Protective Relay Reference

Data record tests.visual-and-mechanical-inspection.equipment.relay-protective.maintenance

Verified 2026-11-02 Confidence: High

Visual and Mechanical Inspection is specified for electromechanical and solid-state protective relays in maintenance testing at clause 7.9.1.A of ANSI/NETA MTS-2023. The clause covers the relays and cases for physical damage; the cleaning and inspection of the case (the case connections, the cover gasket, the cover glass, the shorting hardware, connection paddles and knife switches, foreign material and the target reset) and of the relay (foreign material in the disk slots, disk clearance, contact clearance and spring bias, the spiral spring, the freedom of movement and travel of disk and contacts, mounting hardware and connections, contact burnishing, bearings and pivots); and the settings against the coordination study or the owner's setting sheet.

Value: electromechanical and solid-state protective relays

ProvenanceANSI/NETA MTS-2023 supports data record tests.visual-and-mechanical-inspection.equipment.relay-protective.maintenance, which is cited on the entry Visual and Mechanical Inspection.SOURCEANSI/NETA MTS-2023ANSI/NETA MTS-2023Licensed standard, clause 7.9.1.ADATA RECORDtests.visual-and-mechanical-inspection.equipment.relay-protective.maintenancetests.visual-and-mechani..Verified 2026-11-02ENTRYVisual and Mechanical InspectionVisual and Mechanical In..No revisions
Provenance. Where this record comes from and where it is used: the cited source, the record itself and the entry that cites it.
Provenance: the chain from source to entry.
StepItemDetail
SourceANSI/NETA MTS-2023Licensed standard, clause 7.9.1.A
Data recordtests.visual-and-mechanical-inspection.equipment.relay-protective.maintenanceVerified 2026-11-02
EntryVisual and Mechanical InspectionNo revisions
Subject
Visual and Mechanical Inspection (Test methods)
Kind
Equipment fact
Source
ANSI/NETA MTS-2023, clause 7.9.1.A, Maintenance Testing Specifications for Electrical Power Equipment and Systems, NETA. Publisher page for ANSI/NETA MTS-2023Publisher information page
Also stated in
  • Stated independently by TM 5-684 / NAVFAC MO-200 / AFJMAN 32-1082, section 11-5.a, PDF page 126, printed 11-2, item (1), the ellipsis drops one sentence on abrasive particles (29 November 1996).
    Read the reference passage

    11-5.a(1). Contacts

    "Contacts must be kept clean. A flexible burnishing tool should be used for cleaning silver contacts. Silver contacts should not be cleaned with knives, files, abrasive paper or cloth, as these items may leave scratches which can increase arcing and hasten deterioration of the contacts. [...] Contact wipe and resistance are important in all relays and should be checked as part of the maintenance procedure. Contact resistance can be determined by using an ohmmeter. Where this resistance depends on springs, the contact pressure should be checked using a spring gage. High resistance of such contacts may indicate insufficient spring pressure, which will require replacement of the spring. The relay must be deenergized and disconnected when the contacts are tested."

    TM 5-684 / NAVFAC MO-200 / AFJMAN 32-1082, section 11-5.a, PDF page 126, printed 11-2, item (1), the ellipsis drops one sentence on abrasive particles, 29 November 1996. Agency copy of TM 5-684 / NAVFAC MO-200 / AFJMAN 32-1082

    The current standard governs; this passage is a public-domain description of the practice dated 29 November 1996.

History

Every recorded change to this data record, oldest first.
DateChange
2026-11-02created

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"Data record tests.visual-and-mechanical-inspection.equipment.relay-protective.maintenance." Protective Relay Reference. 2026-11-02. https://www.protectiverelayreference.com/data/tests.visual-and-mechanical-inspection.equipment.relay-protective.maintenance/.