How does heat affect drive operation?06/30/2017We hear it time and time again. “We’re getting a heat-related fault on our drive. Is there anything that we can do out in the field?” In a word yes. Summertime heat can really cause you some aggravation in your production. Heat and electronics don’t make for good partners. Admittedly, it’s a better partnership than water and electronics, but it can still cause its own brand of mayhem.So what to do? The obvious answer is lower the ambient temperature in which the drive operates. Most drives will operate in temperatures up to about the 125 degree Fahrenheit temperature range. If your ambient temperature is too high, even if you have fans moving air around, it’s just moving hot air. This will do little to keep the drive cool enough to run without getting overheating errors. And while these overheat faults can sometimes be reset, they are quite the nuisance. It’s still best to keep everything as cool as possible. Additional air conditioning may be required to keep small or enclosed spaces cool enough to maintain an adequately low ambient temperature. If your drive is in an enclosure that is outdoors and receives direct sunlight, reducing the temperature of the enclosure may be as simple as blocking the sunlight and casting shade on the enclosure for the times of day that the sun is hitting it directly. If shade alone is not keeping the temperature low enough, you may consider channeling some chilled air directly into the enclosure along with exhaust to allow the heat to escape.“But wait, I’ve got the ambient temperature in which the drive operates down to a level that allows for adequate cooling, but my ABB AC drive fault is still showing the overheat fault 3 code. Now what?” If this is the case and your drive still will not run, check the fan to make sure it is capable of moving adequate air directly into the drive. Be sure the fan and any fan filters are clean and free of debris. Also check the fan for proper rotation. Be sure it does indeed spin and is not slow or bound up.If your fans are clean and operating properly, the drive may have a problem with the temperature sensing circuitry. Once you’ve gone through your troubleshooting steps and made the determination that this is the case, or even if you’ve found that your fans are indeed bad, call 800-732-4695 to reach the experts at PES to get your drive repaired so it will operate as it should. Back To Blog
How does heat affect drive operation?06/30/2017We hear it time and time again. “We’re getting a heat-related fault on our drive. Is there anything that we can do out in the field?” In a word yes. Summertime heat can really cause you some aggravation in your production. Heat and electronics don’t make for good partners. Admittedly, it’s a better partnership than water and electronics, but it can still cause its own brand of mayhem.So what to do? The obvious answer is lower the ambient temperature in which the drive operates. Most drives will operate in temperatures up to about the 125 degree Fahrenheit temperature range. If your ambient temperature is too high, even if you have fans moving air around, it’s just moving hot air. This will do little to keep the drive cool enough to run without getting overheating errors. And while these overheat faults can sometimes be reset, they are quite the nuisance. It’s still best to keep everything as cool as possible. Additional air conditioning may be required to keep small or enclosed spaces cool enough to maintain an adequately low ambient temperature. If your drive is in an enclosure that is outdoors and receives direct sunlight, reducing the temperature of the enclosure may be as simple as blocking the sunlight and casting shade on the enclosure for the times of day that the sun is hitting it directly. If shade alone is not keeping the temperature low enough, you may consider channeling some chilled air directly into the enclosure along with exhaust to allow the heat to escape.“But wait, I’ve got the ambient temperature in which the drive operates down to a level that allows for adequate cooling, but my ABB AC drive fault is still showing the overheat fault 3 code. Now what?” If this is the case and your drive still will not run, check the fan to make sure it is capable of moving adequate air directly into the drive. Be sure the fan and any fan filters are clean and free of debris. Also check the fan for proper rotation. Be sure it does indeed spin and is not slow or bound up.If your fans are clean and operating properly, the drive may have a problem with the temperature sensing circuitry. Once you’ve gone through your troubleshooting steps and made the determination that this is the case, or even if you’ve found that your fans are indeed bad, call 800-732-4695 to reach the experts at PES to get your drive repaired so it will operate as it should.