whitehousejamie Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 Evening all, I am trying to repair an Antari low fog machine, which has been working perfectly up until recently. However at last use the unit failed to power up, the main input fuse is good, and there is power to the optional excess water pump, but nothing to the heater block and external remote. The small circuit board inside has a 1A fuse, which when replaced like for like pops again straight away. Any thoughts on how to go about diagnosing the cause? There is no moisture inside and there are no obvious signs of wiring damage. Many thanks Jamie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timsabre Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 Not familiar with that particular machine, but I would disconnect all mains outputs from the circuit board (heater, pump etc), power up with none connected to check the electronics board isn't blowing the fuse itself, then connect one output at a time to determine what is blowing the fuse. You will need a good supply of 1A fuses. My money would be on a fault in the heater block. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigclive Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 I should hope the heater block would be able to blow a 1A fuse all by itself as standard. Still good advice though. As always make sure you take extreme care to ensure any disconnected wires are parked away from metalwork and always ensure machine is completely unplugged from the mains before doing anything inside. My own guess? Power supply on control board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashley R Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 The Boards are the common thing to fail. The Heating blocks are quite decently built. If you meter across the wires for the heating block, there should be a low resistance, if it is open circuit then the heating block is dead and you need a new one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timsabre Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 I should hope the heater block would be able to blow a 1A fuse all by itself as standard. Ah yes, that's a good point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitehousejamie Posted December 17, 2012 Author Share Posted December 17, 2012 Thanks for the advice guys. I think I need to try and source the full manual to check what the fuse rating should be (the manual I have found explains operation instructions only). On the board and fuse it states F1 (not T1A as I would expect). This board powers the heater, pumps and remote therefore I assume the fuse should in fact be around 5 or 6 amps, however I don't want to experiment and cause possible damage until I've found out what the fuse rating should actually be. Does anyone know whether Antari are still going? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImagineerTom Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 F1 is an assembly instruction (mount fuse / fuse holder #1 here) not any kind of statement as to the fuse rating to use. Antari are still going but they are predominantly a box-shifter and are based in asia so it's hit-and-miss as to whether they'll have anyone with the technical knowledge or access to the schematics for that particular unit to hand. It shouldn't be too difficult to trace the wiring and make a damn good guestimate as to what rating fuse is required however since the entire unit is only worth £120 its questionable whether it's worth your time and effort fixing this fault on a second hand machine when you'll get a replacement with warranty so cheaply? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitehousejamie Posted December 18, 2012 Author Share Posted December 18, 2012 Thanks Tom, this particular unit is the Z Ice, I would happily buy a couple if you can point me to a supplier for that price :) There are plenty of smaller machines in that price range but they don't have a comparable output I'm afraid. Anyway, I managed to find the manual after a good search, and it confirms a 5A fuse, but the unit is still managing to pop a 5a fuse, BUT only when the fluid pump is activated (it's happy powering the heater block for 5 mins or so during initial heat up). Could a faulty pump have burnt out internally perhaps and put stress on the supply board? Thanks Jamie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImagineerTom Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 I'll wager the output of 3 £120 unit's is higher than one £500 unit.... That aside the pumps on these things are a common failure point; personally I'd disconnect the pump, power it up and see if the fuse still blows when you press the "fog" button - if it doesn't then you know you have a pump issue (simple £20 part swap) if it still pops then you know there's a fault on the board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitehousejamie Posted December 18, 2012 Author Share Posted December 18, 2012 That aside the pumps on these things are a common failure point; personally I'd disconnect the pump, power it up and see if the fuse still blows when you press the "fog" button - if it doesn't then you know you have a pump issue (simple £20 part swap) if it still pops then you know there's a fault on the board. Thanks Tom, I have just tried that and indeed with the pump disconnected the unit happily continues to work without popping the fuse. Will try and source the replacement pump, at around £20 it's certainly a worthwhile repair. Many thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImagineerTom Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 fleabay usually has 'em Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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