Kenmore LG Fridge Repair Process.
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- čas přidán 9. 07. 2024
- Let's make this fridge work again. Some common failure points mentioned, along with the solutions. See Mr Carlson's custom modification for dependability. To learn more about electronics in a very different and effective way, and gain access to my circuit designs and inventions, click here: / mrcarlsonslab
- Jak na to + styl
To learn more about electronics in a very different and effective way, and gain access to my circuit designs and inventions, click here: www.patreon.com/MrCarlsonsLab
Can you explain why you always wear the same shirt.
@@ugetridofit thats the only one the teleporter recognises. must be imbedded with micro identifiers
I am always learning from your videos I enjoy them immensely. I'm curious about your electronic courses... I'd love to get a degree and become certified ( CET ). I got a diploma quite a few years ago which was all they would give me. It was in TV and Radio servicing. Thanks.
Thanx, Mr. Carlson for the 1st. video (I can recall) that deals with 'appliance boards'. There is an appliance board that has plagued me too. It is the SAMSUNG induction stove module that drives the 'work coils' at about 30 KHZ, using IGBT's. Maybe someday you will repair one. Bless Your Bunions! for the good work.
ugetridofit probably has 20 of them... like I do for work..
The MOST overqualified refrigerator repair man in the world.
Lol probably yes xD
refrigerator repair/replace man. i dare say most would just order a new board and charge you for board and service and repair or sell you another
Women love and hate their engineers. It’s great to be able to fix something, but sixty years later they still have the same appliances.
Young engineer vs mr. fix anything
the LS swapped refrigerator. lol
Mr. Carlson, your channel has the best audio quality. Hands down. Thank you!
Thanks William!
Mr Carlson's Lab I really agree. Do you mind sharing what microphone you are using? Great job explaining too!
Its always sooo satisfying when you fix something you use everyday and don't have to follow the mentality of just throw it on the ever increasing pile of human detritus, or call in the overpriced service man with his plug and play approach to fixing such an inexpensive repair on the board. My first thought depending on what type of socket used you might just swap out the bulbs for LEDs and reduce the draw on the relays and improve the efficiency of the cooling (however small it might be) .. The circuit board mounting posts are cheap and cheerful, but how many times have we all dropped the odd little screw and spent ages hunting around, shaking it madly looking for it, knowing if it don't come out things are just bound to go BANG, You just got to love them huh..and fridges are a little difficult to pick up and give a good shake about right..
Oh and yes to the other other persons comment around your sound quality , I work in the TVC/Doco/ Drama industry in NZ as a sound recordist using high end gear and very expensive shotgun mics, though a little on the large side of things as most of my gigs require discrete micing with hidden lapels the size of a grain of rice etc Yours on the other-hand... well could be a little tricky to hide that Bad-boy under your shirt so to speak without it looking like some nasty growth. LOL .... I for one appreciate the high production values here as there is nothing that drives me more crazy than hearing an off-mic uncompressed massive room tone recorded with a mic with a polar pattern that was designed to capture the birds singing in the trees above. My hat off to them for giving it a go and putting something up, but so many you-tubers get it so badly wrong and it kills there product. So 10 out of 10 from me Mr Carlson well done again as I appreciate high-gain crisp and clean front and centre dialogue. Cheers from me.
And video quality is also impeccable. And of course content quality is second to none. Mr Carlson is a perfectionist.
@@MrCarlsonsLab you could help a lot of technicians by repairing and pointing out faults on other appliances control boards. The electronics in the these appliances are becoming a true nightmare.
WHAT WE NEED IS MORE AND MORE COMPUTERS IN OUR APPLIANCES AND EVERYTHING ELSE WE USE, MY PARENTS HAD A 55 YR OLD GE FRIDGE/ICE BOX ( MADE IN USA-IMAGINE THAT ) AND IT RAN PERECT, NO COMPUTERS !! JUST COMMON SENSE WITHOUT THE GREED,......8 YRS FOR A 2K DOLLAR KENMORE WITH A NEW FANGLED (LG) INVERTER COMPRESSOR , NOW ITS BACK IN CHINA TO BE RECYCLED INTO MORE CARBAGE FOR USA CONSUMER....NICE GOING!! SO MUCH FOR ECONOMY AND SAVING THE PLANET !! MR. CARLSON YOUR A WONDERFULL, SMART PROFESSIONAL/PERSON,,,HOPE WE HAVE SOME KIDS LIKE YOURSELF COMING UP TODAY LIKE YOU .....BLESSINGS AND STAY SAFE PEOPLE ...TIME FOR A COFFEE...ON ME !!
I got a big fancy Samsung microwave a little while back for free because it was broken. Lights were on but nobody was home, the high voltage fuse was blown to supply the transformer and magnetron, so it wouldn’t actually heat anything. I put in a circuit breaker instead of the fuse temporarily, I realized the transformer was buzzing so it was always running (And so I guess dumping full power microwaves into the chamber too).
When I poked around just a little, it dawned on me that there was probably a relay welded shut. Then today when I saw this video pop up in CZcams, I realized why I figured out the shorted relay quickly. I had watched this video before and it’s almost the same problem!
Thanks so much Mr. Carlson! I have the replacement relays but now I’m also thinking about putting in your zero crossing circuit instead for longevity.
I was an MOS 1161 in the USMC for ten years. '81-'91, then had this bright idea to go teach English in Tokyo for five years. Lovely. Your channel is Sumo Uber Dupper. I'm fixing to enter into your patrion membership, have a ton of questions. I have learned so much from your videos, have always felt guilty receiving so much knowledge yet unable to afford the price of admission. Untill now. Living in low income housing waiting for the VA to fuse my ankles. Boo Hoo. You kick ass. You have kept me motivated and kept me going. I have hunted down a ton of kit on the cheap thanks to you. I can't say thank you enough. When a Marine sheds a tear. Does not happen often. Thanks for all you do. You are an inspiration to so many people. Unbelievable. Please keep doing what you are doing. Bless you. And thank you.
You're very welcome! I feel privileged to be that motivation.
This is incredibly useful. Our refrigerator failed a year ago, shortly after warranty period was over. And repairman said we needed a new control board but that it would be easier and better just to get a new refrigerator. And recently, we have 2 friends whose refrigerators have failed, and they have to wait 6 weeks for a new one. DigiKey and soldering station much faster! Many thanks Mr. Carlson.
After she passed and we inherited her stuff my aunts old school (non-electronic) side by side Frigidaire from the 70's wasnt built with all this failure prone B.S. and it lasted 40+ years without a single major repair, just coil cleanings and a door gasket. Same story with her '70's era GE washer and dryer, they lasted 40 odd years with one new hot/cold valve and a new heating element and belt in the dryer - the washer was one of the most durable ever made, the GE Filterflo, had the lint filter pan on top of the agitator. I was shocked when I went to buy a new washer and saw how badly they had been cheapened. I fixed the heating element in the dryer, installed a new belt just because and bought me a commercial duty Speed Queen washer thats old school on the inside and built really well---and it has an agitator-!! That thing washes clothes clean like an old Maytag and no stupid error codes or flying apart like the samsungs etc. have been doing. Nothing is built to last anymore, too much unnecessary electronics and too many gadgets and built to fail, lucky if you get five years out of many new appliances without trouble,
Keep in mind that really small GE fridge form 1950 costed around 200$ which is equivalent to 2,129$ today. Also TAXes used to be a lot lower back then. If the company only gets 40% of what you pay to actually build the product don't expect much.
yambo59 the problem is that too many parts are being designed exposed within the wash action area or physically-connected by items possessing complex modes of failure.
When I bought my car 2 years ago, I told the salesman that I wanted the basic option -- because, as I told him, every additional feature is just something else to fail or break.
Everyone has adopted the idiotic Japanese obsession with cramming appliances and cars with as many electronic features as possible. Just more junk to break or fail. K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid.)
i had a frigidaire washer that circulated the water onto a lint trap like the one you had. best working washer i ever had. yeah there's no reason for most of this electronic controlled stuff. what little energy savings comes at the environmental cost of producing it
They're outlawing R 22 now in the united states of A. It will cost big $$$$$$ for repairs on old units using R 22.
Mr. Carlson i can't believe you were able to squeeze the mounting tabs for the pcb barehanded. you are amazing
I simply replaced the incandescent bulbs with LED in my fridge. Saves relay contacts, and a few watts. And LEDs love the cold.
Great video. I've been binge watching your latest videos. Thank you!
mehh, those 20w are nothing, but the light that it produces, wow! i used 7w 4000k replacement and man is it beautiful!
Customer #1: “Yes Ma’am, your refrigerator requires a new control board”...
Customer #2 (Mr. Carlson): I see that you’ve designed a custom solid state relay board with triacs and zero crossover opto isolators, I’d recommend re-capping the board and installing new relays... 🤣🤣🤣
As a commercial refrigeration mechanic, I can honestly say that this is the best video I’ve seen all year.
Thanks for your kind comment Mr. 404!
404 Refrigeration & HVAC Services
[one] What does 'you've' mean? and [two] can you identify in which dictionary it is in?
You've means you have. Perhaps it is not in a dictionary since it is an abbreviation of two words
@@bignaughtydog it’s a contraction, not an abbreviation, just like „it‘s“ 😎
@@toolsarecool please explain. I'm always happy to learn from the learnered.
A good housewife opens the door at zero cross point of AC cycle.
only if she is a Stepford houswife
😂😂
That needs to be a T-shirt. Along with 'I self-identify as an Attack Helicopter'.
Yeah, she's got the oscilloscope right by the fridge door and a nanosecond response time.... LOL, actually that would be the ideal housewife or househusband.
@@TheLawrenceWade Nah, a good wife "just knows" lol.
Brilliant! I bet thousands of fridges are dumped every year for small issues like this. So easy to fix with a bit of knowledge. Nice work Mr. C !
Indeed ! And considering g that I have that board in my unit....I am generating an order to digi key myself.....now to find a inexpensive desoldering gun.
SO MUCH FOR GOING GREEN AND SAVING THE PLANET,.....WHAT A JOKE !!!
Something a bit more common that can cause freezer and fridge failure is the condenser fan being blocked. Either by fraying, aging insulation or even a stray mouse getting trapped by the blades. No air flow over the condenser coils, no cooling.
Still, the switch mode power supply diode area seemed a bit heat degraded, so replacing the caps is spot on. Lose the feedback, the thing runs away and drags more caps into the waste bin, along with the zener, occasionally the optocoupler and driver/switching transistor.
That's exactly what the manufacturers want. Fridges were always too reliable! We've just bought a brand new Xiaomi fridge freezer. It has no fancy electronics and no fan assisted cooling. There's nothing but an AC compressor, run capacitor and very cleverly made cooling elements, that feed both the fridge and freezer without any physical air duct between the two. It'll last forever!
@@phuketexplorer We have a new semi trailer at our business and the turn signals are leds mounted onto a computer board with I integrated circuits!! The LEDs are configured in multiple V shapes that light up in sequence until the whole row/light is lit up. Very complicated for a turn light on the side of the trailer.
Really nice job Paul. I think replacing those bulbs with LED bulbs would be even better for an older unit like this. I really love your approach to troubleshooting, appreciate it very much. Ron
Another wonderful video, easy to understand even for beginners as always.
Paul...Removed the Compressor from the Kenmore Elite/LG Refrigerator yesterday. What a job. After removing the Clips that hold down the unit you have to push the Rubber Vibration Dampeners down through the Mounting Plate. Then you can barely lift & wiggle the thing out. The worst part was getting the two Refrigerant Lines off! They are not Soldered nor are they Silver Soldered...they are Brazed! Had to purchase an Oxy-Acetylene Torch to get enough Heat to turn the Brazing Liquid. MAAP Gas nor Propane will do. Anyway, after I got the Compressor out, I discovered Sears sent the wrong replacement Compressor! The Compressor they sent was $200. The Compressor I need is $400 even though they assured me the first one was the right one! The thing that really gripes me is that the Compressor is still under the 10 year Warranty...but Sears will not Warranty it unless a Sears Technician comes out first to Diagnose it... for a $100 Fee, THEN AND ONLY THEN will he give me an Estimate for the Labor to Change the Part! So, essentially your Paying $100 for an Estimate! At that point you feel Obligated to go ahead with the Repair as now you have Money invested. I checked around with some Mom & Pop Shops and found out Sears Charges $600 to $700 Labor to Replace a Warranty Compressor plus the $100 Service Fee that probably takes someone with experience 2 hours to do! The Moral of this Story...Stay Away From Sears!
Thanks for sharing your experience B N.
For four years I have been working as a repairer for electronic devices and with every new video from you I learn something new ... Thank you
Peak Value = sqrt (2) x RMS value, so it is about 170 V for 120 Vac (RMS Value). - I enjoy your videos every time! - Cheers from Greece! :)
I have a GE that is stuck on defrost mode too. It was a 1500 dollar fridge that I am not willing to part with yet, so as it sits in the garage, I keep thinking I will "get to it". Now I am motivated after seeing this...thanks Mr. Carlson!
HAL 9000 Just disconnect the defrost heater and manually remove ice a few times per year. Keep the freezer in a cold garage to save power if living north of about the 40° parallel (anywhere you need to heat up the living room for comfort).
Most of us would just have paid $80.00 for a new board and called it a day. Not Mr. Carlson. Love your passion, knowledge, skill and enthusiasm with what you do. I hope one day I can troubleshoot down to component level as easy as you can.
All my appliances had relay pin fails solder melts,no contact so I just jumped a small wire , nice to see how you rebuild the board ,mostly can’t find 10 year old boards so thank you !
MR. Carlson, u do it all. I'm a maintenance mechanic, and change relay contractors all the time, but never once gave it a thought that mechanical contractors can catch the voltage at its peaks, or as u said at worst time on top of the peaks.
A few years ago, the bulb in my freezer burned out as I was opening it, and actually tripped the breaker. So I replaced the incandescent appliance bulbs with LED bulbs that I had removed the cover from, in order to fit them inside the fridge's lamp housing. It took care of the problem, and lit the inside of the fridge up brilliantly. I see they now actually sell LED appliance bulbs, and I think they're a really good idea for older fridges without built-in LED lighting.
Shmeh Fleh , I'll be using your idea tomorrow! Thank you!
Annoying is when they're using a triac to switch the lamp on, as most LED lamps tend to not have enough current flow to allow the thing to stay latched on. Not as common in appliances yet, but I suspect it'll be coming as relay prices rise, as all other electromechanical devices have.
Increasing the load can help, but that's a special problem in a freezer, as who wants airplanes trying to land inside of their freezer? ;)
Actually, I just ended up keeping the gate triggered a hair longer, so what if it takes another half cycle to shut off?
@@spvillano add a load resistor across the led lamp if the triac driver is not latching. Do something similar in coin op equipment made before led lamps where popular. 1k is usually enough for a C106 switched near near zero cross and the added load is trivial.
@@barakandl yeah. Energy inefficient in a way, but effective in keeping the triac latched in the on state.
If it's ugly and it works, it's actually beautiful. ;)
wow, I am amazed with your detailed explanation you should get an award for sharing your profound insights on electronics, keep up with it. 👏👏👏👏👍👍👍💡💡💡💡
Thanks, will do!
Some years ago, my wife was sitting in the kitchen near our new Maytag refrigerator at 11:30 PM. Suddenly I heard her scream, "Ted! the refrigerator is on fire! I was in bed, so I jumped out and ran to the kitchen and pushed the refrigerator out from the wall and unplugged it. It still smoked a little but the fire was out. Next day I took the door apart and found the circuit board had shorted to a 120 Volt wire that was bent behind the board so that the sharp wire ends could punch through the insulation. I called the Maytag repairman and he brought a new refrigerator and took the old one back. He could have just replaced the board, so this is an example of whole unit replacement instead of board level replacement.
Thanks for sharing your story Ted!
THANK YOU Mr Carlson! This video specifically encouraged me that I could do this for my recently failed KitchenAid refrigerator. Fixed it for $9 in parts and $9 shipping. (I actually bought extra capacitors and will have them on-hand for “next time”, hopefully in 10 years or more.). All of your videos are instructional, and a BIG THANK YOU for sharing your knowledge here!
Glad it was helpful!
I was expecting Mr Carlson to growl "Focus you f*ck", when I remembered that that's someone else. This channel is chill.
Hah! Same here! Then it dawned on me this channel is neat !
Awesome video, I enjoy seeing repairs on refrigerators and hearing your explanation on why components failed. Really great stuff!
Insightful explanation of the bulb relay fault. Great to see the master at work on every day problems. Very relatable video.
Another *SUPER* job, Paul!
Wow! I do part-time work with a friend and we recycle a lot of appliances with many of them being Kenmore brand refrigerators. Newer ones no less. And as we do the evacuation of the freon, we find that they were always fully charged. I wanted to troubleshoot them but my friend never wanted to bother. I am going to show him this video and maybe we might have some fridges to repair and resell. Surely we would get more for them than simply scrap prices.
Thank you so much for sharing this information with us.
I was curious if the refrigerator with dual evaporators are you putting the refrigerant valve in a neutral position? By doing this you will be allowed to pull all the refrigerant. Have you worked on the new r600a appliances?
many of them would develop leaks at the aluminum evap coil to copper tube connection (glue/bonded joints) more so after other issues and being moved around roughly.
so be careful, repairing them can bite you in the rear quickly, unless you change names and move towns weekly lol
The ones that have refrigerant in them and aren’t mechanically damaged are all repairable. The idea is to learn to troubleshoot them quickly and to develop fixes that are efficient to apply. That way you could make a living out of it. Otherwise, I wouldn’t bother. It requires some thought along the way for sure.
I'm reading Gordon West Amateur Radio Study book and he recommended your channel to learn from . I was already watching your videos ,it was kind of neat to see his recommendation . I've learned a lot just watching....Thank you
In case you're wondering if you're a brand, yes, imo you are. I expect to hear your cheerful voice along with
"Hi there, and welcome to another episode of Mr. Carlson's lab," at the begining of every video. It's your trademark.
Well done, Paul. It's nice to see someone who still troubleshoots down to the component level. It's becoming a lost art.
And I second the vote for Digi-Key. They and Mouser are my go-to parts houses.
BTW, one of the main reasons for heating the doors on a fridge is to prevent condensation.
Digi-Key has been my gold standard now for 40 years. The assortment has saved my bacon more than a few times, such as in replacing caps that were too low rated in temperature, but installed within a heatsink U, bumping the temp rating told the tale for longevity.
Came in super handy with one old NAP TV model that had a pair of 47k resistors burn out for no readily apparent reason (could never duplicate the issue, so the originals must've had a defect in most of them). Bought a thousand, blew threw them in no time in warranty claims.
I’m dying to learn myself how to diagnose down to the chip level but it’s a lot of studying
I was expecting something like a Supreme Fridgelizer refrigeration device from “way back when”. Nicely done and educational, as always :)
LOL!
All this, and refrigerator repair too! Man, Mr. C, I have to say I'm danged impressed! Good work!
Got to say Mr Carlson, a very professionally presented channel. Well done!
The cooling unit for the µ-processor on this board is enormous! :) Great assessment, repair and video.
LOL!
Funniest thing I've read this week. Brilliant!
well said, ha-ha.
Planned Obsolescence: 0 Mr Carlson's Lab: 2
@David Berndt -
It is of course Planned Obsolescence = made for the dump ( & Mr Carlson's Lab defeats it) , but it could be far worse with more integrated proprietary chips ( just as Apple does more & more incl. the T2-chips etc. , see " Louis Rossmann"´s channel)
I think it’s just design to a cost. For $20 more in component cost it could be done to last forever. I also wonder how competent the engineers are who do this stuff. It’s not exactly glorious or exciting work, and it’s usually done by contracting the design out, so there’s no continuity of engineering tradition within a company.
The board was well laid out and labelled, I'll give LG kudos for that. But the electrolytics are the best way to ensure the fridge lasts a maximum of 20 years before that board dies - and the fridge gets junked. This definitely isn't one of those 1950s "tombstone" fridges that last forever, and I question whether the improvements in energy efficiency will offset the environmental cost of scrapping the old fridge and melting it down and making a new one on a shorter life cycle.
Sometimes electronics and microcontrollers aren't the best answer to a problem. As electronics guys, we have to be familiar with the saying that "If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail". I have a 3D printer, and I'm building a heated chamber for it. The heat source is entirely the build platform and the extruder. Most people add an exhaust fan driven by an Arduino board using custom software to keep the chamber at 40C or so - totally overcomplicated. I grabbed an old non-programmable Honeywell mercury-bulb thermostat, set it to AC, set it to 40C, put it in the build chamber, and that controls the exhaust fan just fine.
There's no better washing machine than a 1970s Maytag Dependable Care top-loader. You still see them in laundromats in 2019. Because they're an ingeniously simple design and they built them to last. And not one capacitor in the whole damned machine.
What’s brilliant about your videos is the way you describe every detail precisely 😀
A wonderful icing on a Sunday afternoon! So much useful information that helps everybody who loves repairing electronics stuff! Thank you Paul, for doing all the hard work over years and being an awesome teacher by sharing your unique experience with us for free!
My pleasure Ralf! Thanks for your kind comment too.
What a wonderful channel. If Mr Carlson was a sugeon (of elecronics of course), I bet there would be many happy radios out there. Back when then of course.
Panthony teach a man to fish and you have finished one job. Turn a man into a fish and you have a job for life.
@@HighestRank TURN a man INTO a fish, and you'll have a rather confused community, and a large court case, PLUS you'll need to invest in all the fish-keeping supplies.
Not sure what your take on it was, but I think the old saying is actually: _"Give a man a fish and he'll eat for the night. Teach a man to fish and he'll eat for life"_
Your version is somewhat abstract, but amusing nonetheless. :-/
Old fridges operated by only one defrost timer and a thermal disc which are so simple and very durable.
Yes, the motor turning the defrost timer in my ancient Gibson burnt out one day. There is a gigantic part supply place in my city where miracles happen every day because they have everything. They of course had a replacement motor (and replacement seals for the doors too). I popped it in (it was in a socket!) and it was running again. It wasn't down for more than 12 hours!
Nima Mousavi mine has two thermal disks: one to limit the heater temperature (thermistors were not resettable) and another to restart the defrost timer when the ice is gone.
The electronics in this fridge would outlast all mechanical parts if they were designed competently and cost $10 more. Common simple electronic controls have essentially infinite life compared to everything else, as long as you can pay the price.
A well derated industrial power supply and a low-end industrial PLC would cost 5-10 as much in parts compared to this board, but in typical operating conditions for this fridge they would have 50+ year expected life.
On my car most of the stuff I replace is mechanical, not electronic. Even electronics on my cars gave thus far failed only because of some mechanical fault like water ingress or cracked connector pin solder joints or a mechanically worn resistive element (Magneti Mirelli - I won’t forget you). I had no passive nor semiconductor failures on any car I have owned in the last 20 years. I’d say that if Bosch automotive division did the controller for that fridge to automotive standards, it would outlast both the fridge and the house it was in, easy. You’d pay $1200 to replace it if it did fail, though, lol.
@@absurdengineering Yes that's the point. In some cases you don't have to complicated with such boards contains some sort of SMPS and uC. The cars, you have to control multiple items in a matter of seconds. But in this case, for example, if you need to on and off a lamp you don't need a uC just put a proper switch there! You need to control the temperature that doesn't matter the .5 accuracy just use a simple thermostat which is working at least 20 years or so. All the things you need to know just use proper parts it doesn't matter the device is operated by electronic or mechanic. Could you image the car without mechanical parts!?
@@absurdengineering replacement boards are often $120 to 180 range ( if you do it yourself!) beware, boards/relays on them are not always the problem... proper testing is key and experience helps a ton
This video has it all! In situ removal; board layout review; hacking improvement ideas, dignostics for various problems; un-wrapping of new stuff (a Carlson un-boxing video! Never thought I'd see that); and repair! Wow!
About the time your fridge failed, my microwave oven failed. (Mfg. in 2004.) I discovered that the control board was not delivering DC to the circuit board. Upon examination of the circuit board I discovered that there was a small resistor in the power supply section that had burnt out. Since the resistor was so badly burned, I couldn't read the color code so I put my resistance substitution box in place of the resistor and began cranking down the resistance until the board started working. It was a 100 ohm resistor. So I replaced the original 1/4 watt resistor with a 100 ohm 1 watt resistor and the microwave oven has worked ever since. I put my DVM across the 100 ohm resistor and discovered that the resistor was dissipating way more than a 1/4 watt ! I couldn't believe that manufacturer (KitchenAid) had deliberately planned for the failure. The board was made in China, so I assumed that they had planned for it to fail so most people would just buy another microwave oven...
P.S. For those of you guys reading this, if you have a microwave oven failure, don't try to fix it yourself unless you really understand the workings of a microwave oven. There is Very High Voltage and a large capacitor in part of the oven, that will Kill...
Hi Paul, can you show us what the old parts look like on the curve tracer and the capacitor tester. am now building the third test device of your design. keep up the good work. am a patreon member
Excellent vid once again Paul... 10/10 One suggestion though: Since you've replaced all the electro caps to ensure long term reliability, might I suggest you should replace the Varistor. I've found that Varistor's change their molecular structures over time. It becomes worse in very noisy AC mains area's and they will eventually crack or explode and can be flammable. It's also recommended to encapsulate the Varistor body with heat shrink tubing to prevent the expulsion of black gas that will spread all over the place, plus it prevents flame out. In rare cases, it can actually produce a flame. I was made aware of Varistor problems in the first produced Micro$oft X-Box's. The AC connector solder joints eventually crack and become dry joints. This condition caused major spikes within the PSU to which it eventually changed the molecular structure within the Varistor, and caused it to crack open or explode. I repaired many an X-Box due to this problem. Micro$oft were quite aware of this, and offered up replacement power cords with had anti-spike suppression to prevent the Varistors from flame out. It was a cheap and nasty way of them to avoid console call back. It saved MS as heap of money and it avoided any possible litigation, as some consoles actually caused fires... Once again, great diagnosis and repair...
Had to chip carbonized PCB chunks on a few Philco TV's and literally have a small blind spot from a varistor that vaporized as I was looking at it on an old RCA TV. I suspect it isn't simply molecular drift or oxidation, I suspect it's numerous insults in line spikes over the course of time that allows their breakover voltage to drift critically low, resulting in a thermal runaway once breakover occurs at normal voltages.
They're impressive when they go though, a good four inches of orange plasma impressive! Then, the fuse failed.
I held my profanity until after I fixed it, reassembled the customer's unit (in home service) and was safely in the truck and down the road...
You've supplied the inspiration I needed to take another look at the fridge I have in storage. People who gave it to me said "it works great." Didn't work when I plugged it in.
Thanks Mr Carlson , I learned a lot In under an hour , I won’t shy away from considering working on my fridge .
"Spoiler" alert! Mr. Carlson fixes the 'fridge, and it's really "cool!" :D
Ted McFadden if we’d known his fridge was one of these things, somebody with their own spoiler alert could have suggested an outdoor LED bulb and saved the Lab a lot of work.
Great comment.
Bob theGrape enjoy a fresh Freudian allusion to ‘spoiled’ food.
It’s so great that you hacked your fridge board and built a board for the board!
Buddy Martin yeah but realize a simple soft-start insert would have saved some bulb life and design work.
🤦♂️
He didn't "hack" his fridge, he's retrofitted a bespoke triac module which detects zero crossing events, to the PCB.
PLEASE let's not dilute language. This is a modification or a retrofit, NOT a "hack".
@unlokia eat shit... it was a joke dipshit!
@@budandbean1 lol you're in an electronics repair video buddy. Everyone here is mildly autistic at best so probably best not to expect people to pick up on subtle jokes.
@Jay Understood but people don’t have to be assholes about it... That was a petty and pathetic comment by an idiot.
Paul, your level of detail and the way you strive for perfection and doing things slowly and thoroughly, completely aligns with the same character traits in me, which is why, yet again, I'd like to thank you for your time and effort in producing these videos.
You REALLY stand out from the noise and the know-it-alls, your calm, thorough and slow-paced demeanor pays you, and us, dividends.
God bless you, I hope you're all well, keep smiling my friend.
Matthew, England 🙂❤️💜
Excellent! Love watching you work on anything electronic!
I was going to give this one a pass. Glad I didn't. I love this channel, and the Patreon channel especially. You can't help but learn.
Even more scary is when the contacts weld shut in the magnetron relay of a microwave oven. I had one that would energize the magnetron as soon as the door was closed, and without running the cooling fan or light! Luckily someone noticed the abnormal humming and unplugged it right away.
Those Sam Young capacitors are not very good. I've seen lots of bad ones in TV's and monitors.
There are a number of other protection devices in microwave ovens, one of which is a thermostat on the magnetron itself, which will interrupt power if it gets too hot. Even the door typically has two switches, one to interrupt power, and the second one as a crowbar should the first switch fail closed. The idea is that no single point of failure can result in a hazardous condition.
@@TehMG Yep, and that goes to show why there are so many safeties on microwaves. Though I'm sure running with no cooking load nor cooling until the thermostat kicked out would have still been a risky situation. Especially if it were left unattended to cycle like that for days.
@@Maxxarcade Wonder how long it would have lasted... I figure running a microwave empty and having a kW reflecting around the inside wouldn't be good for either the microwave's or the owner's health
Pffft, risky situation? Not. Probably popped the magnetron’s thermal protection fuse within seconds of running without a fan but more likely just the crowbar switch was fused from having the oven opened too many times before being allowed to shut itself off or pressing pause/stop/cancel first.
@@petey8155 they seriously dont like it and can / will destroy the magi without a load ie food! inside to absorb the rf
Fascinating bit of education. I can't believe how much I learn from each of your videos!
Can you imagine Mr C Appliance Repair coming to your house!
Awesome channel, great info and interesting!
Digi-Key also has the best ziploc bags. I always save and reuse the bags from every order.
Agreed! I do the same
"The more complicated the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain" - Montgomery Scott
Makes sense.
This video gives you the motivation to try to repair other stuff. I had a central heating wall control unit timing problem which turned out to be a faulty capacitor which saved me time and money for a new unit. Worth a go.
Very impressive. I love this kind of repair video for everyday appliances. Most people would have just bought a new refrigerator. Thank you for another great learning experience.
Awesome and informative! Your broad knowledge of electronics never ceases to amaze me. I love how Digi-Key packs things. They're top notch. Mouser is alright too. And don't be fooled by those "young engineers" Paul, it is the bean counters that restrict what they can do. I was in appliance repair for years and saw the trend of cheaper and cheaper. They're all down to a 1 year warranty, but used to be 10 years at one point (Remember Maytag?) Relay failures became commonplace, especially in electric ranges, and fan motors quit for no reason other than cheapness. Components teetering on the edge of failure from the start so they will fail once out of warranty. I got out of that business a few years ago when replacement parts costs skyrocketed, and the companies made me, the service guy, foot the bill, then they "reimburse" me. You have one of the good refrigerators from a good time period before the "ultra cheapness" really set in. When your compressor finally gives up, you would be miles ahead replacing it, if done properly by an expert, and it will last longer than anything "new" out there today for way less money.
Jeff Counsil make the customer file for reimbursement, that’d soften the descent into Hell.
@@HighestRank Unfortunately it doesn't work that way. All warranty claims must be filed by authorized personnel only. And they almost always deny the claim at first. I've had claims denied by literally not dotting an i. The 1st person in the chain is tasked with finding "faults" in the paperwork. Then, if you're lucky, it passes to the next level to where the claim actually begins to be processed. Lost time with all the paperwork, purchasing parts, 2 trips minimum (you're only paid for one trip no matter what) to the customer's home, and researching root causes, is not even part of the claim for reimbursement! So no, I wouldn't even want a customer to file any paperwork. Ask yourself, would you pay for a warranty repair out of your pocket? Why would you? It's under warranty. We used to have a direct line to the engineer's desk, and even then they didn't know what to do half the time. Then it turned into a joke with nothing but a bunch of untrained people reading from cue cards.
Jeff, how do you ensure you get a well built replacement compressor these days, which is the only part I wouldn't replace myself. Jeff you sound like a guy who has been in the appliance field for many years, what brand would buy new? We have an older Maytag SxS(RSW24, I think it's from late 80's, came with the house), still works great but the compressor and the fans drive me crazy they are so loud.
@@wally6193 The really sad part is Wally, everything is cheaply made, mostly in China, nowadays no matter what brand. Even an entire "major brand" refrigerator can be made in China and shipped across the sea. 99% of replacement parts the same if they are even available individually. Most "parts" are no longer a part, but instead a high-priced "assembly". I personally look for "surplus" new old stock compressors. Some are made in Italy, Brazil, and a few other "non-Oriental" countries. A place called "Cold Parts" sometimes has something available, but not always. I personally don't mind hearing the fans (gotta oil them now and then) and compressor running. It's the silence (not running) that alarms me. FYI, Maytag is now owned by Whirlpool. Maytag almost went belly up over 20 years ago and WP bought them out. Now a Maytag is a Whirlpool, with a different emblem or sticker.
@@JeffCounsil-rp4qv Hi Jeff, Yes I know Whirlpool makes Maytag now as well as many others. I guess the question is how often do the compressors go out on the newer models. The electronics or minor things like fans I don't have any worriers about(I'm an Electronics Eng. -was). I hear you when you say you don't mind the fan or compressor noise, at least you know it's working still, ha-ha. The thing is, parts made in China can still be quality made(they do have the skill sets) but manufacturers don't want to pay the money for a quality part that costs them in the long run and puts repair people out of work. Cold Parts, I'll remember that for future reference, thanks.
Suggest adding an external temp alarm set to give FUTURE "early warning" of out-of-range temperatures.
FindLiberty in 21 ft^3 of space nobody can hear you scream.
@@HighestRank All the ones I've seen are wireless ones ;)
Surprised such an advanced refrigerator with microprocessor control and digital displays for both freezer and fridge on the door does not already have a temperature alarm.
@@LakeNipissing Hmmm... I beeps if you leave its door open for too long, but it does not care a bit if it disobeys and goes to room temp as it ruins and *Terminates* all of your food. _Better hold off on connecting these things to the missile defence system (Skynet)._ lol
FindLiberty thawing food is just part of the energy star 💫 requirements.
I started laughing out loud when I saw a Carlson custom board on the thing.. this guy!
Great I had the very same problem, wish I had seen this tutorial earlier, ended up buying a new fridge freezer!
I had a fridge fail once. I went over the board 100x's, checking caps, relays, soldier joints, etc. Also checked the compressor. Everything checked out good.
It turned out to be a bad fan in the freezer (responsible for blowing cold air in to the fridge portion). I unplugged it and the fridge kicked on. $10 later (for a new fan) and everything was right in the world.
$10 for a new fan? Wow you got a good deal, any fans I've seen priced are like $80.
Had a Kenmore fridge a long while back with a very similar board. My house was old, had poor or maybe even no real ground on many outlets, even three prong outlets. That board had a resistor that would blow every time there was a nearby thunderstorm. All this did was prevent the fan from blowing the cold air from the freezer into the fridge. Everything else looked right. I had bought the extended warranty. They replaced it three times before I (not the repairmen) finally examined the board they pulled out, saw the resistor, remembered the storm a few days before, and put a surge protector on the outlet. Never happened again. Much newer house now, probably fine grounds, but all my 120V appliance outlets get those single outlet surge protectors on them because even the washing machine has a complicated, expensive pcb in it now.
I really enjoy watching your videos. You explain in great detail , clear voice and precise. You are a master electronics technician indeed. Keep up your very interesting videos.
Good Video! I replaced my incandescent's with LED's a couple of years ago and no more bulb heat plus brighter light. It's worth doing.
Was looking for this comment, today I guess there is no reason not to, but "back then" the LED replacement probably did not exist or where awful.
Only one embedded controller? A real fridge runs on 7 ARM5 controllers with embedded windows.
@The Dollar Guy -
and has a Full-HD color OLED monitor of at least 15" in the fringe door & spys on you via WLAN & 5G
@@Killerspieler0815 That sh*t is True!
@@Killerspieler0815 ...and hackers add your fridge to their worldwide botnets and denial of service attacks, then cybersecurity officers come pounding on your house door!
@@Chris_Goulet - YES & we had warnings: Battlestar Galactica, ST-TNG , ST-TOS , ST-VOY , Terminator movies etc. this does not need a self aware AI , evil humans can cause these things too.,
As one of the TV commercials used to proclaim; "Simply amazing." A great video and the fix for the refrigerator seems so simple. Thank you, Mr. Carlson. Several years ago we had an upright freezer die. So, we threw that out and replaced it with "new." If that happens again we may , "buy new." However, I will tear into the old device and see what I can find and perhaps sell the old one at a yard sale to recover the cost of parts or maybe Mrs. Bob theGrape will want to keep it. Thanks for this enlightening video.
More repairs of modern electronics, please. Thank you for the video!
As Mr. Scott said, "The more they overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain". Jeez ... never a truer sentiment.
i bought my mum a fridge for christmas, you should of seen her face light up when she opened it
richard arseburger pretty sure that was just the light inside coming up.
What do they do with all the meat when donkeys die?
Make assburgers.
PS: I am autistic, please don't take a fence.... only a fence thief should take a fence :p
@@HighestRank pretty sure that was the joke
lol
You are the man! Love your videos. I don't always understand a lot of it, but it's still very entertaining. You are also a very good speaker.
Thanks for your kind comment Ryan!
Paul,
Another great troubleshooting video! I enjoy the modern troubleshoot/repair videos as much as the antique ones you share. Unfortunately, for us the appliance repair techs are board replacers and can't take things to the component level as you do. I had a similar problem, caused at times when I experienced an AC glitch at the line voltage level whenever the utility company performed switching. FYI, I agree with your comment regarding Digi-key. Great folks there that deserve a shout out. Again, many thanks for another fine video.
The other good point is the triacs don't open until zero cross also.
I just peeked in my fridge to check if the lights still go out... they do! :-)
Know what I mean Verne? ;-)
How did you fit inside with the door closed? BAAAWAAAHAHAHAAA
@@46bovine LOL....:))))))
Thanks as always for sharing. Also great video quality and most of all sound quality! From a long time patreon-member!
I love the usual repairs of test gear, radios, etc., but working on your refrigerator is a nice twist! 😎👍
Mrs. Carlson: "dammit Paul, just fix the damned fridge and stop with the videos!" ;)
LOL, Something like that.
@@MrCarlsonsLab yeh... i used to be married ;)
what did you do for a fridge while waiting for the parts from Digikey?
@@wally6193 it's Canada.... he probably put the stuff in the basement ;)
@@inerlogic well I live in Canada and it's not quite that cold here. I know Digikey can have parts to me the next day(most times) but food needs cold.
My first 1994 fridge lasted 24 years, my second 2018 fridge lasted 1 year
Don'tyears old. buy a new car either. Get a new engine. My newest car is 24
Everything is chinese crap chinese crap
Well now we are branching off in a new direction here ! A lot more like you’re first or one of your first videos about an emissions gizmo on your T/A. Infact I think I’d like to watch that again after this.
Cheers from S Ontario Paul.
you are number one Mr Carlson, this time I followed you till the end 👍✔
It would have been nice to see how bad the ESR's where on those old capacitors???
The back of that fridge was way too clean. No dust bunnies? I'm afraid to look behind mine. 😄
mikez104 they don’t channel heat from the condenser any more because an access conduit to copper in soy insulation only attracts such rodents.
On my LG the controller board is under a cover on the very top of the fridge. Talk about a dust catcher.
I thought I had proof of Bigfoot...turns out someone moved the fridge :)
jimle22 it’s not dust it’s a postproduction conformal coating application.
Some folk take pride in a clean home, almost to laboratory standards. Paul appears to be one of those, and that's no bad thing.
You Are Hereby Awarded the Most profound Thanks for sharing this in-depth Knowledge ... 👍
Well done Paul, not only great videos, but super comments worthy of reading. I see you read them also by answering many of them.
Why did you not change for leds, does it have adaptive defrost?
It has had LED bulbs in it now for quite some time.
What? You hijacked your own post. Light has never been used in a fridge for defrosting.
Thanks, the sticking relay ran the defroster ad infinitum, but the bulb being out was only a result of the CPU having powered the rest of the board off.
@@HighestRank Some modern designs defrost by running the refrigerator side fan. If that would cause the refrigerator to get too cold, it turns on the refrigerator light to add a little heat.
@@NiHaoMike64 adaptive defrost measures comp runtime and open door times, and also measures time it takes for evap to get above freezing and adj next defrost time accordingly, my fridge defrosts every 60-70 hrs. Also it important for evap fan not to run after defrost for 6 mins or so otherwise it would blow hot humid air into fridge and lets remaining water to refreeze to coil. I like the idea of a laser sensor to measure ice build up.
His wife must be mad, Honey lets get a new fridge...oh no I can fix it ;)
lol
I experienced a similar failure of my 'fridge but on the worst possible day...Thanksgiving! It was not discovered until the following day and all the holiday leftovers had to be trashed! In my case, the defrost relay stuck on causing the refrigerator and freezer to heat up! The odor the next day told the tale...
Clever mod, on your part! Thank you for the full explanation of your modification as well as taking us along on your refrigerator repair!
I Liked this different one. You actually helping not trow away all broken stuff :)
would love to see the circuit for your relay replacement please
All of the zero-crossing circuitry is built into the zero-crossing optoisolator, the only external components you need are a resistor to limit LED current on the control side, the triac and a resistor to limit trigger current when AC reaches the opto's minimum operating voltage.
Maybe you could replace the incandescent bulbs with LEDs to avoid replacing them in future.
That would have been my first inclination but I would assume when he made his solid state board he had investigated the led solution first and could not get suitable lamps otherwise it was an unnecessarily complicated solution.
Paul mentions in a comment above that he did that some time ago. :)
I just starting watching this video for the 1st time and that is the first comment I made too, ha-ha. As much as I love designing electronics I would have just replaced the relays and used LED bulbs and be done with it for that part of the problem. And then of course change all the caps just to be sure I wouldn't have to be in there again anytime soon.
It gets extra bad when people put in a higher wattage lamp …even more resistance at cold point.
Great to see how a little effort and a $3 part can prevent an otherwise perfectly good appliance from ending in landfill. But that prevents a $1500 sale of a new 'Fridge. The Manufacturer and the Stores don't want that, so its designed to have failure points. I've gone from the consumer repair field to industrial controls and its nice to see most industrial stuff is far better designed.
Well done as usual Paul, a fix, plus an excellent explanation of the how and why. the troubleshooting knowledge you share is pure gold.
Great repair job. This is very educational, a lot of good info. Thanks
2:30 Or they can become a Patreon and get your great capacitor discharger:-)
Fried Mule just use a screwdriver. Works every time ;D
Ah, damn you, Carlson... Thanks to you, I'm going to spend 1/2 hour watching a fridges circuit board... 🧐
Thanks Paul for this repair video! Nice board layout indeed!
The only video a REAL TECNICIA ACTUALLY FIXES SOMETHING!