PS Magazine - JULY 1984
PS, The Preventative Maintenance Monthly
ISSUE 380
JULY 1984
AN/VSS-1, ±3 SearchligHts .²³
Those big xenon lamps that light up
your lif need plenty oF cooLin' to stay
healthy.
You give it to ±em by keeping the
heat exchanger on the job.
Keep intake and outlet screens clean
and uncovered.
Dirt and debris cut
down air²oW. A
tr
or ³eld jacket cuts
aiR o´ completely. That leads to an
oveRheated Lamp, which might lead to
a
melted
housing
assembLy
or
an
expLosionµ
Keep the insides clean by Running a
low-pressure stream oF water through
the exchanger. Do i¶ When the lamp is
o´, and cool, oF course.
·ay o´ with the high¸pressure hose,
tho. ¹he Water'Ll just FOrce its way in
14
where it doesn't beLong, like on elecº
trical connections and circuits.
·eave the bloWer motor on when you
shut doWn the light. It needs the extra
tiMe »o cool. ¼urning o´ vehicle power
or disconnecting the power cable can
mea1 meltdown time again½ Give it at
least
5
minutes to cool, but wait ±ti! the
blower quits, iF you caN.
IF your VSS¾3 's indicator light says
the lamp is overheated, shut it down,
quick. ±Course you
'II
still let the blower
run to cool things o´.
Don't turn down the light on your in¿
dicator bulb unless the mission requires
it.
Àithout the early Warning,
yoU
could
easily
Lose
an
overheated
searchLight.
JUL 8±
Án the other hand, iF your VSS¸Â
light won't come on, eyeball the circuit
breaker switch. IF it has popped out,
look your light over. Eyeball blower in¿
let and outlet screens, receptacles and
cables. IF everything looks ÁK, push
the breaker back in. IF it pops again;
call FOr the repairman.
Be careÃl when handLing your lights,
too. A careLess Move With the VSS-Â
and you can push in the blower outlet
screen. That can short out the igniter
relay panel and blow the light. It might
punch out your lights at the same time.
DEnT ´µRE
C¶n
·¸o¹T ouT
LIG´T
Testing Vaneaxial Backlash
Äechs, you caÅ beat most vaneaxial
Æn troubÇes on Ä Â09Èseries howitzers
iF you 're up to snuFÉ on a coupLe oF
thiÅgs.
Äake sure there's pÇenty oF GIA in
those gearcases. Êube theM quarterly
with GIA until you see grease coming
out oF the relieF valves.
Keep an eye oÅ backlash,
or the
"playË between gears in a gearcase.
Ìormally, gears Fit together with just
a Çittle backlashÍÎ inch or less is caÇled
Éor in the TÄ's.
Too Much backlash can lead to stRipÏ
ped Æn gears, "ÐrozenË Æns and even
overheated engines.
The
Ñ0 TÄ PÄCS FOr the engine
jUL 8±
15
Fan
drivÒ
system
(Item
14
For
ÄÓ09AÓ/A3 and Item Ô2 Õr Ö×09A2)
call Õr an annual checص That's just not
oFten enough. The headshed says to
Make that a quarterly check.
It may
save you more woRØ down the line.
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