Belkin power authority repair

[tillimon]

I took my Belkin power authority F5C120 apart to paint it and noticed that it had some fried wiring. Does anyone know what burned up so I can try to find one and replace it? I would also like to replace the switches with blue and green where can I find some? They are 15A 125V RF-1001.

 

[Jagtech]

It appears that you had a voltage spike. The burnt component is a varistor, used to protect your equipment from voltage spikes. You will need to replace that varistor with one rated for about 130 volts, and replace any damaged wiring, fuses and switches as necessary.

For replacement parts and switches, try Digikey or Mouser.

 

[(*steve*)]

You also need to note that your earth wire is broken (or was it screwed to the cover you've removed?)

Make sure that any varistor replacement is designed to operate with your mains voltage. Varistors can be rated according to their breakdown voltage (DC or RMS AC), or their working voltage (Again DC or RMS AC). If you get it wrong it will either die immediately, or offer you reduced protection.

Varistors are generally a bigger is better device. The power that they can absorb is related to their physical size. You have plenty of room, fit the biggest one to can find

 

[kpatz]

If I were to venture a guess about that ground (earth) wire, it looks like it was also connected to a varistor. You can still see part of a lead soldered to the wire.

So there were probably two varistors, one between hot (black) and neutral (white), and another between hot (black) and ground (green). You'll need to replace both.

It's also possible it was a dual varistor in one package with 3 leads, with the common lead connected to hot and the other two to neutral and ground.

 

[Jagtech]

If I were to venture a guess about that ground (earth) wire, it looks like it was also connected to a varistor. You can still see part of a lead soldered to the wire.

So there were probably two varistors, one between hot (black) and neutral (white), and another between hot (black) and ground (green). You'll need to replace both.

It's also possible it was a dual varistor in one package with 3 leads, with the common lead connected to hot and the other two to neutral and ground.

I tend to agree - on closer inspection this may have been a dual (3-lead) varistor. That might be harder to find, but one can just use two single varistors in its place.