Hey there!
I recently purchased an HP E3631A power supply on eBay. It was advertised "as-is", I decided to risk it, and sure enough, the 6V output was faulty.
The +/- 25V outputs work perfectly, setting the voltage and current, reading the values back, everything perfect, so I assume there are no problems with the digital part of the supply.
At this point, please open the
E3631A service manual, as I will be referring to it below.
The 6V output reads back bogus values (-50 odd volts and 45mA current when there is nothing on the output). Nothing changes when I change the voltage and current settings. I have opened it up and checked for visual faults - nothing appears to be burnt or popped. I have poked around with my multimeter and checked various voltages:
The +/- 15V supply lines (for the opamps) are perfectly fine (U25 and U24 outputs; page 127, part B).
The voltage on the smoothing capacitors C48 and C49 (page 131, part A) reads 0V. I have also tried disconnecting the transformer (J10 and J11) and checking the AC voltage, and it appears to be fine, so the bridge rectifier must be the culprit.
But that doesn't explain the bogus voltage & current readback, so I investigated further.
The voltage adjustment and monitoring for the 6V output is done with linear optocouplers (quite a clever way to isolate circuits, while still maintaining accuracy). I have checked the monitoring circuits (page 131, part B) and +6V V MON and +6V I MON appear to read the same voltage (0V obviously) on both sides (measured to their respective grounds). So, the correct voltages are fed back to the ADC circuit (page 129, part A). Because the 25V outputs read correctly, I would say the ADC itself is good. Could it be the multiplexer U4 if faulty?
I need some suggestions from people who have experience with repairing these power supplies. Does anyone know what usually causes these types of problems?
Thanks in advance!
Cheers,
Dave