ABB SACE
ABB Emax Repair & Refurbishment
First-generation Emax E1 to E6 and the current Emax 2 — 800 to 6300 A — repaired, rebuilt and injection-tested. The PR11x and PR12x trip units ABB no longer supplies are the reason most of these breakers get condemned; they are the reason we don't.
- RangesE1–E6 · Emax 2 E1.2–E6.2
- Trip unitsPR111–PR123 · Ekip
- Turnaround24–48 hrs once quoted
- Warranty12 months
The range
Two generations, one obsolescence cliff
The original SACE Emax ran from the late 1990s to the early 2010s and is in switchboards everywhere — factories, hospitals, data halls, and the base of a large share of the European wind fleet. Its PR111, PR112 and PR113 trip units, and the later PR121, PR122 and PR123, are out of production. When one fails ABB's answer is an Emax 2 retrofit kit: a new breaker, a new cradle or adapter, new secondary wiring and a commissioning visit. Across a board of six incomers and bus-ties that is a project.
Repairing the Emax you have is the alternative. Mechanisms are stripped and rebuilt, charging motors and closing/opening coils replaced, main and arcing contacts renewed as sets, auxiliary contacts and the secondary connector restored. Where the trip unit has failed we fit a modern electronic trip unit inside the original frame, set to reproduce the PR characteristic, and prove it by injection test. The breaker goes back into its own cradle with the controller wiring untouched.
Emax 2 — E1.2 to E6.2 with Ekip Dip, Touch and Hi-Touch — is current, and its work is everyday: coils, motors, contact wear on high-duty units, Ekip connectors and the cradle.
| E1 – E6 (first generation) | PR111/112/113 and PR121/122/123 trip electronics (discontinued), charging motor, closing and opening coils, auxiliary contacts, hardened mechanism grease |
| E1 – E3 in wind turbines | Charging motor and contacts worn by operation count; condensation on trip electronics; secondary-wiring fretting from vibration |
| Emax 2 E1.2 – E6.2 | Ekip connector faults, coils and gear motor, main-contact erosion on high-operation duty, racking gear |
| Cradles & fixed parts | Cluster contact erosion, racking mechanism wear, position and ready-to-close switches |
Symptoms
Recognise the fault? We repair the cause.
Charges but won't close
Closing coil or its supply on the electrical command; on the mechanical button, the mechanism itself. Both repairable; the first is a bench job of an hour, the second a strip-down. Why an ACB won't close
Won't charge / motor runs continuously
Charging motor, its limit switch, or the gear train. Motors are replaced; on first-generation units where the part is discontinued we fit an engineered equivalent. Why an ACB won't charge
PR112 / PR113 dead or nuisance-tripping
End-of-life electronics. Injection testing confirms it. The fix is a modern trip unit engineered into the frame — not a new breaker. Protection unit replacement
Trips on ground fault after a retrofit
Usually a CT or neutral-sensing configuration issue, not a breaker fault. We check the settings against the installation before touching the hardware.
Hot terminals or cluster contacts
Thermography showing heat at the stabs means eroded clusters or loose main terminations. Replaced and re-torqued; contact resistance verified per pole.
Obsolete and quoted an Emax 2 retrofit
Compare: a repair with a modern trip unit keeps the cradle, the wiring and the settings. A retrofit changes all three. Obsolete breaker repair
FAQs
Frequently asked
ABB won't supply a PR112 any more. What are the options?
Three. A tested PR unit from donor stock where we have one; a modern electronic trip unit engineered into the Emax frame and set to the original characteristic; or ABB's Emax 2 retrofit. We'll price the first two. The third is usually a board project, not a spare.
Do you repair Emax breakers from wind turbines?
Yes — first-generation E1 to E3 units from turbine bases are a regular part of the work, for UK and US fleets. See wind turbine circuit breaker repair.
Can you match the OEM settings?
Send the protection settings from the drawings or the existing unit and the breaker comes back set to them, with the injection test recorded at those settings.
Do you support Emax breakers on US sites?
Yes. Emax is an IEC frame and US repair capability for it is thin. We air-freight Emax units to and from US customers routinely. See repair for US operators.
Get started
Tell us about the breaker
Make, model and rating from the nameplate, plus a description of the fault. We'll come back with a clear recommendation and a fixed price — usually the same working day.
- Workshop & office01977 253063
- Out of hours07496 013884
- Email & photosinfo@circuitbreakerrepair.co.uk
- WorkshopUnit 13–17 Dale Court, Pontefract, West Yorkshire WF9 3FL