R3T Overheated In Driveway

[Mongler07]

I think you'd have to be and electrical engineer or an industrial electrician/tech to pickup on that term. I've never run those kinds of tests but saw them done at a generation plant that I worked at. A Megger tester, also known as an insulation tester or megohmmeter, is a portable device that measures the resistance of electrical insulation to identify potential problems. Not a test I'd run - pretty high level thinking though for a DIYer.

Megg tests only for insulated resistance load wires. All it does is tell you if the insulation has pinholes or damage. I do it on a weekly basis installing heated floors. The tool is a megohmmeter. it usually pumps in like 10,000 volts into a wire. Think of a garden hose put to a high pressure to check for small leaks. The reason we do this is for say a, ignition system coil that a stray arc can be undetectable until full load and heat comes into play. All it does is tell you if there is damage to the insulation holding back said power source. If a heated cable has this damage it will wear out FAST due to thermal expansion and contraction during heat cycles and failing prematurely. The tool is close to $200 for a klein, $400 for a fluke and uses 8 AA batteries and will give you a hell of a shock if you tough it in its test mode.

 

[Gregger]

I've never really used an ohm meter to check a relay. Most simple relays have is a coil and 1 or 2 sets of contacts. Usually the contacts burn or have too much resistance not allowing current to flow. If the coil part fails open, you have no magnetic field to pull in the contacts. If it shorts it will draw too much current trying to close the contacts popping the fuse.

For me, if it clicks and I get no current flow, I pull it apart to check the contacts. I don't know how many relays I've rejuvenated with a point file to get things going when I didn't have a spare relay around. Since you swapped out the relays and things started working, I'm pretty sure you have a bad relay. Pull it apart...

 

[Gregger]

A megger is usually used in higher voltages. I don't think we ever used them on 12 or 24 volts systems. An ohm meter was usually good enough to check the insulated side of a circuit. Since a lot of equipment at our mine ran on 600 volt systems (jumbos, raisebores, shotcrete sprayers etc) with one weird one running on 1100 volts (50 ton Kiruna haul truck), all the cross trade (Mech/electricians) were issued meggers. With the warm, humid, corrosive underground environment the equipment ran in, insulation issues were a common problem. Meggers got a lot of use.

 

[Mongler07]

Meggers got a lot of use.

this includes but is not limited to giving the new guy a nice shock

 

[TURBO200R4]

This was an old thread probably fixed a long time ago.
More than likely when the new relay arrived it fixed the problem and he never bothered to give us the curtisey of a post to say thanks.

 

[Mongler07]

He is still an active member....

 

[Gregger]

this includes but is not limited to giving the new guy a nice shock

Ever leave a charged ignition capacitor on the bench to see who would pick it up You learn real fast...

 

[Mongler07]

Ever leave a charged ignition capacitor on the bench to see who would pick it up You learn real fast...

1st experience with non house hold 120v shocking was when i tried rebuilding a magneto...... but yes the best ones are from an ignition coil. I was the kid holding on to the electric fence the longest!!!
#electroboom