Swapped out a 20-year-old controller last Tuesday and learned my lesson fast

Had an old MCE controller throw a fault code I had never seen before. Tried to reset it three times but it kept tripping the mainline. Finally dragged the laptop out and ran the diagnostic, turns out the processor board was fried. Shoulda checked that first instead of wasting an hour on resets. Any of you guys carry spare processor boards on the truck or just order as needed?

2 comments

2 Comments

miab873d ago

Used to be one of those guys who would just order stuff as it broke. Thought keeping spare boards on the truck was a waste of space and money. Then I had a job last winter where a VFD control board went out on a Sunday night at a grocery store. Took three days to get the replacement shipped in. Store lost a whole freezer section. Now I keep a couple common processor boards in a plastic bin behind the seat. Costs me around $200 to keep them there but saved my butt twice since. That old MCE board sounds like a pain, sorry you had to chase it like that.

barbara843d ago

Had a buddy who did the exact same thing with an older Carrier controller last spring. He spent a whole Saturday resetting that thing thinking it was a glitch, even swapped out the relay board before he finally checked the processor. By the time he figured it out the supply house was closed till Monday. He had to borrow a board from a unit at his own house just to get the customer running. Now he keeps three common spares in a little tote with foam cutouts.