adccommunitymod (AutomationDirect) asked a question.
Created Date: November 13,2012
Created By: thebeast
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I have four GS3 drives in my system. Is there a way to wire in a light to act as a capacitor charge indicator light? The drives take several seconds to completely dissipate the charge held by their internal capacitors. normally you just watch the drive until it shuts itself off completely. This is impossible to do when the drives are enclosed inside the control cabinet. The light would be mounted to the exterior of the cabinet so you could see it lit up or not depending on the drives charge status.thank you.
Created Date: November 23,2012
Created by: Ryan_Poethke
Beast,
The answer depends on the size of the drives you 're using. The larger GS3 drives give the user access to both the + and - terminals of the DC bus. The smaller drives don't give you access to both bus terminals, so you 're out of luck.
You could attach an LED across the DC bus to indicate if there's power. Use an appropriate resistor, depending on your DC bus voltage:
Assuming a 208v supply: 208v * 1.414 = ~300vdc
Assuming a 480v supply: 480v * 1.414 = ~680vdc
The following assumes you would use a panel-mount LED that runs from 120v, such as this:
http://www.automationdirect.com/adc/Shopping/Catalog/Pushbuttons_-z-_Switches_-z-_Indicators/22mm_Plastic/Plastic_Monoblock_Indicators/LED/ECX2051-127L
Resistor for 208v supply: 15k ohm, at least 3w and suitable for the voltage across it.
Resistor for 480v supply: 47k ohm, at least 8w (I'd go 10w) and suitable for the voltage across it.
It might be easier to install a Lexan window in your cabinet door instead of going to all this wiring trouble.
-Ryan
Created Date: December 22,2012
Created by: thebeast
Ryan,
I ended up using the digital frequency output with the terminals labeled DCM and FO. I wired them to a solid state relay that only needs a 3 to 26 VDC signal at a minimum of .3 amps to close the primary contact. The only drawback to this is when the drive is running the light flickers due to a pulsed voltage which is intended for a digital frequency output.otherwise it gives me exactly what i needed. Thanks you.
Created Date: November 13,2012
Created by: thebeast
I have four GS3 drives in my system. Is there a way to wire in a light to act as a capacitor charge indicator light? The drives take several seconds to completely dissipate the charge held by their internal capacitors. normally you just watch the drive until it shuts itself off completely. This is impossible to do when the drives are enclosed inside the control cabinet. The light would be mounted to the exterior of the cabinet so you could see it lit up or not depending on the drives charge status.thank you.