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Forum Index : Electronics : Fake SSR’s on ebay.
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Gizmo Admin Group  Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
Recently stung by a solid state relay purchase from ebay. I figured the price was a bit too cheap, but I didn't expect the device to be this bad. SSR-60DD DC to DC Covered Solid State Relay DC 3-32V DC 5-110V Its a 60 amp rated SSR. Once in circuit I quickly realised it was a fake. My solar charge controller uses 3 SSR's, all rated at 40 amps. I'm adding more solar panels, so needed to upgrade one SSR to 60 amps to cope with the extra amps ( about 36 amps peak, I like a safety margin ). In low light / low current, first thing I noticed was the high voltage drop across the "contacts". 0.8v across the new 60amp SSR, while the other 40amp SSR's only had 0.1 volts. Once the current across the 60amp SSR reached 5amps, the voltage drop had risen to 4 volts and it started to smell bad. I disconnected it before the thing caught on fire and refitted the 40amp SSR. Have notified the ebay seller, waiting for a response. Best to avoid them in future. Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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Grogster Admin Group Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9308 |
Some of the responses are classic. The reply I got to the fake 338 regulator's in TO3 cases was that 3A was absolute maximum, and for safety, I should not be running them at more then 1.5A tops. ...despite that being totally the opposite of what the datasheet says you can do, and the genuine ones could even handle surges up to 15A... I've learnt my lesson there, and don't buy any electronic components on eBay anymore. Switches, sockets, breadboard wires, electronic modules etc seem to still be OK. Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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Downwind Guru  Joined: 09/09/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2333 |
One would expect the Chinese writing on the label would indicate Alarm Bells. As many here i/we have purchased lots of SSR and components from Ebay China with good results, but also had the odd failure, although across the board i have had 99.9% success so will still buy from China. As always regardless where a part is supplied from it can be defective, and like Glenn suggests we get what we pay for, although along the way we can get very good bargins, so dont give up on ebay China just yet, although be prepared to test the items as often they are as quoted. Pete/ Sometimes it just works |
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| VK4AYQ Guru Joined: 02/12/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2539 |
Hi All I agree with Pete I have had more failures with local purchased items than imported from China ones, there is always a dud in a batch or maybe a dud batch, and a lot of suppliers are using Chinese products to make some more profit, so it's a case of suck it and see. All the best Bob Foolin Around |
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| Gizmo Admin Group Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
Should point out this is a manufactured fake, not faulty. I'm waiting on a response from the supplier, but if I can, I'll dissect it and post what I find. The voltage drop at low current was 0.8, typical of a common power transistor, so I expect to find a 3055 or similar inside. Its luck of the draw with any supplier. Fake chips are a big problem and a retailer wont be aware of the problem until a customer tells them. Unless customers demand a refund or replacement, the fake component trade will continue. Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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| davef Guru Joined: 14/05/2006 Location: New ZealandPosts: 499 |
Current problem: DSO138 I hope that when suppliers are made aware of supplying fake units they stop supplying them. However, a lot of customers got left holding the bag. And I suspect that many suppliers likewise. BTW, a nice cheap scope for working around low frequency stuff like home automation systems. Just buy from a recommended dealer! |
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| Gizmo Admin Group Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
Thats a nice little cro Dave, might grab one one day. I got hold of the ebay supplier and they offered to send another or refund, I took the refund which they processed straight away. I took to the SSR with a screwdriver and vice, the power switching component was a NPN power transistor, which I suspected in the first place. Its a BUF420A, tough at 30 amps, but still no where near what would be needed for a 60amp SSR. The BUF420A is also listed as obsolete, so whoever put these fake SSR's together must have picked up some old stock. Also, been a single transistor, the SSR would only pass current in one direction. Live and learn. So my charge controller is back to running on 3 40amp SSR's. The most any of the SSRs would carry is 32 amps, and they are on a fan cooled heat sink, so I might get away with it. Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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| Georgen Guru Joined: 13/09/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 462 |
99.7% positive feedback would make me buy something from this seller. If supplier returned money quickly, probably means that selling bad product was not deliberate, but just middle-man's luck to get fake item from their supplier. George |
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| Gizmo Admin Group Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
Yeah I agree George, they were keen to get it sorted and had no hesitation in refunding the money. But at the same time, they are still listing the item for sale, so hope to palm off the remaining stock without too many come backs. Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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| domwild Guru Joined: 16/12/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 873 |
When I sold Maestro modems the Oz factory got a batch of faulty stereo plugs and one client had three faulty ones and was given spare modems while the factory repaired them. Looks like bad runs can happen, it all depends on the quality control at the originating factory and how tight the sampling statistics are there. Taxation as a means of achieving prosperity is like a man standing inside a bucket trying to lift himself up. Winston Churchill |
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| Gizmo Admin Group Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
This wasn't a faulty part though, it was a manufactured fake, which is criminal in my mind. Its like buying a new V8 car and when you get home, you find a 4 cylinder motor under the bonnet. Faulty parts I'm OK with, but something passed off as something else, I'm not. I remember this was a big problem in the 90's, lots of fake Intel CPU's on the market. Pentium 133's had the top layer of ceramic polished off to remove the markings, and were re-stamped as Intel 200MHz chips. RAM chips with a fake parity chip, sold as Parity RAM. etc, etc. Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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| Georgen Guru Joined: 13/09/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 462 |
Strange that E-Bay and seller act this way after they got information about fake item. As you say, one thing to get the money back, another to continue selling it and for E-Bay to allow for item to be sold. Do you consider inform E-Bay again? From what I know, fake Memory sticks were removed and sellers blocked (eventually) George |
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