I guess the TVS’s I had installed on all of my command devices did not prevent a failure from a power surge. I had damage to an ASC, a DZ-Stuff Data Wire Driver and all my DZ-2500 switch machines.
They had been installed for several years. I wonder if they need to be replaced after a certain period of time. If so what interval would that be.
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I don't know if TVSs have a life expectancy, but I suspect you might get more and better answers if you provided some specifics about them. Manufacturer, operating statistics, exactly when you purchased them, and how you put them into your model railroad electrical system. I will say that something worked right if you had a power surge and lost no transformers or engines or other accessories.
Chuck
WAYNE, when you say a power surge, are you saying at the outlet your plugged into?
I just know that all my high-end electronics are protected by a large surge protector. Although not in Arizona, here in Northwest Iowa we get our share of lightning. We occasionally get it the winter associated with heavy snow. We call it thunder snow.
Dick
What happened was I had a loose wire on my BPC and when I reconnected it there was a spark as I had stupidly failed to turn off the power from my K-Line 120 watt Fire Chief fix voltage transformer. I had 15 volts going to my accessories.
All inputs and outputs from my transformers have 1.5KE33CA Transient Voltage Surpressor attached. However, there were none attached to the ASC or BPC but they should have been protected from a power surge.
The power surge blew a relay in the ASC that affected but did not damage the BPC. Once I replaced the ASC the BPC was able to be reprogrammed and then functioned normally.
That’s as much information I can provide.
It's impossible to totally protect any device from all external hazards. Lots of things could have happened to cause this failure. The TVS is like a seat belt, it provides protection, but not absolute protection.
Yes, If it failed in an open condition you would not know it and lose protection. G
TVS diodes are a wear item and breakdown over time in service. They need to be proactively replaced arter a large incident and on a regular maintenance schedule.
Your residential surge protectors suggest replacement every 2 or so years.
Residential surge suppressors use MOV devices, they're totally different in operation than a TVS device under discussion. MOV devices degrade with every surge, TVS devices will die if subjected to an overload. In the absence of any surge past it's ratings, a TVS should last for many years. A TVS can also have degraded function, that's also a product of exceeding it's ratings as a rule.
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