DAC-19m005: Is jumpering a fuse a fire risk? (ebay refurb)

[codertrevor]

Hello, everyone and thanks for reading!

Here's the story: thanks to badcaps.net, I've successfully recapped one of my two AL1916w's! Specifically, I recapped the power board, the DAC-19m005.

The other power board was still dead after recapping and replacing the MOSFET's, so I opted to just buy another board from ebay.

Now, I knew whatever I got from ebay would more-than-likely need to be recapped so I was not surprised to see only two of the original capXons replaced. BTW, they were replaced with "Hy" series caps. Anyone heard of them? About the nicest thing I can say for this refurb is that two of the 220uF 25v were replaced with 50v - so at least it's a higher rating.

What DID surprise me was that this person replaced fuse F200 with a 0 ohm resistor! Immediately my thought is, "Oh no! This is a fire hazard! I need to give him negative feedback right away so he doesn't do this shit again to someone less suspecting!"

Then I'm thinking, "Jeez, it probably tells you right on the board not to do that!" In fact, it says: Caution: AGAINST RISK OF FIRE, REPLACE ONLY WITH SAME TYPE AND RATING OF FUSE. (F103). So it rather seems that this fire warning only applies to F103?

Here's my question, oh wise people of Badcaps.net forums: How bad of a repair practice is this? Is this little fuse there to protect against fire or to protect the rest of the equipment? Is it worth giving this eBay seller (also the refurbisher) negative feedback?

P.S. I'm lucky enough to have extras of F200 on hand (4 amp fast blow from littelfuse) so it really is only a minor inconvenience for me; I'll be replacing the jumper with a fuse before I give it power and I knew I'd be recapping it anyway. I'm more worried about this person's other eBay customers.

[budm]

Re: DAC-19m005: Is jumpering a fuse a fire risk? (ebay refurb)

If it was not necessary, the manufacturer would not have put in the fuse if they do not have too, you know that manufacturer will always try to save money, so it is there for a reason. So during the design test, they do the overload test, something bad must have had happened so they put in the fuse.
You also have seen the DIY that will wrap blown fuse with tin foil or aluminum foil and put it back in the set.

[momaka]

Re: DAC-19m005: Is jumpering a fuse a fire risk? (ebay refurb)

It looks to me as if the jumper on spot F200 was placed at the factory rather than by the seller/refurbisher. If that's the case, then it's probably okay. That fuse is to protect the inverter from damage should a component go bad in it. The power supply has short-circuit protection, so if something shorted like the inverter driving transistors, the power supply will just keep restarting.

As a general rule, though - NEVER REPLACE/BYPASS FUSES WITH A WIRE OR SOLDER (unless of course it was done at the factory and only if the device is actually of reputable quality - i.e. not some cheap Chinese sweat-shop/garage build).

BTW, they were replaced with "Hy" series caps. Anyone heard of them?

You sure they are not "KY" with a small shield logo? Or perhaps "HE" (if you do see "HE" on them, then you should see "Nichicon" written somewhere too).
The fact that the refurbisher put 50V caps in place of 25V ones does not imply that he used quality caps. List brand and series of all the electrolytic caps on the board.

[cadiman]

Re: DAC-19m005: Is jumpering a fuse a fire risk? (ebay refurb)

I have repaired many boards and if I see a blown fuse I always solder an inline so I can install a replaceable fuse until the repair is final.

It can be a couple of wires and spade terminals that I can plug an automotive style fuse into. Like a 2 to 5 amp normally for lcd inverters. Once the repair is made I solder the correct fuse to the board.