buckhorn_cortez
Knows what a fatty is.
I have a BBQ Guru DigiQ DX 2 setup on my smoker. It has worked flawlessly for a year - except for today. I run the system from a 12 Volt battery because it's easier than stringing an extension cord from the nearest outlet to the smoker.
Today, I powered everything up to warm up the smoker and then went in to finish prepping the meat. Came out 40 minutes later to check on how hot the smoker was, and the DigiQ was dead.
Played around with the power cable and - no joy.
When I had a chance, I got out the 12 Volt power supply and hooked up the DigiQ and it powered up. Took it out and put it back on the battery and everything was fine. Came out 30 minutes later - dead DigiQ.
So, I got an extension cord and the 12 Volt power supply and hooked the DigiQ to the power supply and everything worked fine.
Here's the problem I discovered. The 12 VDC cable has small alligator clips on the battery end. Got out my multi-meter and played around with the cable and every so often I could get a totally open on the negative lead near the alligator clip.
I figured internally broke wire, so I clipped the wire back about 1-inch. But - here's the actual problem. When the manufacturer of the power cable soldered the wire to the alligator clip, it was a cold solder joint.
When I undid the small hold-down clips from the wire - it simply fell off of the clip. There is a small hole in the clip for the solder to flow into (which it did). However, when they pinched the hold-downs onto the wire it very slightly lifted the wire up in the clip. The only point that was making contact was the solder in the hole.
My best guess, is that when the current was flowing through the clip, it very slowly heated up. When the temperature got to a certain point the hole would become large enough that the solder would no longer contact the edges of the hole creating an open wire.
Soldered the wire onto the clip correctly, and the cable now works.
Note to self: when troubleshooting - don't overlook the least obvious, least likely failure point.
Hope this helps someone else in the future.
Today, I powered everything up to warm up the smoker and then went in to finish prepping the meat. Came out 40 minutes later to check on how hot the smoker was, and the DigiQ was dead.
Played around with the power cable and - no joy.
When I had a chance, I got out the 12 Volt power supply and hooked up the DigiQ and it powered up. Took it out and put it back on the battery and everything was fine. Came out 30 minutes later - dead DigiQ.
So, I got an extension cord and the 12 Volt power supply and hooked the DigiQ to the power supply and everything worked fine.
Here's the problem I discovered. The 12 VDC cable has small alligator clips on the battery end. Got out my multi-meter and played around with the cable and every so often I could get a totally open on the negative lead near the alligator clip.
I figured internally broke wire, so I clipped the wire back about 1-inch. But - here's the actual problem. When the manufacturer of the power cable soldered the wire to the alligator clip, it was a cold solder joint.
When I undid the small hold-down clips from the wire - it simply fell off of the clip. There is a small hole in the clip for the solder to flow into (which it did). However, when they pinched the hold-downs onto the wire it very slightly lifted the wire up in the clip. The only point that was making contact was the solder in the hole.
My best guess, is that when the current was flowing through the clip, it very slowly heated up. When the temperature got to a certain point the hole would become large enough that the solder would no longer contact the edges of the hole creating an open wire.
Soldered the wire onto the clip correctly, and the cable now works.
Note to self: when troubleshooting - don't overlook the least obvious, least likely failure point.
Hope this helps someone else in the future.
