Hi,
I have one of the fiber optic Christmas trees that has 7 halogen bulbs and a couple of wheels that change the color/light pattern. The fan died on my unit, so it would keep tripping the heat sensor and shut off the bulbs. I bought a replacement fan (60mm x 60mm x 25mm). The power source for this unit appears to be 12v AC. However, the original fan was 12v DC and had a 470 microfarad capacitor (25v) wired in parallel with the fan.
I got a new capacitor to be safe (although the old one looks fine). I wired everything up and turned it on and it worked beautifully for about 10 seconds before the capacitor became a firecracker. I believe the new fan draws closer to 0.2A while the original was rated at 0.1A.
I'm trying to understand the purpose of the capacitor and if maybe I need to change the size since the new motor draws a little more current? I'm a little confused as to whether the capacitor is there to help the DC fan run on AC or whether it's for RM interference? There are no diodes or rectifiers or anything else that would convert the current to DC.
Can someone help? I can add pictures if needed. Thanks!
Brian
I have one of the fiber optic Christmas trees that has 7 halogen bulbs and a couple of wheels that change the color/light pattern. The fan died on my unit, so it would keep tripping the heat sensor and shut off the bulbs. I bought a replacement fan (60mm x 60mm x 25mm). The power source for this unit appears to be 12v AC. However, the original fan was 12v DC and had a 470 microfarad capacitor (25v) wired in parallel with the fan.
I got a new capacitor to be safe (although the old one looks fine). I wired everything up and turned it on and it worked beautifully for about 10 seconds before the capacitor became a firecracker. I believe the new fan draws closer to 0.2A while the original was rated at 0.1A.
I'm trying to understand the purpose of the capacitor and if maybe I need to change the size since the new motor draws a little more current? I'm a little confused as to whether the capacitor is there to help the DC fan run on AC or whether it's for RM interference? There are no diodes or rectifiers or anything else that would convert the current to DC.
Can someone help? I can add pictures if needed. Thanks!
Brian