditions we put this equipment through, I'm fairly impressed that it lasts as long as it does. No worse environment than salt spray. That's literally how they test longevity of nuclear reactors, but this is normal operating environments for our sensitive electronics.