MP40 only works on battery backup??

christyf5 · #1 08-24-2015, 04:01 PM

I have an older vortech MP40 (not the W and its gen2). I noticed yesterday that it was only working on the lowest power and when I turned the knob it just stays at that power. Upon further investigation I discovered that its running on the battery backup, not on house power. I tried unplugging and replugging it in, other things are plugged into that plug and are working properly and the whole setup is running on a GFCI.

So I don't quite get how these things work, when its on battery backup, I assume that the only thing going through the driver is actual power and it reverts to the most basic of settings (aka, ON at low power). Is the driver shot? I'm totally inept when it comes to these things. We did have a power outage last week so it could be fried (?). Didn't fry anything else though. Is there a reset or diagnostic for this thing or am I now in the market for a new driver?

Any input appreciated

gregzz4 · #2 08-24-2015, 07:19 PM

Have you tested the power supply for 24v output ?

christyf5 · #3 08-25-2015, 02:11 AM

no, not quite sure how to do that

Ryanerickson · #4 08-25-2015, 02:55 AM

Multi meter

christyf5 · #5 08-25-2015, 03:18 AM

I had a gen 1 driver so I hooked up that, works the same way so it must be the power supply.

mike31154 · #6 08-25-2015, 04:00 AM

Ha, yes, who needs a multi meter when a little logic & a spare driver are the troubleshooting tools? Nice work Mrs. Spock. Another way to perhaps confirm that it is indeed the power supply without resorting to multi meter magic is to look for the little green light on the power supply, or try another power supply if you have a spare kicking around. I have one fairly old MP40 & it's power supply has the green power light, so it's safe to assume anything newer has the light.

christyf5 · #7 08-25-2015, 04:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike31154

Ha, yes, who needs a multi meter when a little logic & a spare driver are the troubleshooting tools? Nice work Mrs. Spock. Another way to perhaps confirm that it is indeed the power supply without resorting to multi meter magic is to look for the little green light on the power supply, or try another power supply if you have a spare kicking around. I have one fairly old MP40 & it's power supply has the green power light, so it's safe to assume anything newer has the light.

LOL!! Well whaddya know, theres a light on the power supply! Its pretty dim but it is a little green light. Guess I'll have to get out that multimeter (or make my husband do it, I've never figured those things out). Sadly no spare power supply or I would have tried that too. I've scoped out a few around the house but the output amperage is too high on most of them.

mike31154 · #8 08-31-2015, 07:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by christyf5

LOL!! Well whaddya know, theres a light on the power supply! Its pretty dim but it is a little green light. Guess I'll have to get out that multimeter (or make my husband do it, I've never figured those things out). Sadly no spare power supply or I would have tried that too. I've scoped out a few around the house but the output amperage is too high on most of them.

Higher output amperage (current) on any spare supply you have is not a problem. Provided the output voltage is 24 VDC and the connector fits the driver socket & is the correct polarity (center +), it will work. The driver will only draw the amount of current (amps) needed. Consider a typical house circuit, rated for 15 amps, but most devices you plug in to a given socket will not draw anywhere near 15 amps, but they do need the 120 volts to operate as designed.

christyf5 · #9 08-31-2015, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike31154

Higher output amperage (current) on any spare supply you have is not a problem. Provided the output voltage is 24 VDC and the connector fits the driver socket & is the correct polarity (center +), it will work. The driver will only draw the amount of current (amps) needed. Consider a typical house circuit, rated for 15 amps, but most devices you plug in to a given socket will not draw anywhere near 15 amps, but they do need the 120 volts to operate as designed.

My brain just exploded. LOL! I need more caffeine.

I got the socket part. None of them fit anyways even if I did sort of marginally understand the electrical stuff. I see there is something on amazon so might go that route. I only got the vortech for power outages anyways and it seems to be working fine for that.

http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00NXWCVPE/r...I1V3HUNVLBSMYC

Says its for a vortech....??