Continue to Site

Welcome to our site!

Electro Tech is an online community (with over 170,000 members) who enjoy talking about and building electronic circuits, projects and gadgets. To participate you need to register. Registration is free. Click here to register now.

  • Welcome to our site! Electro Tech is an online community (with over 170,000 members) who enjoy talking about and building electronic circuits, projects and gadgets. To participate you need to register. Registration is free. Click here to register now.

Whirlpool main control board repair

Hi All,

Quick preface - I have attempted to repair my electrical and electronic devices whenever they failed - and, while successful at the occasional large format PCB repair based on others’ recommendation of the likely failure mode/component (and, replacements of various PCBs, sensors, etc), I am not trained to be able to understand or troubleshoot past looking for obvious deterioration, overheat, deformations, etc. Always wanted to be, but wasn’t part of my life’s flow. I have used training materials, including videos to try and improve my knowledge level, but most of the failures I need to repair are “one offs” - usual stuff like appliances, HVAC systems, pumps, etc (I have a couple of rental houses and something is always failing). And, turns out, like mechanical systems, I enjoy this sort of thing! It’s not just the money saved, it’s knowing a basic component can be replaced, repairing a larger component or device - and, saving it from the landfill.

So, with the understanding I don’t know much about the topic - I’ll outline my recent troubleshooting and intent to repair - if this is the wrong forum, or sub forum, please tell me!

Neighbor had been out of town for three months - at some point a few days prior to their return, the compressor stopped working on their side by side Whirlpool Gold refrigerator with in door icemaker, etc - about 10 years old, but perfect in every other way. I found it this way when delivering some food for their arrival. Did a quick on site evaluation - determined, by flexing/pushing/tapping/wiggling the main control board (using the condenser fan as the indicator), that something on the board was intermittent.

Neighbor then tells me there was a problem “awhile back” that was traced to the board, but everything started working while the tech was evaluating the board. So, consistency, at least. They were not interested in repairing or replacing the board - just bought another of the same make. New frig installers dropped the old one in my garage.

Pulled board, reflowed a few dozen connections, but was not able to get consistent operations - after some time isolated the issue to the power relay on the board. New boards are about $400 with used ones around $100. Figuring I had nothing to lose, destructively removed the top cover of the relay, to find the power on contact badly burned. Sanded the contact and cleaned. Still intermittent, but a bit more often. Removed the plastic actuator, applied force to bend the metal frame a bit, reinstalled and works normally - all other controlled functions of the frig appear to work normally, including the ice maker (the usual biggest failure point). Been running for a few days. I put a Ring camera on the compressor/condenser fan area and observed it turn on and off - looks to be normal ops.

The relay is Chinese made, so ordered exact same from China via eBay from a reliable supplier - if I knew more about this, I could probably substitute another manufacturer, but don’t - so, took the easy way out. I can ham-handed replace the relay - eight pin, but I can’t answer the question - “Is it just the relay, or is there another component on the board that caused the initial points to start to arc?” It’s usually a capacitor, so perhaps I should be replacing one/more of these at the same time.

Appreciate your thoughts!
 

Attachments

  • 3125C60E-FDC8-4284-B05B-F5E544A2EF6F_1_102_o.jpeg
    3125C60E-FDC8-4284-B05B-F5E544A2EF6F_1_102_o.jpeg
    147.8 KB · Views: 260
  • 843102EF-F7DA-48C2-9B22-D1F02BDBC963.jpeg
    843102EF-F7DA-48C2-9B22-D1F02BDBC963.jpeg
    1.5 MB · Views: 302
  • A5D5CB7A-D326-48BC-96F7-9B30A9D86967_1_201_a.jpeg
    A5D5CB7A-D326-48BC-96F7-9B30A9D86967_1_201_a.jpeg
    3.7 MB · Views: 296
Well, thanks, Nigel ... my kids say IF I have a super power it is persistence .... sometimes not in a good way :)

So, the burns points are not indicative of a slow cap or something like that?

I was hoping to find a lot of "failure mode" data on this board, but there isn't much out there - I know there are lots of businesses that strip appliances and sell the components (some may even put them through a test sequence prior to selling, but this is likely on the appliance), and some other shops that repair boards - used prices in the $80-100 range with 60 day warranties.
 
Well, thanks, Nigel ... my kids say IF I have a super power it is persistence .... sometimes not in a good way :)

So, the burns points are not indicative of a slow cap or something like that?

No, just poor design really.

I was hoping to find a lot of "failure mode" data on this board, but there isn't much out there - I know there are lots of businesses that strip appliances and sell the components (some may even put them through a test sequence prior to selling, but this is likely on the appliance), and some other shops that repair boards - used prices in the $80-100 range with 60 day warranties.

White goods repairs are mostly board only, as the repairers are basically mechanical engineers, so don't have PCB repair skills. Companies who strip old units for spares rarely do much testing, they just give a warranty, and if you find it's faulty will simply give you a refund.
 
Tepalia,

Absolutely - thanks! I usually review the various videos on appliance repairs, but mostly they cover line replaceable unit ... not much into troubleshooting WHY the $200 washing machine control board doesn't work.
 
Update!

Refrigerator still operating normally - open top relay still working fine.

Just received a replacement - recall I ordered via an Ebay seller - direct from China, apparently. They are same size, and have same marking except on the lower right side of the top where all information is etched ... the original has a "C1053" and the new one has a "C1020" ... the original is easier to read, so just posting that one.
 

Attachments

  • 8832544B-BB98-4C7C-8EF6-57ACFA8237F0_1_201_a.jpeg
    8832544B-BB98-4C7C-8EF6-57ACFA8237F0_1_201_a.jpeg
    2.2 MB · Views: 196
  • 1CB80A9C-A6D1-4F77-9E7A-7C92FA11BB54.png
    1CB80A9C-A6D1-4F77-9E7A-7C92FA11BB54.png
    632.8 KB · Views: 187
I need to practice this de solder thing - a lot! Finally got the old one removed using solder sucker, some solder wick - bear of a time - slipped a fine screwdriver between relay and the board and finally coaxed it off, tearing a pin off the relay. Seemed like a lack of heat, but I had increased the Haako to 750, then 800, then 840 - still seemed like it took too long to melt the board solder.

So, removed old, cleaned the area well, resoldered using flux and flux core solder (small stuff) - installed in refrigerator - seems to work fine so I buttoned it all back up.
 
Yeah - I do like learning, although it occurs only as things need to be repaired, sometimes happening only once or twice, so I never really get good at anything!

And, I do hate seeing expensive things just thrown away when so little is needed to repair them.
 
I need to practice this de solder thing - a lot! Finally got the old one removed using solder sucker, some solder wick - bear of a time - slipped a fine screwdriver between relay and the board and finally coaxed it off, tearing a pin off the relay. Seemed like a lack of heat, but I had increased the Haako to 750, then 800, then 840 - still seemed like it took too long to melt the board solder.

So, removed old, cleaned the area well, resoldered using flux and flux core solder (small stuff) - installed in refrigerator - seems to work fine so I buttoned it all back up.
You were probably using far too small a soldering iron bit?, for larger joints you need a larger bit.
 
Nigel,

Yes, I think so. I've ordered a larger set for next time. My sense while heating the solder joints was that they simply weren't melting fast enough.

I also wasn't adding solder to heat and allow suction to work as much as I should, I think. I got better at using the wick material, but it too likely would have been better done with a larger bit.
 
Last edited:
I need to practice this de solder thing - a lot!
If you are de-soldering commercial gear built with lead-free solder, I find it's best to remove whatever you can easily, then reflow the joints with fresh tin-lead solder.

You can then remove that again quite easily, with a lot less left behind. Lead-free does not flow well.
 
Nigel,

Yes, I think so. I've ordered a larger seke tin for next time. My sense while heating the solder joints was that they simply weren't melting fast enough.

I also wasn't adding solder to heat and allow suction to work as much as I should, I think. I got better at using the wick material, but it too likely would have been better done with a larger bit.
Yes, adding extra solder, particularly leaded solder, helps greatly - but a small bit can't transfer enough heat.
 

Latest threads

Back
Top