These are just a few pictures of a recent incident with a streetlight connected directly to the street buss with no fusing....The photoswitch burned up in the glove of the lineman as soon as he plugged it in.
Rewired (Adam Derus)
![[Linked Image]](https://www.electrical-contractor.net/forum/el/adpc1.jpg)
![[Linked Image]](https://www.electrical-contractor.net/forum/el/adpc2.jpg)
![[Linked Image]](https://www.electrical-contractor.net/forum/el/adpc3.jpg)
[This message has been edited by electure (edited 02-26-2006).]
Wowzers, Adam. Don't think we can save that one!
Incorrect photoswitch? Maybe the internal connections didn't match the old one, and this one had its switch contacts short the line?
It looks like that the new terminations were different here to me and I have to agree with Wa2ise.
I had a similar incident in the Hobsonville substation, when replacing a faulty S.L. lightcell on the roof, for the area streetlighting, where the sun had faded the control wire colours and I got brown and black wires transposed.
Luckily it blew only a 6 Amp HRC fuse in the control panel.
I did mark the control wires with Grafoplast coding afterwards to avoid future wiring errors, and fitted the terminations in a watertight enclosure.
Actually I do not know what the problem was, I DO "own" the fixture now so I will look into it tonight.. All the photo switches are the "same" or at least should be as for pin configuration and designation.. My boss thought possibly the guts of the photo eye were messed up or the photo eye receptacle had a problem.. I did have a quick look at the ballast and nothing seems wrong, but I will give it a good going over and report back tomorrow after I get in from work.
A.D
It took a line surge, lightning, or strong static/wind. I've seen that done to many pc in the desert southwest.
HP
Wa2ise and RODALCO were correct... I looked at the mess lastnight... I did not find anything wrong with the ballast, it looks pristine.. I did notice the neutral wire burned off the back of the photoeye receptacle so it had to have been the "return path" for the fault... The receptacle even though incinerated to a crisp, it was "intact" to where nothing shorted out in the receptacle between terminals, so the problem must have been a defective photoeye... Thats what I am guessing anyway..
A.D
[This message has been edited by Rewired (edited 02-28-2006).]
[This message has been edited by Rewired (edited 02-28-2006).]