# circuitry



## KandCfamilyfarm (Nov 4, 2017)

I have a fence energizer that seems to be on the way out now I was not sure on which thread to put this under and this seemed to be as good a place as any. So here is what I have already done. I recharged the battery over night then I let it sit to leave out for a few hours and checked while monitoring the voltage for drops the battery seems to be good it held a charge of 13.43Volts for six hours prior before putting it back into service so I moved on to the clamps I cleaned them with a file then removed the wires from the clamps and cleaned the contact surface and reattached them to the clams that is all you can do without opening up the case to the energizer. Now I would imagine the good power and good connection the problem lies inside the unit. 

Inside the unit I have no ideal on where to start testing or how to test with my ohm meter. I also know multimeters differ in function so I have a southwire 100030s multimeter its new and everything works fine on it. Inside the unit there are three main components the circuit board, capacitor, and the transformer. I am going to say the problem probably in the capacitor or transformer. 

But when I go and open it up how would I test these two thing? This will probably take some time for me no big hurry!


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## Murby (May 24, 2016)

Its probably the capacitor.. its always the darn capacitor.. Good thing they're cheap.. 

It could be the transformer but usually when transformers burn out, they do so spectacularly.. usually burn marks, but at the very least, a total failure as a winding inside shorts... usually its a result of heat but the transformer in a fence charger never really sees any heat.. could be a breakdown of winding insulation but I've never seen it.

My money is on the capacitor... Some multimeters have capacitance testing functions..


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## KandCfamilyfarm (Nov 4, 2017)

Murby said:


> Its probably the capacitor.. its always the darn capacitor.. Good thing they're cheap..
> 
> It could be the transformer but usually when transformers burn out, they do so spectacularly.. usually burn marks, but at the very least, a total failure as a winding inside shorts... usually its a result of heat but the transformer in a fence charger never really sees any heat.. could be a breakdown of winding insulation but I've never seen it.
> 
> My money is on the capacitor... Some multimeters have capacitance testing functions..


If it is the capacitor would it cause the unit to have a weak output because that is the issue the unit works but the spark it is putting out reads really weak on the fence tester. It is throwing a red spark less than a 1/4 inch now in auto mechanics I was told a red spark indicates a bad coil while a blue spark indicate a good coil but that also different because a coil is nothing more than a transformer inside of a oil sealed case. But idk I never went to school for any of this matter a fact I finished high school under a special diploma because I was technically special ed. Ok so back to this could I test the capacitor with the diode or ohm setting on the multimeter. I also have dc volts from 200mV to 600V and what looks to be some kind of current setting from 200mA to 2000uA


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## KandCfamilyfarm (Nov 4, 2017)

Murby said:


> Its probably the capacitor.. its always the darn capacitor.. Good thing they're cheap..
> 
> It could be the transformer but usually when transformers burn out, they do so spectacularly.. usually burn marks, but at the very least, a total failure as a winding inside shorts... usually its a result of heat but the transformer in a fence charger never really sees any heat.. could be a breakdown of winding insulation but I've never seen it.
> 
> My money is on the capacitor... Some multimeters have capacitance testing functions..


Hey would you want to maybe help out a little by just by chiming in when I go to rebuild a different charge. I am going to try and upgrade some outdated stuff just to keep me on the straight and narrow. I am going to start a new thread in a few days with photos so everyone can see what I am doing my goal will be to convert a very old charge up to a 200 mile range with a 15 joule output. I am going to try and us the old circuit board because it has some really nice looking traces and looks to be set up pretty simple and straightforward.


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## Murby (May 24, 2016)

KandCfamilyfarm said:


> If it is the capacitor would it cause the unit to have a weak output because that is the issue the unit works but the spark it is putting out reads really weak on the fence tester. It is throwing a red spark less than a 1/4 inch now in auto mechanics I was told a red spark indicates a bad coil while a blue spark indicate a good coil but that also different because a coil is nothing more than a transformer inside of a oil sealed case. But idk I never went to school for any of this matter a fact I finished high school under a special diploma because I was technically special ed. Ok so back to this could I test the capacitor with the diode or ohm setting on the multimeter. I also have dc volts from 200mV to 600V and what looks to be some kind of current setting from 200mA to 2000uA


You really need a capacitor tester to do a good test but you can find out some stuff with a basic meter. If your meter has a high ohm setting you can use that, put the leads across the cap terminals.. the cap should suck up current coming from the meter causing it to look like a short, then as the cap charges, it will stop sucking up current which will cause the meter to start reading higher ohms. 
Its a really poor test and only gives you limited information that may or may not help. Chances are, if the insulation in your cap has broken down, it has changed the capacitance value and a normal meter won't show that.. 

Just call around to your local HVAC repair shops and give them the values on the cap and see if they have one. They're not very specialized components.. Heck, as long as you match the voltage, you might even be able to rip the starting cap off an electric motor and use that to test it.

The term "Coil" and "Transformer" are the same thing.. its just a winding inside another winding.. Only in very special circumstances is a "coil" just a coil.. Some electronic circuts will actually wrap a coil around a Ferrite ring to bleed away circuit noise.. and in that case, it is just a coil.. but those are always tiny, like the size of your thumbnail.. 

If I read your message correctly, you want to cobble together your own electric fence circuit? Good luck! You'd be better off just buying a used one on Ebay for 1/2 price like I did.. 

Do you have lightening protection on your fence charger's output terminals? If you do, that's probably what's causing the low voltage.. those things are junk.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

KandCfamilyfarm said:


> what I am doing my goal will be to convert a very old charge up to a 200 mile range with a 15 joule output.


That's not really something you should try to do on your own.
Just buy the charger you need and if you want a back-up, send yours to be repaired.


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## KandCfamilyfarm (Nov 4, 2017)

Bearfootfarm said:


> That's not really something you should try to do on your own.
> Just buy the charger you need and if you want a back-up, send yours to be repaired.


I had three but one is packed up getting ready to go out under warranty, one got hit by lighting and exploded the only part of that one I found was still stuck to the wall, and this really old red one but it has never worked right and the company that made it went out of business. it was made in this old school looking lunch box the case is made of metal probably worth a mint but I have already opened it up once. the circuit board looks beefy. The traces are huge. I just want to use the circuits board from it and replace the transformer and capacitor with one from a red snapper 200 mile unit. So its not like I am making a welder from a mot using microwave parts.


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## backwoodsman7 (Mar 22, 2007)

KandCfamilyfarm said:


> my goal will be to convert a very old charge up to a 200 mile range with a 15 joule output.


You may not be aware that large capacitors at high voltage can kill you if you don't know what you're doing. This may not be the best project to take on at the complete beginner stage.


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## KandCfamilyfarm (Nov 4, 2017)

backwoodsman7 said:


> You may not be aware that large capacitors at high voltage can kill you if you don't know what you're doing. This may not be the best project to take on at the complete beginner stage.


thank you for the warning I build mots for fun sometimes and junky welders I know to discharge a capacitor every time you work with one because they can build a charge off static and can hold a charge for a long time. First learned about capacitor when work on HVAC. But I probably should put a warning for any one following the Dyna thread!


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