Twinsonic/power supply Help

MPD 818

Member
May 25, 2010
1,317
Murfreesboro TN
Ok I am having a strange issue with my 12X and need some help. Here is how it goes:


On my work bench I have a 10 amp radio shack power supply. It will supply enough amps to run the rotator motor and two of the four bulbs on this light bar. If I try to run the motor and all 4 bulbs they will all work for just split second before the power supply trips off due to overdraw on amps. I know that everything works on this lightbar because I have tested all the individual bulbs, bulb holders, and motor on this 10 amp radio shack power supply individually.


Now move over to my display wall. I have a 50 amp astron power supply to run the big stuff. It will only run 1 set of bulbs and the motor. It will not run the right side of the lightbar. The bulb holder on the right side is the one I am having trouble with. The left side of the bar and the motor work just fine until I put a bulb in either the front or the back of the right side bulb holder. I took the bulb holder out and test it with the bulbs in it on the radio shack power supply and it works just fine, but as soon as I re-mount it in the twinsonic and try it on my astron supply, the astron supply shorts itself out. I am puzzled because if it was a short in the bulbs or the bulb holder then it would seem like it would not work on the radio shack supply, but it does.


If I carry the twinsonic outside it will work on my car battery. I just cannot understand why my astron will not work with it.


Any ideas?
 

ryan

Member
May 20, 2010
2,996
Massillon, Ohio
may have a ground short on that side of the bar and power supply being regulated can't over come it but disassembled your 10 amp can and you car battery pushing 80 amps can. Check all of your wiring in the bar and also check the prongs inside the bulb holder.
 

MPD 818

Member
May 25, 2010
1,317
Murfreesboro TN
This morning before work I checked the bulb holders and wire, I was unable to find anything that appears to be shorted out. Very frustrating to say the least, willl try some more when I get home.
 

toon80

Member
May 24, 2010
2,487
Laval, Canada
Maybe a close-up picture of the brush-rotator assembly & crimp terminal on the rotator base would help us to see if there's a problem...
 

ryan

Member
May 20, 2010
2,996
Massillon, Ohio
is it the motor side or the opposite? maybe your speaker tray is pinching the wire to that side.
 

Peter F

Member
May 21, 2010
90
Nova Scotia , Canada
Try changing the bulbs on the side that is good to the side that is not lighting up . Put the other bulbs that didnt work on the side that did work and try it to see if the problem follows the bulbs . You may have a defective bulb that is shorted out inside .I have seen that happen to me once before .
 

MPD 818

Member
May 25, 2010
1,317
Murfreesboro TN
It is the non motor side. I have checked the wire all the way from the terminal to the connector to the bulb holder. I did swap the bulbs around and they work on both sides. Here is another new twist. I can hook the power up a dozen or so times, with it shorting out the supply every time, until it finally will turn the bar on and it will work fine till I turn the bar off. Then I have repeat the process. Tomorrow I am going to try to take a video with my camera and post on here to maybe help clarify the problem.
 

stansdds

Member
May 25, 2010
3,533
U.S.A., Virginia
Soooo... once the bar is fully working, all lights on and rotators/motor spinning, it runs ok, it's just trying to get the bar turned on that kills your power supply? That sounds like a power supply that is not providing enough amps to start the bar. I presume you have a 12 or 12X bar with four GE4464 lamps. The amp draw is going to be 20 to 22 amps, but if the motor is old, poor electrical contacts, chain tension too tight, binding rotators or anything that is impeding smooth movement of the motor, gears, chain and rotators then the amperage, especially starting amps, is going to be much higher.
 

toon80

Member
May 24, 2010
2,487
Laval, Canada
stansdds said:
Soooo... once the bar is fully working, all lights on and rotators/motor spinning, it runs ok, it's just trying to get the bar turned on that kills your power supply? That sounds like a power supply that is not providing enough amps to start the bar. I presume you have a 12 or 12X bar with four GE4464 lamps. The amp draw is going to be 20 to 22 amps, but if the motor is old, poor electrical contacts, chain tension too tight, binding rotators or anything that is impeding smooth movement of the motor, gears, chain and rotators then the amperage, especially starting amps, is going to be much higher.

I had the same problem with an Aerotwin, but once the lamps are hot, the power supply will have no problem getting them running.
 

JohnMarcson

Administrator
May 7, 2010
10,971
Northwest Ohio
One of my sealed beam SD or XLs used to fault out my power supply... but it ran fine on a battery. If I disconnected one specific motor it would work fine...There wasn't a short, just too much resistance I guess.
 

MPD 818

Member
May 25, 2010
1,317
Murfreesboro TN
Well after fooling around with it, cussing it, and finally trouble shooting and conducting the same "experiment" over and over I have come to the conclusion that my power supply is just freaking out when I try to run it all at once. This is very surprising since it will run 6 or 7 or my old beacons just fine. So my solution was to put the motor and right side bulbs on one switch and put the left side bulbs on another switch. Now it works fine, I turn the motor switch and right side on then wait about a second and turn the left side on with no problems. Kind of irritating, but will have to do. Thanks for all the input!
 

tnems7

Member
May 21, 2010
407
USA Nashville Tennessee
We used to encounter the same problems with the Twinsonics mounted and used on Suburbans in the mid 1970s. The lamps would quit working on one side, then the motor would quit spinning and the bulbs on the motor side would dim. Changing the brush pick ups helped, but we got rid of 25 amp fuses or circuit breakers that came from the outfitter and used a thirty amp slow blow fuse and that eliminated the problems. There was evidently more surge due to the electrical motor current on start-up and when it runs hot.
 

Forum Statistics

Threads
53,964
Messages
449,809
Members
19,103
Latest member
Safetylight5

About Us

  • Since 1997, eLightbars has been the premier venue for all things emergency warning equipment. Discussions, classified listings, pictures, videos, chat, & more! Our staff members strive to keep the forums organized and clutter-free. All of our offerings are free-of-charge with all costs offset by banner advertising. Premium offerings are available to improve your experience.

User Menu

Secure Browsing & Transactions

eLightbars.org uses SSL to secure all traffic between our server and your browsing device. All browsing and transactions within are secured by an SSL Certificate with high-strength encryption.