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Completely dead AFM

VeeMonroe

VeeMonroe

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Joined
Aug 4, 2021
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2,844
Location
London
The AFM was working when it arrived last night. My husband switched it off, switched on again and it's now not working at all. It's completely dead, no lights, nothing to trouble shoot, not switching on!

He's switched the mains cable to check if that's the problem (and it's not). Any ideas?
 
Andydn said:
I had this once & it was the circuit breaker had tripped! Def worth checking.
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Circuit breaker in the house? Our Fish Tales is switching on and it’s in the same room.

I’ll also go and check downstairs in the circuit box UPDATE: The circuit breakers in the house haven’t tripped

(Or do you mean something in the pin?)
 
Check the mains fuse in the front of the cab maybe?

Edit: also I once had the PTC thermistor in there blow up, causing the same system.
 
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Circuit breaker in the house? Our Fish Tales is switching on and it’s in the same room.

I wouldn’t have known this, was just a suggestion before you dig too deep.
 
Andydn said:
Circuit breaker in the house? Our Fish Tales is switching on and it’s in the same room.

I wouldn’t have known this, was just a suggestion before you dig too deep.
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Yes, thanks for the suggestion - I switched FT on after you suggested it, to check it worked, and I also went down into the cellar to look at the circuit breakers :) It’s good to start with simple ideas first :)

AFM is now back on with a 3A fuse. It was the main fuse that had blown - thanks, everyone :)
 
VeeMonroe said:
Yes, thanks for the suggestion - I switched FT on after you suggested it, to check it worked, and I also went down into the cellar to look at the circuit breakers :) It’s good to start with simple ideas first :)

AFM is now back on with a 3A fuse. It was the main fuse that had blown - thanks, everyone :)
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Which main fuse, the one in the plug or the one in the switch box?

David
 
3A seems low for the machines' main input fuse. The general rule for Williams games used to be 4A for the u.k, 8A for the u.s.a., i.e. "twice the voltage, half the current". Even with a 4A fuse, there used to be the occasional failure at power-on, due to a surge of 'inrush current' before the transformer built up its magnetic field(s) and subdued the surge. Though as mentioned, a thermistor in series with the fuse was Williams' solution for this.

I was called out to a flintstones, which showed no sign of life; the mains plug had a blown 3A fuse fitted. The location said that health and safety had visited, and changed it*, possibly based on the stated power consumption of the machine. Going by that, 3A could seem plenty, but the initial surge start-up meant it wasn't.


* though if they knew that, why resort to a service call?
 
Jay Walker said:
3A seems low for the machines' main input fuse. The general rule for Williams games used to be 4A for the u.k, 8A for the u.s.a., i.e. "twice the voltage, half the current". Even with a 4A fuse, there used to be the occasional failure at power-on, due to a surge of 'inrush current' before the transformer built up its magnetic field(s) and subdued the surge. Though as mentioned, a thermistor in series with the fuse was Williams' solution for this.

I was called out to a flintstones, which showed no sign of life; the mains plug had a blown 3A fuse fitted. The location said that health and safety had visited, and changed it*, possibly based on the stated power consumption of the machine. Going by that, 3A could seem plenty, but the initial surge start-up meant it wasn't.


* though if they knew that, why resort to a service call?
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It needs a 4A, but we don't have one, so we're using a 3A until some 4As arrive! Nonetheless, the pin is now working (for the moment) :)

Thanks, everyone! 🥰
 
Dave Playman said:
@JAG555 you might find this thread helpful mate, given you currently have similar issues ⚡️
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Thanks mate! @VeeMonroe having the same issue with my Fish Tales. It was working fine, then last week wouldn’t turn on without tripping the RCD for my games room. It had also blown the fuse in the switch box, which was 4A. It does it whether it is switched on or off by the machine.

On reading, it looks like the Line Filter has failed, so I am waiting for a new one to arrive. I will keep you posted.

I also need to upgrade the fuse to 5A, as per the manual.
 
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What fuse should be used in the kettle lead plug to the wall, as my new lead has a 5A, but I have read that it should be 13A?
 
JAG555 said:
What fuse should be used in the kettle lead plug to the wall, as my new lead has a 5A, but I have read that it should be 13A?
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You should be able to go with either in this case - so long as it's more than what's in the front of the cab it shouldn't matter.
 
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