20 Most Recent Black & Decker PI400AB Power Inverter Questions & Answers

I've had this inverter for about two years now, bought it for a cross country road trip to power my laptop and a couple of other things. I've pretty much liked it. Yes, the fan is a little noisey, yes, you have to use the provided battery clips for heavy loads. But it powers my Dell Inspiron 8500 laptop just fine (and its an old powerhog).

Recently a I let a friend use it with his inflatable mattress air pump during a camping trip.
What I didn't know is his pump has insane wattage, and it fried/bricked the inverter instantly.

Agh! I thought it was a goner, but took the time to look inside the unit. (Which is a solid and sturdy metal case, not plastic as another reviewer indicated). I was thrilled to discover there were some internal fuses. And while the fuses are soldered to the circuit board, if you've done any soldering at all they really are a snap to replace.

If you remove the four screws that hold the end cover plate on the side with the fan. You can remove the end plate and have just about a half inch or so of clearance. The entire lower circuit board will then slide out with firm pressure about an inch and a half (don't try and go any further, components on the other side prevent it).

On the right side (positive/red terminal side), you will see two 25 amp mini-fuses that are directly soldered to the circuit board. If these are blown (you can see through the semi-transparent sides if they still connect), that is most likely your problem. They are easily available from most auto and big department stores (Walmart, Target, etc) in their automotive sections.

I used a 40 watt soldering iron (30 watt should work fine), and applied it to the bottom of the circuit board where the fuse legs poke out the bottom. Using a pair of pliers, I applied a firm steady pressure to the fuse, pulling up, while applying the soldering iron to each of the legs (alternately) of the fuse. The solder melted, and I was able to work the fuse out in a few seconds. I did this for both fuses.

The replacement fuses cost all of $2. I dipped the new fuse legs in flux, then put them in the place of the old fuses. Again I heated the circuit board solder from below, and pushed the new fuse in place. Repeat with the second fuse until it is in place. Flip the board over and add some more new solder until it is firmly in place. Put it back together, and you are back in business! And for a whole lot less than a new inverter.

I've got pics of this process if anyone would like them. Good luck, and happy inverting.

test the battery if it is still OK

If it is the fuse inside the cigarette lighter plug, just unscrew it and put a new fuse in.

If you mean replacing the two 25amp fuses inside the inverter housing, you can bypass the fuses by soldering the two sides together. Or, if you want to put new fuses in, heat the solder holding the fuses in until they pop out and insert new ones.

As for opening the housing, good luck!! I ended up using steel cutters to rip off the plastic. The best option would be to buy a new one and return the old one in the package.

Rather than try to repair it or look inot it, call the dealer or take it back to him as you will invalidate your warranty and that is not worth it. Let the dealer worry about it.

over loading unit triping braker ......why?/interanel short?

40 A  

Are you referring to an inverter by a "power box"? That term doesn't really describe the device. I'm going to assume it's an inverter you're talking about, a device that takes DC and turns it into AC. I'm not sure about that, but you should be able to plug a converter (turns AC into DC) of the right voltage, 12 to 14 volts DC into a generator on the boat and run it. I'm assuming the trolling motor runs off 12 volts DC and NOT gasoline. Be sure to check that before doing anything. Most do run off a large car or RV battery. Lead Acid Batteries for boats and cars produce 12.7 volts DC if they are in good shape and should have six cells (about 2volts per cell). 6 volt batteries are somewhat rare these days and have 3 two volt cells. Two of them in series will also power it.
Thanks for asking that question ... I like to fish also.

Lynn

I can't answer your question but I strongly suggest you urgently contact the manufacturer or dealer in order to clarify this most important point as a 3kw inverter isn't cheap and shouldn't need replacing very often.

Sure, you can find it on amazon... here: Amazon com Husky jump start adapter . I hope I have helped. Cheers

well the yellow light indicates a fault, the 5 volt USB is independent of the invert-er function, you kneed your unit serviced or possibly you have a low voltage cutout or high voltage protect ,check you manual for led fault indicator descriptions, battery voltages should be between 10.9 volts and 13.8 volts this can cause a fault if outside this range.best regards Falco