Micro shutdown controller gone crazy?

**archaic0** · 01-28-2009, 09:27 PM

I bought a micro shutdown controller quite a while back and hadn't been able to use it with my old setup. Recently I upgraded my CarPC and am now using it, but am seeing some strange behavior.

The unit is the PWR-007 (uSDC20D).

During the install and testing everything seems fine, but more often than not now, whenever I start the car, for a while it just won't keep the power on.

At first I thought it might be the PC since the machine would reboot on me or just shut off, but today when I heard the telltale sound of my problem (the relay click-click over and over) I disconnected the output from my PC and drove home (10 minutes) with it disconnected. The controller still had all the power and ground and remote wire coming in, just not outputs hooked up.

During the drive, I could hear the controller continually click-click-click on and off I presume. Today was a particularly cold day (20 degrees) but it's acted up in warm weather as well.

Is there something just wrong with my unit?

Possible relavent background:

When I first installed this new setup, I was running from the battery, to a distribution block, to the controller for the PC as well as my amp for my subs. I started to experience PC lock ups, partial lock ups, and power failures. I originally blamed all the problems on voltage drop while my amp was hitting hard and so I installed a capacitor (2 farad). My thought was that since I'm going raw 12V now to the PC, if the voltage dropped to say 10V, the CPU may not like it and simply cause the PC to act strangely or shut down.

After the cap was installed, the lock ups went away, but the occaisonal power off did not go away. I suspected that I may have damaged the PC (mainly the CPU possibly). I replaced the CPU in the machine and put it through 3 days straight of a burn in test on the bench inside without a single glitch.

Now back in the car, the only thing that seems to be left is that controller. And based on what I saw today, where the relay was click-click-clicking for several minutes, I'm thinking it's either defective or damaged.

Anyone with some insight? I'll buy a new one and replace it, but if anything else sounds like it's just going to happen again, please chime in!

Thanks in advance!

**zootjeff** · 01-30-2009, 06:36 PM

Originally Posted by archaic0

Anyone with some insight? I'll buy a new one and replace it, but if anything else sounds like it's just going to happen again, please chime in!

Thanks in advance!

Is there anyway you can post a video on YouTube or somewhere else so that I can get more info on what you mean by click-click-click.

There is a factory mode that makes the thing click about once a second, that if some how a pin was shorted, it could be in that mode.

The other thing that may happen is if the inrush current is so big from the click that it resets the shutdown controller. Knowing what you have behind the controller, the gauge of wire going to it, etc will help.

If you could provide pictures and take a video it will be much easier to help diagnose.