On Fri, 08 Apr 2011 19:52:06 -0500, Steve Turner
wrote:

A continuation of the "Why does the 115V-24V transformer keep blowing on my
Trane XB80?" discussion I started on 04/02/2011.

Yep, My A/C unit blew another transformer. Pictures (and wiring diagram) he

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbqboye...7626457562742/

Trane's manual for the unit is here (for perhaps better viewing of the wiring
diagrams that I also copied to my above flickr site as jpg images):


http://www.trane.com/webcache/un/fur...7_04012009.pdf

As you can probably see in the pictures, there is visible charring of the 115V
leads going into the transformer, and of course the 115V circuit is open
(again). If you didn't see my first thread, this is the third transformer the
unit has blown. In the previous discussion, it was discussed that perhaps the
first one just blew because of old age (6 years), and the second blew because
it wasn't a proper replacement (poor quality, made in China, etc.). This third
unit is most certainly a proper replacement, and it's most certainly indicative
of a real problem I have somewhere else in the unit. I didn't see any such
charring on the previous two units, at least not like this.

I never got a real chance to test out the system after installing this third
transformer. We had cool weather for several days, and I never tried to force
the system to come on so I could monitor it; that was probably a mistake.
Unfortunately, I was also absent from the premises during the extended times
when the unit was most likely operational, so that didn't help either.
However, my family tells me that it WAS working and cooling the house rather
nicely, for at least a day, perhaps two. I'm getting 115V in all the right
places, so it doesn't look like an over-voltage condition to me. Perhaps it's
an overheating condition? It looks to me like the only real load on this
circuit is the blower motor; could the motor be causing this? The blower spins
freely when I turn it by hand. Start capacitor on the motor maybe? Relay on
the control board perhaps?
The blower motor is NOT running on the 24 volt transformer, so will
have NO effect on the transformer.

You NEED to fuse the secondary - then IF it is an overload problem you
will just pop the fuse, and not the transformer. 24 volt, 35 VA = 1,5
amp FAST BLOW fuse.

If the fuse does not blow and the transformer does, it PROVES, almost
beyond a doubt, that you have bad luck getting a good transformer.

The other option is to closely monitor the primary current and see
what you have.