Causes of Common Electronic System Failures

Causes of Common Electronic System Failures

There are nearly an infinite number of things that can cause any electrical system or subsystem to fail. The more moving parts there are, the more things that can go wrong! However, the vast majority electrical failures are fairly common ones that are easiest to spot. Many times, what appears to be a catastrophic failure is really just a simple problem that is easily resolved. If you are trying to troubleshoot a circuit board or control system that has just suddenly stopped working, here are a few things you can quickly check.

Dirt, Dust, Moisture and Oil

Anytime dirt gets inside a system, there is the potential for short circuits or noise. One simple and easy thing you can do is clean out the inside of an electrical cabinet. If you use pressurized air, be careful to choose the right kind. Select pressurized air that is made especially for electronic equipment, because other kinds can cause static buildup and discharge, which can further damage the components inside. Clean the edges of gold connectors if they are dirty, and use a proper cleaning solution. Rubbing alcohol can clean a connector, but attract more dirt. If moisture or water has gotten into your electronic component, turn it off and let it dry completely. Also be careful of machine oils and lubricants as these can damage electrical circuits as well.

Loose Cables

Many times, problems that appear to be severe only occur because a cable worked its way loose. If you have cables that are hanging from the side of a machine or piece of electronic equipment, this can occur as the result of the cable weight on the plug. Many times, plugs are used to hold up the weight of a cable when they were not designed for this. If a cable works its way loose, try using some plastic wire ties to secure the cable to a post, chassis, or some other part of the system to hold up the weight of the cable. This is especially important if there is vibration or movement in the area as this is one of the main reasons why cables will work themselves loose.

Metal Shavings

As any electrical technician in an industrial environment can tell you, tiny metal shavings are disastrous for circuit boards. This is truer than ever before, due to the fact that newer circuit boards nearly all use surface mount technology. Surface mount circuit boards allow for smaller microchips, and a greater number of components on a smaller surface. Also—and here’s where the problem comes in—surface mount chips have skinnier leads that are much closer together. That means that it doesn’t take much to short two leads on a chip. With older through-hole boards, it took something the size of a staple or a paper clip to cause a short, but not any more. If you are drilling a hole in a metal cabinet, take care to cover all electronics as completely as possible. If you can remove circuit boards from the area while drilling, that’s even better.

With most electrical problems, you might be surprised just how often a quick visual inspection will reveal the source of a problem. While not every electronic problem is simple and easy to fix, it is easy to spend hours looking for the problem in complicated places, only to find that something simple was overlooked all along. Whenever there is an electronic problem, just start by taking a cursory look over the obvious areas of the equipment and see what you can find.

This entry was posted on September 18th, 2013 and is filed under Electrical, Technology. Both comments and pings are currently closed.