Quote:
Originally Posted by h0ughy
My new second hand redcat51 dad 3 focuser just died. I must have made some stupid mistake connecting it up and powering up. To be honest I am gutted. It certainly doesn't smell nice. And I don't actually think that the inside should look like that  
And here I was preparing for spsp |
Sorry to hear of your woes. It looks as though it may be as simple as failure of the electrolytic capacitor as others have stated. This can be caused by over voltage, reverse polarity, or long term aging of the capacitor resulting in increased internal resistance ( esr) which in turn results in overheating and failure. And when they blow as you know they smell terrible.
I would simply get the capacitor replaced, if it's possible to carefully read the capacitor rating on the plastic sleeve of the capacitor, BUT BEFORE DOING THAT, OR EVEN REPLACING THE WHOLE BOARD, I would make sure that the correct power supply is being used, and even if the correct power supply is being used I would test its output to ensure it meets the specification of the focuser, for both correct DC voltage output and the absence of other potential unwanted output such as AC spikes or excessive AC content.
Best
JA
Come to think of it, this wouldn't be your first time so probably a good move 
