WPC Transformer voltage question

[Joe_E...@hotmail.com]

Hi
I'm having trouble with the voltages I'm getting from a transformer and
would appreciate some help/advice.

I am attempting to assemble a WPC pin (Doctor Who) mostly from parts
found on eBay. One of the parts I needed was a secondary transformer,
which I just recently purchased (it was originally from a Hurricane,
which should be the same one). I plugged it in and first measured the
voltages coming out of the transformer plug, then plugged it in and
measured the voltages at the connectors (I don't plan on plugging it in
to actual boards until I'm reasonably sure it won't explode or
something). Here's a sample of what I found:

Wires coming out of the transformer:
Red: expected 9 VAC, got 8.5 VAC and 14.2 VAC
Blue-White: expected 13 VAC, got 7.2 VAC

Coming out of the plug:
J101-1 Red, expected 9 VAC, got 25 VAC
J101-1 Red, expected 9 VAC, got 17 VAC
J101-4 Blue-White, expected 13 VAC, got 27.4 VAC
J101-6 Blue-White, expected 13 VAC, got 14.8 VAC

This is pretty typical -- the numbers are almost always more than I
would expect. Occasionally they're outrageously high or ludicrously
low. I'm running on plain old U.S. house current.

Question 1: Is it normal to get different values at the transformer
plug than I am at the board plug?

Question 2: Does it sound like the transformer is bad? It was
advertised as "100% Tested & Fully Operational."

Thanks,
Joe

[martin]

Bad transformers smoke or do nothing. You have to measure voltages
across pairs, not to ground.

Here's my page with pinouts and measurements to try:

http://www.iobium.com/wpc_transformers.htm

[Joe_E...@hotmail.com]

That is reassuring. I tested the pairs and got results similar to what
was in your table. Most importantly, once I was satisfied with the
voltages I plugged the power driver board in and all the LEDs that are
supposed to light lit, and it did not explode.

Thanks!
Joe