Servis FF Model M0263W not cooling

Re: Servis FF Model M0263W not cooling

Thanks everyone…

Dales-E: I’ve had the thing off overnight and tried it again in the morning several times and nothing changes.

kwatt: The compressor does get hot-ish if it’s running (that is not just trying to run) for some time. But then the freezer panel ices up. I reckon if the fan would run the fridge and freezer would cool and freeze – albeit without any control over the temperature.

Gandh1: As for the retailer’s responsibility – I think he’s trying to be fair. It’s a local store and he sent the engineer out and didn’t charge and has offered a discount off a similar Beko. The Servis FFs he has in stock (including one delivered while I was there) are not the same model as mine.

I’ll have one more look at the PCB, but guess I’ll just have to check through here to see what people think about Beko – I’ve already been to their site and seen there’s a full range of spares and the important bits seem to be mechanical.

Thanks again
Mal

Re: Servis FF Model M0263W not cooling

I THINK WE HAVE A RESULT !!! 😀

Apologies for shouting but, after 12 hours running, we appear to have solved the problem – although I can’t pinpoint exactly how.

I got the idea from reading other posters’ problems with those highly complex Whirlpools so I decided to test the capacitors. There are three on the M0263W’s (CB09) circuit board: an X2 B32923, a 16v 470uf electrolytic and a 0.1uf 50v ceramic.

My experience to date is with audio equipment and communication systems, but I’ve rarely known an X2 fail. Electrolytics can go duff, and little epoxy-dipped ceramics are fairly frequently involved in circuit failures. The only one that looked suspect (slightly bulging, but that could be my imagination) was the canned electrolytic.

They all looked cheapos so I replaced them all with higher voltage and temperature rated equivalents. Total cost £4.02 from Maplins.

I can’t say what the problem was as it’s difficult to see the role of each component on the board apart from generally guessing. However, as lack of information seldom stops me having an opinion, here’s my take on the situation – I think the capacitors used to boost/smooth out the supply when the freezer fan and compressor motor kick in were not up to the job. It seems that luckily the integrated circuit and other semiconductors have not been affected.

I hope this helps anyone else out there who’s been daft enough to buy a cheapo frost free fridge freezer using electronics for its control.

Thanks to everyone who’s made suggestions and given me ideas to go on.

Now I’ve got to go and tackle a wasp nest in the roof…

Re: Servis FF Model M0263W not cooling

Hi John,

I’m no fridge freezer expert, but as my repair still seems to be working here’s my two-penn’orth…

My freezer compartment was almost empty so it cost me nothing to leave everything switched off for 24 hours just to be sure something wasn’t simply iced up. I could also check that the thingy which drains into the plastic dish on top of the compressor was clear.

The next day I switched on to test and proved it was not the above (if I put my ear against the side I could hear if the fan behind the clipped-in rear wall in the freezer was running – it wasn’t).

Obviously, unplug the fridge freezer before you go further.

I then unclipped the back panel inside the freezer compartment to get to a second panel on which the fan is mounted. Lifting out a round cover in the panel let me unplug the fan motor and lift out the complete second panel. I could then test if the motor was OK (it’s mains voltage). As it was, I then moved to the electronics.

The electronics are mounted on a printed circuit in the control/lights panel that’s above the fridge door. The panel’s held by two screws underneath which you can see when you open the fridge door. Remove these and you can pull the panel straight off – it might resist a bit because the panel also seems to be stuck in place with an adhesive sponge gasket. But wiggling it as I pulled helped get me it off (a tip for life there, maybe 😉 ).

There are two multi-pin plugs bringing all the cabling to the printed circuit board – they’ve got small clips that need to be pressed to unplug them, so don’t just tug.

There are two screws holding the PCB into the panel and you’ll have to remove these to get to the components on the other side.

I used a magnifying glass to check for any visible problems like bulging or burnt components. I suspected one of the two capacitors (marked as C2 on the board) near the reed relay that’s mounted like miniature goal posts, and I decided to renew all three capacitors – the big blue plastic X2 parallel to the reed relay assembly; the nearby suspect smaller round electrolytic; and a really tiny blue ceramic marked 104 right at the furthest end of the PCB (C3 I think – there are some unpopulated positions with various markings on my PCB).

It’s a simple job to replace the components using a small soldering iron and a pair of small wire clippers and a small screwdriver to lever the components off as you heat the solder. Two things to note are:

1) don’t overheat the PCB – especially anywhere near the semiconductors or the integrated circuit;

2) C2 is the only capacitor with polarity marked – usually a series of dashes to denote negative so note the way the original is mounted before you take it off (however, PCBs often show where the positive + leg should go).

I got my replacements from Maplin (its catalogue is online) – here are the catalogue numbers and details if it helps (note, I chose more robust substitutes for the originals, but it’s obvious which ones they replace):

DT67 470uF 50V 105C @ 48p
N74CN MP X2 275V 1uF @ £3.02
WW54 Tat 0.1uF 35V @ 52p

That’s what I did with my board. But the more I read on here about modern white goods the less confident I am manufacturers are consistent with the components and subassemblies they use even in the same models.

Good luck !