Automated Fixtures MAC 2000 Profile Wiring Issues

[DP1673]

Hey guys, hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.
So I had 11 Martin Mac 2000 Profiles in use, now I have 10 because one decided to no longer lamp strike. I double checked the lamp (an OSRAM HTI 1200w /D7/75 SHARXS SFc10-4 Base metal halide specifically) and the lamp works fine in other fixtures. Come further investigation and I found that one of the wires in the base was burned to a crisp. I also looked in another fixture that has a similar lamp strike issue and found the same charred wire. It also appears that the wire that is supposedly burning/sparking during a lamp strike is also affecting the surrounding connections

Now I know I can re-terminate these wires but I would like to know why this would happen and how I can prevent it from happening to the others that I have in use? We use these fixtures about 4 times a week at a mega church so they are used quite often. I'll have the pictures posted. Hopefully this is somewhat of a simple fix considering how bad this looks

 

[brucek]

I would guess the crimps failed (they sometimes do that. Would not be the first crimp in a Mac2K to fail) and overheated everything . There is a good chance (because of the age of the unit) that the PF capacitors (what the crimps are on) are failing, causing excessive current in the unit. I think Martin used to recommend replacing them every 500 hrs or something like that....

 

[TimMc]

Those signs of excessive heat come from resistance. Resistance comes from incomplete compression of the crimp die or wrong terminal for wire size or the terminal portion does not have sufficient retention (it's loose-ish). Thermal expansion/contraction cycles make these worse over time, increasing resistance and arcing until total failure. @brucek is spot on about the caps, they're likely due for replacement.

One of the happiest days of my "manager" life was seeing the last batch of MAC 2Ks on our dock for buyer pick up.

 

[brucek]

One of the happiest days of my "manager" life was seeing the last batch of MAC 2Ks on our dock for buyer pick up.

Oh be nice. That fixture was the first of a new kind of technology. I once was in charge of maintaining the first batch MAC2K's in the USA. I performed so many upgrades to small parts and belts and clips, etc , as they improved them, that I think I could have opened up a fixture and changed a color flag, blind folded with my hands gaff taped behind my back using only a spoon in my teeth. Did you know that the early fixture did not have split sides, so you had to remove all modules and then the hot glass, and then the reflector to just change a lamp house fan.

I believe it was one of the first fixtures to use wires from the robotics industry, significantly cutting down on wire harness failures within the yokes. Also allowed for many more wires to pass through. In the end it became one of the first fixtures robust enough truck in their truss.

We don't dis your great grand parents.... don't be dis'ing Martin's great grand Parents.

 

[TimMc]

Oh be nice. That fixture was the first of a new kind of technology. I once was in charge of maintaining the first batch MAC2K's in the USA. I performed so many upgrades to small parts and belts and clips, etc , as they improved them, that I think I could have opened up a fixture and changed a color flag, blind folded with my hands gaff taped behind my back using only a spoon in my teeth. Did you know that the early fixture did not have split sides, so you had to remove all modules and then the hot glass, and then the reflector to just change a lamp house fan.

I believe it was one of the first fixtures to use wires from the robotics industry, significantly cutting down on wire harness failures within the yokes. Also allowed for many more wires to pass through. In the end it became one of the first fixtures robust enough truck in their truss.

We don't dis your great grand parents.... don't be dis'ing Martin's great grand Parents.

Ouch, touched a live wire, I did!

Strictly a business thing, Bruce. I did a similar Happy Dance (for different reasons) when I saw a dozen EAW KF850 loudspeakers on the same dock. Being in the moving light rental business is like being a keyboard player from about 1980-2010; new gear every year, all the new sounds (looks) and capabilities, and all the cool kids are using the new stuff. Keeping current with inventory requires either constant rentals or premium prices or a blend of both. My experience led to me only buy certain brands or models of movers when the first gig would pay for them, and then sell them off before they were out of warranty. It's an expensive way to do business and one of the reasons I'm happy to be out of management now.

 

[DP1673]

Oh be nice. That fixture was the first of a new kind of technology. I once was in charge of maintaining the first batch MAC2K's in the USA. I performed so many upgrades to small parts and belts and clips, etc , as they improved them, that I think I could have opened up a fixture and changed a color flag, blind folded with my hands gaff taped behind my back using only a spoon in my teeth. Did you know that the early fixture did not have split sides, so you had to remove all modules and then the hot glass, and then the reflector to just change a lamp house fan.

I believe it was one of the first fixtures to use wires from the robotics industry, significantly cutting down on wire harness failures within the yokes. Also allowed for many more wires to pass through. In the end it became one of the first fixtures robust enough truck in their truss.

We don't dis your great grand parents.... don't be dis'ing Martin's great grand Parents.

I would love if we switched over to newer/LED fixtures for movers. The MAC 2Ks we have are definitely on their last mile so I'm trying to convince them to throw those big boys out for Martin Mac Quantum Profiles. That would be a super nice upgrade for one of our big conferences. Obviously I have to rent a few so they can see a taste of what LED looks like but I'll see what happens. Right now I'm going to be repairing burnt wires and cyan errors for a little while longer.

Switching over to LED will also save us on power usage significantly.

 

[TimMc]

It's a great time (or a miserable time) because there are so many choices in fixtures now. Venues that are buying have different needs than tours or rental shops. I think you'll like the Quantum Profiles. See if you can get a demo.