beckman dlx centrifuge

The circuit breaker, or in the case of the DLX, the GFCI, trips because of excessive current draw just like any other circuit breaker.  First, what kind of outlet is your centrifuge plugged into?  You don't want your centrifuge plugged into anothe GFCI outlet.  When they are in placed in series strange things can happen.  If that is not the case, it sounds like either your drive is failing and drawing too much current or most likely, your power board is failing which is by far the most common failure on any DLX centriuge.  This is a well known issue with the DLX series and Beckman Coulter no longer even manufacture the DLX series centrifuge.  Partly because it was very expensive to maintain because of the very frequent power board failures.  The problem with the power board was usually traced to the large filter capacitor on the circuit board.  Typically, if you look at the underside of the board, you will see a broken solder joint at one or both of the pins coming from the capacitor and extending through the board.  You will also probably find that the capacitor is a little loose on the board because when the capacitor was installed, it was not bottomed out on the circuit board.  The vibrations that exist when the centrifuge is running cause the solder joint to break and the capacitor to become loose.  Before you call for service, have your BME shop resolder the connections on the capacitor and while doing so make sure the capacitor is FIRMLY seated onto the board.  This may not take care of the problem because of the failures that have taken place already but if you do get a new power board, make sure you resolder the capacitor before installing the board and using it the first time.  Otherwise, it will only be a matter of time before the problem returns.

Don