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Whelen strobe power supply repair

RV6_flyer

Well Known Member
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Just did a search to see if there were any about Whelen strobe power supply repair and found NONE.

Does anyone know anything about repairing a Whelen strobe power supply?

Are there any companies in business that repair them?

I have a separate Whelen power supply for each of my 3 strobe lights. One was found INOP yesterday and today it was confirmed that it is the power supply. It has been in use for almost 13.5 years and has around 2,470 hours of operation.
 
More than likely, it is the capacitors that have given it up. They are a life limited component. If you have nothing to lose, open it up and replace the big electrolytics (metal canned capacitors). I have done it a couple of times for others.
 
Strobe Power Supply

One thing to try-reset the condenser polarity:

"Any strobe light power supply that has been out of
service for a long period of time is subject to failure because the electrolytic
condenser loses the polarity formation. A strobe light power
supply not having been used for one year or longer is vulnerable to
failure, applies to 1993 & older units.
If this is the case, it is recommended to start operating the system on
a voltage that is reduced by 25 percent for 10 to 15 minutes before
putting the power supply into normal service. This will prevent overheating
of the condenser while they reform. If the power supply, after
a long period of non use, is operated at full voltage immediately, there
is an excellent possibility that the condenser will become overheated."

Whelen; see: http://www.whelen.com/pb/Aviation/C...t_Systems_Installation_and_Service_Manual.pdf

This manual also has a troubleshooting diagram and instructions.

Good luck,
Mike
 
Whelen

Gary - I had problems with my strobes that turned out to be my panel switch but in the process of troubleshooting and repair, I contacted Whelen directly and sent my power supply to their repair shop in CT for checkout after some email exchanges with one of their tech support folks.

Had very good customer support and although I expected to get charged for their time and testing since I really should have been able to figure out the switch issue without sending the p/s to them, they checked and bench tested my unit and sent it back free of charge. Even put new connectors in the box (main power and jumper plug). Not sure what they'd charge for repair of a supply like yours but their tech support might be able to give you an idea.
 
Whelen

Sent my 10 year old double flash power supply to Whelen in Connecticut.
They checked it immediately and sent the results via email to me. :) They claimed the unit could not be repaired because the parts needed were obsolete. :confused: They wanted $50.00 for that advice if I wanted the broken unit back. I thought that was ridiculous since it is made up of off the shelve electronic parts. I pushed the issue with them till they sent a letter saying that the unit had been superseded by the Comet (four flash) unit and by FAA law they could only fix my unit if they could bring it up to the new comet flash standard. They offered to sell me a new unit. :rolleyes: Personally I think the double flash units are brighter. Only two flashes but they are brighter than the four flash units that seem to peter off after the first flash. This left a nasty taste in my mouth for Whelen. Seems like they should be able to service anything that have manufactured. Felt like they just wanted to sell me a new one IMHO.
 
Just did a search to see if there were any about Whelen strobe power supply repair and found NONE.

Does anyone know anything about repairing a Whelen strobe power supply?

Are there any companies in business that repair them?

I have a separate Whelen power supply for each of my 3 strobe lights. One was found INOP yesterday and today it was confirmed that it is the power supply. It has been in use for almost 13.5 years and has around 2,470 hours of operation.

Gary,

Doesn't sound like you are sending your power supply back to Whelen but just know that if the unit is over 10 years old they will not repair it. I recently sent my 10+ year old Comet Flash unit to them for repairs and they informed me that the unit worked normally and hinted that the problem was a bad connector (corroded) and sent it back to me with a pair of connectors and only charged for freight back to me. They said they are not allowed to work on units over 10 years old. When I get it back I hope to be able to swap connectors and should be good to go.
 
I am unsure why they don't want to work on the 10 yr old units

that is where I make 90% of my income on hvac systems. Their out of warranty at 5 or 10 yrs for me. I think like someone else said they would rather sell you a new one and not have to worry about something else going bad in the unit a year from now. I go out to fix hvac units sometimes every year after 10 yrs. It is most always cheaper to fix than buy a new one. I would attempt repairing it myself first, then buy a new one if that does not work.
 
Good Thread that the search engine does not find

Just did a search to see if there were any about Whelen strobe power supply repair and found NONE.

Does anyone know anything about repairing a Whelen strobe power supply?

Are there any companies in business that repair them?

I have a separate Whelen power supply for each of my 3 strobe lights. One was found INOP yesterday and today it was confirmed that it is the power supply. It has been in use for almost 13.5 years and has around 2,470 hours of operation.

Gary,
You might find the thread below worthwhile. Skip the first 5 posts. See

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=35298&highlight=power+supply+Dan+Blumel

Charlie Kuss
 
replacement options

Little bit of thread drift risk with this post but it's interesting that Whelen won't work on anything over 10 years old and instead pushes owners to buy new instead....I had already decided when troubleshooting mine that if the power supply was bad, I'd ditch the Whelen system alltogether and replace with the AeroLED units Van's is selling. The LED system is expensive, but so are the Whelen power supplies and inevitable required replacement bulbs, lenses, etc. The LED system "should" last longer, is lighter, simpler, and has direct replacement footprint for the wingtip lights I installed. I looked at the AeroLED lights at Van's when I stopped there last year and thought it looked like a good option. Hope to see some reliability/longevity reports as people get more hours and years on the LED systems.
 
this is......

an interesting post as my unit is over ten years old now. i hope i remember this when it poops out.

you might try calling up again as a 'different' person and probe them for them for 'information' about the situation. now that you have been thru it once you may know what to ask. who know in this world.
 
Whelen

-8A with 97 hours on it. First flight was early Apr 2011.

Wing strobes suddenly quit. I called Whelen customer service, thinking that with 6 months of operation and less than 100 flight hours the power supply would still be under warranty.

Not so fast. I was told that the warranty was only good for 1 year after manufacter. Didn't get into a manufacter date / purchase date debate, but even 1 year from purchase would put the thing out of warranty on first flight for the vast majority of homebuilts. So why bother with Whelen?

Am I missing something?
 
whelen

Had mine repaired after less than 300 hrs. it lasted another 150 after the repair. Threw it in the garbage, thats what I should have done the first time, and bought a power supply from "Strobes and More". Works great and is less than half the price.
 
My port side strobe power supply bit the dust just last week... Sent it in to AeroFlash... was told "over 10 years old, can't repair/overhaul"... Must purchase new one... at $120...!!
Seems same deal as Whelen.... What gives..??
Sheldon
 
Starting to think that there maybe a business opportunity here for someone that has the skill, time, and parts source to repair old power supplies.

I could do the work BUT lack of time and too long of a time from chasing parts are my issues.
 
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