SERVICE BULLETIN

NOTICE: The Type of Change and Recommended Compliance specified reflects Solar’s best judgment regarding the Service
Bulletin. All questions should be directed to your Solar Field Service Representative. Solar, Saturn, Centaur, Taurus, Mercury,
Mars, Titan, SoLoNOx, and Turbotronic are trademarks of Solar Turbines Incorporated. Cat and Caterpillar are trademarks of
Caterpillar Inc. Specifications subject to change without notice.

NUMBER: 3.0/107A
ISSUED: April 2005
REVISED: June 2005
PRODUCT: All
MODEL(S): All
Specifics: Units equipped with PECC actuators and high force valves

SUBJECT: AVAILABILITY OF IMPROVED PECC ELECTRIC ACTUATORS

AND HIGH FORCE FUEL VALVES

—REVISION NOTICE—
This revision adds more information concerning visual recognition
for devices affected.

Type of Change: Product Improvement

Recommended
Compliance: Information

Purpose:
Provide product information regarding the availability of the recently improved electric actuators
and high force fuel valves manufactured by PECC

GENERAL INFORMATION:
Since their introduction on Solar® packages, the all-electric Precision Engine Controls Corp.
(PECC) actuators and High force fuel valves (HFG) have gone through a series of incremental
product improvements. Many of the earlier product improvements were in direct response to
field failures resulting from specific design and installation issues. Along with the incremental
product improvements, Solar has issued a number of service bulletins to advise our customers
as to the proper wiring configuration for these components. Although the combination of the
product improvements and the previously issued service bulletins were successful in improving
the reliability and durability of the components, a number of PECC devices have continued to
exhibit poor reliability performance. The reliability issues have been predominantly electronic

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NUMBER: 3.0/107A
in nature. Subsequent failure analyses have attributed their root causes to factors such as lack
of protection in the design against mis-wiring (short circuit and reverse polarity), unanticipated
power quality issues with non-Solar supplied DC Power systems, and manufacturing quality issues
with the electronic circuit boards. In particular, the latest generation of units shipped since June of
2002 may have a printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing defect, which would manifest itself
as intermittent failure during a system re-start. The failure conditions have no safety implications
and will simply prevent the PECC unit from initializing itself, which consequently prevents the
engine from starting. Any turbine package operating with a defective unit will continue to operate
safely; however, the unit may suffer the symptoms described above during a subsequent engine
startup. Units affected by the PCB defect can be identified by a combination of part number and
serial number. Please refer to the Part Number Affectivity section for further detail.

Along with the hardware reliability issues in several installations, incorrectly factory-set PLC®
timer logic has contributed to mis-diagnosis of the PECC actuator and fuel valve failures, resulting
in their erroneous removal.

In early 2004 and in response to the continued field failures, Solar embarked on a comprehensive
product improvement initiative with the objective of significantly enhancing the reliability and
durability of the PECC devices and correction of any other factors that might have contributed to
their high number of field returns.

Product Improvements:
As part of this product improvement initiative, a number of changes were made to the PECC elec-
tronic subassembly to provide added protection and robustness to its design with features such as
protection against short circuits, reverse polarity, and voltage transients. In June of 2004, Solar
incorporated these design improvements in a number of field evaluation units and placed them at
select customer sites to validate their effectiveness. Additionally, the manufacturing issue with the
PCB was diagnosed and isolated to the defective soldering of an EEPROM chip and has been suc-
cessfully rectified. It should be noted that Solar’s investigation has revealed that, although all units
shipped since June of 2002 were manufactured using the same soldering process, only some units
will actually exhibit failure symptoms.

ACTION REQUIRED:

This Upgrade is an Optional Enhancement:

As part of improving the reliability of the PECC devices and to safeguard against the symptoms
associated with the EEPROM soldering, Solar recommends upgrading certain PECC units, as spec-
ified herein, with the improvements stated above. These upgrades are not mandatory and have no
safety implications. They are product enhancements that will increase the overall system reliability
and availability. Additionally, Solar personnel will review the factory-set PLC timer logic settings
related to the operation of the PECC components and will update them if necessary.

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 NOTE
Wiring must be in accordance with Service Bulletin 5.1/140. Any trou-
bleshooting should begin by verifying this.

Many of the subject units have been operating successfully for thousands of hours and may continue
to do so for an indefinite period of time. Solar does not recommend removal and replacement of
units that have been operating for a considerable period of time without exhibiting any symptoms.

Two Ways to Upgrade:

Upgrade by exchange:
Affected PECC devices can be upgraded through an exchange program. Exchanged devices
will carry our standard parts warranty.

In-field upgrades:
In addition to exchange upgrade method, there is limited availability of in-field upgrades of
the electronic assembly for critical situations. In-field upgraded devices are not fully
warranted. That is to say, only those electronic portions serviced within the device will carry
a new warranty term. Electronic subassemblies within the devices can be replaced in the field
through a Solar PECC approved procedure and by specially trained personnel.

In either case, the upgraded hardware will be provided to customers at no cost, except for any asso-
ciated labor, freight charges, and import duties consistent with Solar’s standard warranty terms. In
cases where the units are exchanged, customers are expected to expedite the return of the replaced
units within 45 days to avoid core charges. Additionally, when customer personnel are involved in
removing/replacing the subject PECC units, care should be taken to avoid damaging the existing
installed units and associated wiring harness. The replacement units will be shipped to the customer
sites using Solar-approved packaging. Please reuse this packaging to ship the core returns. Failure
to do so may result in additional charges due to any shipping damage to the returned units.

Part Number Affectivity:

Table 1 identifies the part number and dash number of the PECC units affected by this service bul-
letin. For a PECC device to be considered possibly affected, it must satisfy all four of the following
parameters:

1. Basic Part Number. (See Table 1)

2. Dash number. (See Table 1)
3. Revision (REV) number lower than “110”. (See Table 1)
4. Absence of “-110”, “-111”, or “DP1028” rework identification stamps. (See Figure 2)

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NUMBER: 3.0/107A
Once these four parameters have been met, further verification will be provided by serial number
when you contact Solar. Please refer to additional information under “Upgrading”, found near the
end of this document.

Figure 1 Revision numbers and rework stamps.

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Table 1 PECC Units possibly in need of upgrade must first simultaneously satisfy
these part number, dash number, and revision number requirements
Description Basic Part Number Dash Numbers Revision Numbers
Actuators 1042016 -102, -202, -302, -402, Lower than 110
-502, -602, -700, -800,
-900
Main Fuel Valve 1042017 -104, -202, -504, -602, Lower than 110
-1104, -1202, -1504,
-1602
Pilot Fuel Valve 1042018 -103, -202, -503, -602, Lower than 110
-1103, -1503, -1202,
-1602

Configuration Control and Re-identification:

PECC device configuration is being tracked by serial number, but initial screening by revision
number can help you to eliminate unaffected devices. The “110” revision numbered and “-110”
rework-stamped devices are exempt from the subject upgrade. Also exempt are devices with the
simulateous stamping of “-109” together with “DP1028” (Figure 5). Newly upgraded devices are
to carry the “-111” rework identification stamp. In addition, any in-field upgraded devices should
also have the “-111” rework identification stamp added to the nameplate.

PECC devices bear one of two types of ID plates, which contain the information to be checked
against Table 1 above. To assist you in locating and assessing these numbers, please see examples
below (Figures 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6).

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NUMBER: 3.0/107A
 Figure 2 Current ID plate found on some affected units. –110 or –111, as this
example shows, indicates the unit has already been reworked.

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 Figure 3 Verifying revision number in one of two possible locations depending on
ID plate version. In this example the “110”would not require an upgrade, while the
“106” would only be a candidate for upgrage if no other 3-digit configuration stamps
exist on the device that are 110 or greater. In this case, there are none.

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NUMBER: 3.0/107A
 Figure 4 ID plate from the past can be found on some affected models.

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 Figure 5 Units bearing the “109” configuration number plus the DP number “1028”
have the latest electronic hardware and do not require update.

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NUMBER: 3.0/107A
 Figure 6 In this situation, the unit has been retrofitted and bears a “110” configuration
stamp indicating the hardware does not need an upgrade.

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Upgrading:
• If you wish to upgrade by exchanging PECC devices, please contact your local Solar
Service Parts provider:
– Please have available the package serial number, PECC serial number, Solar part
number, and a purchase order to cover shipping charges and import duties per Solar’s
standard warranty terms.
• If you are interested in an in-field upgrade, please contact your local District Service Office
to discuss urgency and availability. This service has limited availability and may not fulfill
your scheduling requirements.

Some serial numbers may have already been upgraded even though the three parameters under
“Part Number Affectivity” have been met. Solar will verify your serial number when you call.

Cost:
Exchange PECC devices and in-field upgrades will be provided free of charge except for installa-
tion labor, freight, and import duty costs.

Returns:
Please follow the return procedure outlined in Service Bulletin 1.0/115A to ensure your returned
items are properly identified and accounted for. This will help avoid additional charges for missing
returns.

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NUMBER: 3.0/107A