Mystery Electrical Component: What is it?

[electro_neanderthal]

The Sharp TV (lc-52le700un) Power Supply this component came from has components labelled by the first letter of thei type (ie. diodes "D", resistors "R", capacitors "C", etc).

This component looks like it could be one of a few different things, of which I can't tell. It was labelled "GA" on the board, and is the only component that is labelled as such. It is also the only component that has a clear casing. It goes from power directly to ground.

The original colour banding was White/Black (the black one is still there) and a silver/copper/grey (it seemed to be a mix of those) one opposite and spaced apart from the other two. The banding colour is different for the replacement board (that is out of stock and unlikely to be restocked).

So, if someone knows what this is, please let me know: I've never seen anything quite like this.

https://imgur.com/a/Y11AfXl (in case the picture function fails me, it's not showing up in preview).

Edit: The image can be clicked on to be zoomed in a lot more than you initially see it.

The replacement part, component can be found in the top right of the provided top picture: http://www.shopjimmy.com/sharp-runtka604wjqz-power-supply.htm?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIrbnw7aT62wIVQ57ACh2pFgeNEAAYASAAEgIel_D_BwE

 

[derekullo]

GA may stand for gallium

Pretty sure that is a diode.

Gallium Diode.

 

[USAFRet]

GA7001
Other people looking for the same thing

https://www.redhotpawn.com/forum/science/electronic-component-ga.147339
https://www.electronicspoint.com/threads/what-is-this-component.246630/
https://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/threads/trying-to-repair-a-power-supply-for-tv-what-is-this-component.68669/

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=34gloop&s=6#.Wz6jlLj_phE

 

[Tbonius]

It is a germanium diode.

 

[electro_neanderthal]

Edited to mention that it goes from power to ground, and looking at germanium diodes... the internals are different to normal germanium diodes. Is that within spec? The one I have looks like a drum of tightly wrapped cable and germanium diodes look like old incandescent light bulbs.

 

[Tbonius]

My bad, you're right. It appears to be a surge absorber, the markings are fairly similar.

 

[electro_neanderthal]

My bad, you're right. It appears to be a surge absorber, the markings are fairly similar.

Awesome! Yeah, that looks nearly identical. Thank you so much, I've spent days on this! Do the color bands matter at all? (The replacement board has different banding, so it may just be meaningless, but I'm not sure).

Also, should it read OL on a multimeter in both directions? I'm not sure how to test one of these, but I wanted to know if the component was good or not; and if it has a specific orientation (since I can't remember how I took the one in the image off and most of the bands wore off).

And, that also made diagnosing my power supply board that much more interesting (now that I'm looking for another fail point, a surge absorber is a backup, which means my no power situation is something else.

Once again, thanks!

 

[Tbonius]

A surge absorber is like a varistor, it's meant to shunt spikes in the line voltage. A varistor will read open in both directions with a multimeter when it's good and pretty much self destructs when it's subjected to a spike(to test if it is working correctly requires a variable power source and a meter). I don't know if your surge absorber is tested the same, but by your test, and the look of the thing, I would say it's probably good. As far as color coding, it seems the manufactures don't necessarily stick to any standard. I think you're right to start looking at other components.

 

[electro_neanderthal]

A surge absorber is like a varistor, it's meant to shunt spikes in the line voltage. A varistor will read open in both directions with a multimeter when it's good and pretty much self destructs when it's subjected to a spike(to test if it is working correctly requires a variable power source and a meter). I don't know if your surge absorber is tested the same, but by your test, and the look of the thing, I would say it's probably good. As far as color coding, it seems the manufactures don't necessarily stick to any standard. I think you're right to start looking at other components.

Do you know if surge absorbers or varistors have any specific orientation? Without the banding I'm literally going to be guessing what way is correct, if there is a specific way. If not, then that's a relief.

 

[Tbonius]

They are non polarized. So they can go in either way.

 

[electro_neanderthal]

They are non polarized. So they can go in either way.

Sweet, thanks. And once again, thanks for all the help!