Relay Service Advisory List

[thermionic1]

I seem to recall there used to be a consolidated list of various relays & types and any manufacturer service advisory or issues list. My google skills can't seem to find.

I had a 40 year old HEA darn near go up in flames today. I was performing function checks, it tripped as expected, I reset and the next thing I knew, smoke was billowing out of it. When I spoke to a colleague, he mentioned there were several known problems. It was a cell call and the reception was horrible, so I didn't catch all the details.

Thanks

 

[dpc]

I would contact GE.

 

[pwrengrds]

The only time I have had one of them smoke was when there was a standing trip and the handle was held closed. The coils are good for about 20 seconds with full voltage before the smoke comes out. I have seen them fail because of operator holding the handle, which ends up fixing the problem for the operator, but breaks the protection system HEA is a lockout relay). The other possible way they fail is when the lockout mechanically doesn't trip due to either wiring in the way or mechanical failure.

 

[dpc]

Electric reset solenoids on HEAs used to burn up frequently. For manual reset (more common), the trip coil will burn up quickly if not de-energized when the relay trips. This is done automatically by contacts in the HEA. If theses contacts don't open, then the trip coil can burn up.

 

[thermionic1]

We got an answer. The HEA we had did have a problem. There is a trapezoidal piece of metal in the back of the unit. Ours had a flat profile. Apparently, this was changed in later units to have a ridge stamped in it.

The OEM never got back to us, but the living library at the distribution relay department remembered.