Hi;
Has anyone ever wondered what the little green (or other color) LED labeled 'Protected when Lit" on your surge protection device means?
You would assume that when the LED goes out, it's time to replace the device, right?
Well, I have had this suspicion for years that the "Protected when Lit" LED doesn't indicate anything except that the internal fuse is good, and that the LED is still working!
This morning, I proved my theory.
I noticed that the LED on my Radio Shack single outlet model 61-2133 which was protecting my microwave oven was out.
I opened up the unit, and found what I had anticipated. The LED is wired through a 24K resistor directly across the fused 115VAC mains!
This means that when the LED goes out, it indicates only that the LED has blown, or the fuse has blown. In my case, the appliance connected to the device was still working, so I knew that the fuse had not blown.
Checking the other components inside the device, I found everything looked good, so I will continue to use this device instead of going to Radio Shack to buy another one, as the designers had intended me to do.
Fuel for thought.
FW
Has anyone ever wondered what the little green (or other color) LED labeled 'Protected when Lit" on your surge protection device means?
You would assume that when the LED goes out, it's time to replace the device, right?
Well, I have had this suspicion for years that the "Protected when Lit" LED doesn't indicate anything except that the internal fuse is good, and that the LED is still working!
This morning, I proved my theory.
I noticed that the LED on my Radio Shack single outlet model 61-2133 which was protecting my microwave oven was out.
I opened up the unit, and found what I had anticipated. The LED is wired through a 24K resistor directly across the fused 115VAC mains!
This means that when the LED goes out, it indicates only that the LED has blown, or the fuse has blown. In my case, the appliance connected to the device was still working, so I knew that the fuse had not blown.
Checking the other components inside the device, I found everything looked good, so I will continue to use this device instead of going to Radio Shack to buy another one, as the designers had intended me to do.
Fuel for thought.
FW