Broken extractor fan

[Kaya]

Don't know if anyone will be able to help, but I went to water my plants and noticed the extractor fan has stopped working. Nothing has been moved or anything, its normally on 24/7. The wires havent come out or anything like that so im baffled, it was fine last night. Will it just be a case of changing the plug or fuse or something? Any help would be much apreciated :) I know no one will be able to tell me exactly whats wrong with it or anything, but maybe this has happened to someone else. If i do change the plug and it still doesnt work is there anything else i can do or will it just be a case of getting a new one from greens? Im pretty useless when things like this happen :( Cheers in advance :)

[-Smokey-]

Have you had it long? Hows the fuse? Does it stilll have warrenty?

[Midnight Toker]

I presume you've tried it without a timer attached ? ... they blow too.

fuse in an extension lead ?,

switched off at the mains is always a goodun.

it really could be anything, i see the most obvious things in my job everyday as a techie.

If yer lucky it'll just be something really silly ... if not, get yer wallet out !

[Kaya]

Have you had it long? Hows the fuse? Does it stilll have warrenty?

*Sighs* Ebay :( I had to wire it myself ,so it could well be the fuse, its old. Ive had it about a year now, its on its second grow.


I presume you've tried it without a timer attached ? ... they blow too.

fuse in an extension lead ?,

switched off at the mains is always a goodun.

it really could be anything, i see the most obvious things in my job everyday as a techie.

If yer lucky it'll just be something really silly ... if not, get yer wallet out !

Yeah I tried my clip on fan in the same plug as the extractor fan and it worked :( Tried my extractor in the main socket on its own and it still never worked.

Its not actually on a timer, so does that mean its not likely to be a blown fuse? (or can you blow a fuse like that, i thought you only blew a fuse when you turned something on)

Now I had to wire this myself, so i used an old wire (got it off my mum cant remember what its off). So im hoping it will be that, but I havent got any wire to use, ill have to pick some up tommorow. Dont really want to go out and buy wire and a plug if they wont work any way, so is there a way i can test if it is the wire and plug thats the problem?

Sorry for my idiot questions apreciate you helping me ill proably have more questions, im just like that :p:sorry:

[ap23]

Hi Kaya, sorry to hear the bad news mate.

Fuses can blow any time but usually only blow when something is just switched on because of the high inrush of current.
Definitly check that nothing is obstructing the motor's rotation! Unplug it and make sure you can turn it with your fingers a few cycles.

To test the fuse properly itself you will need a multimeter to check resistance between the two end-points of the fuse.

Multimeters are a bit pricey so I would suggest you to go to b&q get some 1/1.5mm 3 core cable and a new plug with fuse. It will only cost a couple of quid and you'll know for sure. I'm not sure what size fuse I used although I think it was just a 3A. It would be worth emailing greens and finding out what they say is recommended. Try that if you don't get any joy post back here and I will go check.

Good luck let us know how it goes

[yavana]

Yeh, I'd just repeat the steps that you did when you had to set it up. Try testing just the motor (assuming the motor can take current straight from the wall, the ones I saw in the States did). Even without a multimeter, you should be able to figure out where the unit failed based if the motor wants to run straight from the wall.

I'd replace everything you had to do yourself, think of it this way - if you buy a new unit, you'll probably have a use for the wiring anyways :)

[ap23]

Yeh, I'd just repeat the steps that you did when you had to set it up. Try testing just the motor (assuming the motor can take current straight from the wall, the ones I saw in the States did). Even without a multimeter, you should be able to figure out where the unit failed based if the motor wants to run straight from the wall.

I'd replace everything you had to do yourself, think of it this way - if you buy a new unit, you'll probably have a use for the wiring anyways :)

Pretty sure he is running it straight from mains anyway