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Safety Considerations – Fuses in Reference 3000 Counter/Working Cable
To replace the fuses:
1) Turn off the Reference 30k Booster power switch.
2) Disconnect the counter and working high-current cables from all electrochemical cells.
3) Grasp the portion of each fuse that protrudes through the Reference 30k Booster's front panel.
4) Pull the fuse out of the panel.
5) In many cases, visual examination of the fuse will show a discontinuity in the metal element, indicating
an open fuse. However, this is not always the case. More accurately, the resistance of the fuses can be
measured with an ohmmeter. Unblown fuse resistance should be less than 1 Ω. Blown fuses have very
high resistance.
6) Good fuses are reinserted by simply pressing them into the original fuse location.
7) The plastic portion of correctly inserted fuses should extend 3 to 5 mm from the front panel.
Caution:
Booster. Do not replace the fuses with incorrect values or types, or in any way circumvent the fuse action.
If your Reference 30k Booster routinely blows the cell fuses you could have a grounding problem, or it
could indicate a serious problem with the Reference 30k Booster. Consult Gamry Instruments or your local
representative for assistance.
An open fuse may or may not create overload indications in the system, depending on the control mode being
used in the test.
A Reference 30k Booster with one or both Front Panel cell fuses open can still allow current flow into or out of
the cell in "pass-through" mode. A different set of fuses in the Reference 3000 Counter/Working cable prevent
excessive current into the Reference 3000.
Fuses in Reference 3000 Counter/Working Cable
There are also 3.15 A fuses in the Reference 3000 Counter/Working cable. They are located on a small printed
circuit board inside the hood on the Reference 3000 end of the cable.
These fuses should never blow (open circuit) during normal operation of the system. They are present to
prevent damage to the Reference 3000 in two possible error conditions:
•
The first error condition requires a booster malfunction. The malfunction must cause one of the two
switches that enable pass-through to be set to the wrong state or must cause a switch failure. In this
condition, the cell's Counter electrode lead is connected to the 30 A booster and the cell's Working
lead is in pass-through mode. As a consequence, currents as high as 30 A could flow into the
Reference 3000's Working lead. The fuses in the Reference 3000 Counter/Working cable prevent
damage to the Reference 3000.
•
The second error condition can occur when the system is improperly grounded. In this condition, the
System Ground and earth ground are connected, and a cell with an earth ground connection is
operated in pass-through mode. When this occurs, the cell is short-circuited through the Reference
3000. The fuses in the Reference 3000 Counter/Working cable prevent damage to Reference 3000 if
the resulting currents exceed 3 A.
Contact Gamry Instruments technical support if the fuses in the Reference 3000 Counter/Working cable are
open circuit. If you need additional fuses, their Gamry P/N is 630-00021. The manufacturer is Littelfuse and
they are from their nano fuse series. The Littelfuse P/N is 04513.15MRL.
The cell fuses are important components for safe operation of the Reference 30k
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