Changing main control board on Zanussi ZJ18 help with label

[neil_f]

I have a Zanussi ZJ1218 with a faulty main controller that I want to replace. There are similar boards available on ebay but with a slight difference in the product label. The Type P and E numbers and software version are the same but the F: number is different.

My machine is Zanussi ZJ1218 914510916 Washer Dryer
My PCB label is
Procond Elettronica
Type P. 451527007 F: 60262
Type E. 132225524
SW Ver. W4A30127 17/Jul/07

Possible ebay replacement machine is Zanussi ZWF1637W
Replacement PCB label is
Procond Elettronica
Type P. 451527007 F: 60129
Type E. 132225524
SW Ver. W4A30127 25/Jun/07

I suspect the boards will be different given the different model numbers but the labels are very similar. What is the F: number and will the machine accept a PCB (and function) with a different F: number?

Thanks for any advice.
Neil

[Martin]

Re: Changing main control board on Zanussi ZJ18 help with l

Tip of the day: Don’t buy a board from eBay unless you can afford to be disappointed and unable to get a refund.

[Martin]

Re: Changing main control board on Zanussi ZJ18 help with l

The genuine replacement PCB (part no: 973914510916005) available direct from manufacturers. A snip at £136 🙁

[neil_f]

Re: Changing main control board on Zanussi ZJ18 help with l

The price of a replacement board is around 50{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} of the price of a new machine which isn’t an economical repair in my mind. On the other hand it just seems wrong to scrap the machine when it is otherwise good. A £30 PCB from ebay seems like it may be worth a punt.

Still keen to know if (similar) PCBs are interchangeable.

[Martin]

Re: Changing main control board on Zanussi ZJ18 help with l

neil_f wrote:Still keen to know if (similar) PCBs are interchangeable.

Very very unlikely. 🙁

[neil_f]

Re: Changing main control board on Zanussi ZJ18 help with l

Have spent the whole evening taking various parts on and off the circuit board and attempting to translate German service manuals for similar machines but have successfully managed to make a repair. 😀

There was a lot of fine soot around the power supply components, which took a lot of my time taking various components off and testing them but eventually it turned out to be nothing but soot. I think the transformer unit must run quite warm and the machine is 8 years old, so although it looked alarming it is probably to be expected.

The real problem was damaged tracks on the PCB near the connector to the motor. The motor had badly worn brushes and (I’m told) had been making odd noises before it stopped altogether. There was evidence of arcing on one of the brushes in particular and the PCB track next to the brush connector had burned right through. The neighbouring track was also damaged but this was harder to spot because there was still enough track to buzz out the connection with a multimeter but too high an impedance to run the (newly refurbished) motor.

All it took was a link across one track break and on the other I cut the connector off the cable and soldered the wire directly to a component leg on the board. I think the connector design is pretty poor given the power and type of motor. Was also surprised by how little information is available for these machines, particularly the PCB.

I still need to tidy the cable harness up and put the back on the machine etc. but it has run a complete spin cycle and I have let it run 25 mins or so of a wash cycle and everything is working fine so very happy.

[Author]

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