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Re: Whirlpool American Fridge Freezer broken down – help!
Hi Richardcowey,
It does sound like your fridge is working for the moment.
Have you now changed your compressor relay?
I think Graphite or someone will be able to help with the time it takes to defrost.
The system is not actually that intelligent; I believe it just defrosts after a preset time.
Fingers crossedRe: Whirlpool American Fridge Freezer broken down – help!
Hi rkbwap
I’m hoping Kwatt can help with your requirements; I’m not really up on too many model numbers.Re: Whirlpool American Fridge Freezer broken down – help!
I think you may have picked it up wrong Brodders as, I actually don’t really disagree with you. But, I’ve sort of led you a merry dance in some ways just to see where this went.
The reasoning behind the “illegal to live test” is actually from HSE and, although we don’t like it and, I certainly don’t, what they say actually can’t be made not to make sense if you think about it…
Any appliance can be component and wiring checked without having mains power applied. There is no good reason that mains power should be required to check an appliance. Therefore, it is unreasonable to claim that mains power is required to check as you can do basic, simple checks for continuity etc. and, if that fails, change the suspect components as they are generally modular.
As an industry, we do not repair to component level when it comes to the electronics, we are trained to diagnose and swap out the module.
So, you don’t need to mains test.
Ergo, it’s illegal to do so under current legislation.
The onus is on you to prove that live testing was required and that there was no other way but, we know, there is another way.
That is the line you’ll get from most manufacturers, insurers and WP’s.
In other words, in this industry it is not possible to justifiably claim that you have to work with a live appliance. That is how it came about that live testing was made illegal, the industry basically hung themselves out to dry and didn’t argue it.
Now, since you’re smart enough to see through this, you’ll understand that this suits many people and negates a lot of responsibility but, the HSE have swallowed it hook, line and sinker. We all just have to live with it.
However, there is some merit in the argument it has to be said. You just have to be able to see both sides of it. I can totally get it from the point of view of an untrained person messing around with 240V without a clue of what they’re doing.
For your PTC example, you meter out the pot, if that’s okay and the mains cable is okay then the PTC is swapped out. Simple, doesn’t need mains power to do it. You can prove out everything with appliances the same way, it’s not helpful I agree, but it that’s the way it is.
I do appreciate that the general public don’t have to follow the same guidelines, regulations or laws, but we do. That includes where we offer advice in a professional capacity.
Did you know that, by rights, under EU legislation (apparently although I’ve not seen it) that if you offer professional advice to the public you need to be insured to do it! Several companies wouldn’t give help unless you spoke to the person that was insured to give advice. It’s insane and I’ve never seen or heard of any prosecutions over it, but it is apparently real. Hence, no technical support in Europe like they get in the USA, even though that’s the supposed more litigious society, go figure.
I wouldn’t worry about people having a pop, that’s life on the internet and in public forums in most any format. I get it all the time, I’m just thick skinned I guess. 😉
K.
Re: Whirlpool American Fridge Freezer broken down – help!
Well, this morning the fridge freezer is lovely and cold, nothing unusual to report, quietly buzzing away.
Thank you all for the information and help here, especially Brodders for his detailed responses. It has saved me a lot of money which I simply did not have, and now we are back with a working fridge freezer – extremely important with a 2 year old in the house, he hates chewing his milk!
I bought C1, C2, C5,6,7,8, C26,27,28 and the compressor relay and replaced them all, eventually. I also bought a desoldering iron/pump. Total cost – £28. And I have a desoldering pump to show for it!
For future reference – C2 on my board was 10v 1000uF and according to the info here it is usually 6.3v. I bought both replacements and I had already fitted the 6.3v before I fitted the last part, the compressor relay. I fitted the relay and nothing (actually a new fault, CF). I put a new 10v in C2 and it has been perfect for 24 hours.
So… while I’m sure the kit and info here is great for most, I would advise anyone coming here in the future to take note of what you take off your board before just fitting what comes in the kit. It might make all the difference.
Thanks again!!!!!! 😀
Re: Whirlpool American Fridge Freezer broken down – help!
Hi Richardcowey,
That’s excellent news and I’m sure it will last for many more years.
I like the ‘chewing milk’ bit.
Unless I’m mistaken, you never answered my question. I believe you already have the later board with all the blue caps in?
Although I’ve not heard of any ‘blue cap’ failure yet, the relay still has a tough job to do and the contacts had probably become burnt and worn.Keep up the good work 🙂
Regards
broddersRe: Whirlpool American Fridge Freezer broken down – help!
Good morning Shaun and Graphite,
Whilst certain fascist governing bodies are content with controlling the country we live in and won’t be happy until we become commies and have no freedom at all; in the privacy of my own home and un-bound by rules and regulations in the workplace; I’m happy to report your fridge freezer will run with the front panel removed.
However!
I would emphasise the importance of safe working practice and in reality, the front board modification only takes a short while. (an hour tops)
For this reason, there is no real justification for having the unit connected to any supply whist the front panel is repaired.
I believe the freezers will sustain temperatures within safe limits for at least 6 hours (possibly more) without the need to power the unit up
Thank you and be safe 🙂Re: Whirlpool American Fridge Freezer broken down – help!
I did already have blue caps so it may well have just been the relay all along. However, after I changed just the first few caps, it already cured the continuous clicking and briefly started up the compressor before failing again so I think it was worth changing the lot.
Thanks again.
Re: Whirlpool American Fridge Freezer broken down – help!
Can someone please tell me if any of the rear boards listed on the site will be ok for mine?
My model is 20rud4apt, which i have not seen listed anywhere here.The badge in the fridge says
8586 420 15020
473 133 325 15
540 206 334model—- sb540w ????????????? dont know what this applies to.
I have replaced the front board with a new one that the engineer left behind, 20 mins and seems to be ok at the moment, not holding my breath though!
My board is an old one, so the repair kit i purchased looks totally different to the parts on my pcb.
Re: Whirlpool American Fridge Freezer broken down – help!
Looks like the original fault has cleared…………….so far. But, water dispensing really slow, dont know whether this my be to do with water pressure in my new house, but its slow compared to my old address. And the ice tray doesn`t seem to be filling up with water, its only been on 20-30 mins tho, is this the norm until it gets warmed up?
Is it possible that, as the drinks and ice hasnt been working for around 6 months, that there could be some sort of blockage?
Re: Whirlpool American Fridge Freezer broken down – help!
Hi, a couple of pages back, I posted my experiences changing the usual capacitors and the subsequent results. I should have left it there :rolls:
Unfortunatly I didn’t. On Saturday I thought I would try to fix the last vestige of relay chatter by swapping out the final capacitors – C26, 27 & 28. For the first ten miniutes after the change it seem to work – water flowed without splutter and the fans all started up as they should. I started to put my tools away but became aware there was a slow ticking from the front relay. While my back had been turned, so to speak, it had all gone wrong. 🙁 The compressor nor the fans run, niether ice nor water dispenses. The Led temp displys still show the target tempratures but the individual digits flash ever so slightly in time with the ticking from the relay. First the -ve symbol then the 2 then the 0 then the 5 and back to the start again, so the flashing passes across the display like a ‘wave’. the ticking is like a clock – every every half second or so.
Has anyone ever seen this before?
I tried putting the original capacitors back, plus a few other minor experiments but to no avail. I had a chat with Broders – but it is asking a lot of someone so many miles away to diagnose a problem.
My gut feeling is that is actually something simple – but what….
I am desperately hoping someone will recognise the symptoms I have described above.
Re: Whirlpool American Fridge Freezer broken down – help!
Maybe a stab in the dark but I seem to recall mine doing something like that and the problem was the electrolytic capacitor on the front board.
After replacing it, the thru hole plating on the PCB had burnt off so there was no continuity between the front of the board and the back where the capacitor is mounted.
Soldering the front pads as well as the back fixed the problem.
Maybe worth checking ?Re: Whirlpool American Fridge Freezer broken down – help!
Hi Ozzy, thanks for your reply. I will check it out – I have absolutly no other leads – however I am rather pessimistic as I had already changed the front electrolytic several months back just as a precaution – the replacement was slightly larger and had to lay on its side (however, same capacity and voltage rating) – and I haven’t touched the front board since.
All that I ‘touched’ this weekend was the caps 26, 27 & 28 although obviously I could have disturbed something else on the rear board.
Thank you again.
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