Dehumidifier repair: How to disable or bypass the humidity sensor.
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- Опубліковано 9 бер 2014
- Dehumidifier repair is a bit misleading. More like angrily modifying.
I normally talk about video games, but I had an issue with water in my game room, so in this video I show you how to bypass or disable the humidity sensor in a dehumidifier. I suppose you could also infer how to replace the humidity sensor in a dehumidifier as well, and I may make a video about that in the future, but I do not specifically detail that in this video. This "repair" was performed on a Zenith 30 pint dehumidifier, but it was manufactured by LG. LG also manufactures Goldstar, Whirlpool, Kenmore, Danby, Comfort Aire, and probably other dehumidifiers as well, so it may also work for yours.
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OMG - I can't believe I found this. I have 3 old malfunctioning dehumidifiers in the basement and was ready to take them to recycling. I just did this on the oldest one (Zenith) and now it's working!!! Unbelievable!! Could the other 2 also be the same? 🤦♂ I can't believe you posted this 10 years ago!
Glad it helped with at least one of them.
Thank You!!!! This was EXACTLY what I needed to fix my machine. I shorted the on-off-adjust terminals to at least get the unit running, but it would cycle on and off too fast. Noticed if I sprayed the sensor with water the compressor would kick on again for awhile so I replaced the entire wire harness with a new OEM one (which includes a new sensor and temp bulb), and still had the same symptoms. So now I suspect the board or the new sensor was bad as well, so tried your idea. IT WORKED! You're the man, thanks again! Walter
+Walter Tech From what I'm told it doesn't work with every unit, but I'm glad it worked for you.
GREAT VID.!
My humidifier was in the car on the way to the recycle station.
Now it's in my cellar doing it's work!!
Thank you!
Glad it helped.
You rock. Thanks for this video. Helped me fix mine without electrocuting myself or starting any fires.
Was thinking of this fix for a dehumidifier I have. Glad to find specifics from a fellow DIYer using his curious and imagination side.
Thank you! Your video helped me sooooo much. I have a Kenmore 580.53650200 and wasn't sure if the Dehumidifier Humidistat was bad or not. First I checked with my multi-meter and had no continuity on the red and white wires. Once I hooked them up to each other it started right up. I was pretty sure the Dehumidifier Humidistat was the problem, but your video confirmed it for me. The key was which wires to check. RED and WHITE are the ones to check. I hooked them up to eachother and now I rely on the bucket switch to turn off my machine when full. I also cycle it on/off for 6 hours at a time just as a precaution. Lg 6877A30013E is the part number for a new Dehumidifier Humidistat for the Kenmore 580.53650200 in case anyone wants to spend the $50 and fix it the right way. My unit is over 15 years old and this is the first problem I ever had with it. Once again, THANKS again for leading me to the RED and WHITE wires!
Happy the video helped.
I bought my TCL model number TDW50E19 for $10 at Goodwill,
It looks like it's in good shape, runs for a bit then gives me an E3 code with no water in the bucket. The bucket is dry with a layer of mineral build up in the bottom of the bucket. I am unfamiliar with dehumidifiers, our new home's basement has a leak so we needed something we could use until we can figure out the cause. I really like how informative your video is.
This worked perfectly on a Zenith ZD300 that kept giving the 01 error. Huge thanks!
Happy it helped.
I am cheating my unit with a wet rag. It has a seperate intake right next to main. It just constantly reads lower than it is , and electronic adjustment controlls are glitchy.. and i thought I'll need a resistor like when cheating with phone battery third pin. Thanks man. Realy useful. And this being explained by someone without the Punjab accent.
Great video! Not sure if this is the problem with my TCL 50 pint dehumidifier but as a woman with some knowledge but not much of electrical it was straightforward and easy to understand. I like your casual and candid style and you're beginning disclaimers were funny. I don't know if it was just me but I found it entertaining. Thank you for sharing.
Any luck with your 50 pint?
Thanks so much! This is perfect, exactly what I wanted to do since mine is always in Continuous mode anyway. It's stupid that it became a glorified fan due to this failure when its main purpose doesn't even use the sensor.
Good luck, I hope it works for you.
My Gold Star seems to running fine now, thank you!!
Guy Fiorentini Glad to hear it. Just make sure to stop it every once in a while to make sure it isn't freezing up.
Hope it helps drying out the room, plus that the repair of what caused the water leak in the first place does not take too long.
Great video! Very helpful Thank you. My problem is my bionaire dehumidifier only allows me to adjust humidity control from 40% to 80% but I want it to be reduced to 18%. So there is the answer to my problem.Now I just have to look for a technician to do it for me
Thank you
+Benedict Lego Are you sure it's broken? Mine only adjusts from 40-70 by design. There is no setting above 70%, and the only setting below 40% is "on".
LOL knew that work on it unplugged was coming! My unit is not the same but a search led me here, I'm having a temp shut off according to the code. Still think I'll bypass this thing also if it's not the same thing that measures temp. So hopefully this info points me in the right direction to get mine running longer than a hour. I'll just find the thing stuck to fins, cut wires, twist non black wires together and don't electrocute myself! Thx!
I try to buy the simplest units I can find. The more geatures they have the more complicated and likely to break they are.
Good luck.
My wife thinks I'm a genius for bypassing our humidistat on the $35 dehumidifier that I bought at a storage locker sale. All thanks to this video. Once I knew what to look for it was just a simple hunt though in our case the humidistat was placed slightly different on the side inside the case. Now our dehumidifier runs perfectly instead of for 30 seconds. Thank you SO much! Our model is an old 2003 Kenmore 5245 with a digital screen.
Glad it helped. I figured that my brother probably wouldn't be the only person with this problem.
I got mine for 10 eur at flea market. Been cheating with a wet rag
"The More You Know"! Thanks for sharing this man - not sure if I'll ever be putting these skills to use, but I know others will definitely find this helpful. Keep up the great work - and good luck to Jimmy!
Best of luck to you, saving your collection ...
Hi
THis was very useful and it works !
Many thanks
Happy to hear it was helpful.
Hi, would you happen to know anything about the float device? I have a simply (Danby) humidifier without a float plate and the part has been discontinued. Looking for a maguiver step to keep it going, thought you might know of a trick I could use. Thnx!
Winters in Japan where I am get pretty dry, so I usually running a humidifier. But summers are muggy! So I think maybe I'll spend next summer in the coastal mountains of Oregon. It seems odd that this machine doesn't already have an on/off switch. And I didn't know LG made stuff for so many other companies. Hope things are working out with insurance and the game room stuff!
Thanks for the video! My only problem is, i have a fourth wire which is blue, and no combination of splicing them together seems to kick it on and bypass is. Anyone have any ideas?
You can also get a 15A digital outlet timer. You can then set it to run for only a few hours a day
Great idea!
I use a Inkbird Digital Humidity Controller to control my humidifier. Works great.
External Humidity Controller will now be perfect.There are many out there $30-50. If you are going thru dehumidifiers like I am, the controller makes the "hot wired" ones as convenient as new, BUT they must have Auto Restart which is a feature that some do not have.
Hi, got an E3 error message. Usually cleaning that sensor you removed was solving the issue but not anymore. I tried to bypass it but have four cables: red-yellow-black-blue. Tried different combination starting by connecting together red and yellow with no luck. Any suggestion you may have? Thanks
Thank you! This worked exactly as described. Stupid thing hadn't worked in 3 years (would turn on for 1 minute and shut off) and after I did this, it now works... mine has a timer so I can set it to shut off in 3 hours or 6 hours.
Great to hear.
It doesn't work on all units, and isn't always the problem, but if you're going to throw it out and buy a new one anyway you may as well give it a shot.
Thank you! It has been a VERY rough day and at least something went well! Until the unit blows up :)
There have been a few people that said it didn't work for them, but most have had success. I hope it works for you.
Indeed it has! Now to find the ebay version..
But, this fix certainly will hold me over!
Again, my deepest thanks!
144Donn
Happy it helped :)
Wondering if the back-end was causing the problem..I was only looking at the plastic piece (I guess the sensor) that you pulled off.
Do you think the capacitor gave out? The unit was sitting in a corner over the winter not in use. The board cannot be any more simple.
144Donn
While I happen to think that capacitors are the root of most problems in electronics, I have found that one of two things tend to cause 80% of dehumidifier failures. Bad switch/humidity sensor or a bad compressor. Capacitors are cheap though, so it couldn't hurt to try.
If the compressor never kicks on it is likely the humidistat (which is the fancy word they use for humidity sensor), or possibly a compressor that stopped working.
If the coils are icing over, and you have verified that everything else is working as it should (good airflow, clean filter, room isn't too cold), then it could be that our compressor is actually over-compressing the refrigerant, which causes it to get too cold and freeze the water vapor into ice.
If the compressor kicks on, but the coils never get cold, it might be that the compressor is no longer compressing the refrigerant enough to lower the temperature.
I am by no means an expert, and there are other possible causes, but I have owned more of these stupid things than any 10 other people I know, and it has always been one of these problems. It seems to affect all brands and price points. They are all junk nowadays, and you can't really expect to keep one working for more than a year or two if you run them as much as I do.
I have since replaced this unit with one from the late 80's, and it is still going strong.
Thanks for the video LG sensor part is no longer available . As you say it runs constantly I have a hose hooked up so no big deal . Have one out of 2 units running now ! I was sick of having to work from home in the basement with the damp smell
Happy the video helped.
Which wires would you tie together if you have four (red, blue, brown, and orange)?
I have a Frigidaire and I just tied the blue and brown wires together left the red and orange alone and it worked.
Thanks for posting your solution.
I have a LG dehumidifier it has 4 wires a brown,yellow,orange,and red what do i do?
I have a Honeywell that just gave me an EH code... will try getting replacement part... in meantime, will see about rigging the wires like there... thanks
bought mine November 2, 2019, so it lasted 2 years 9 months! In basement running almost full time.
Good luck.
I have a James brand (from Uruguay) humidifier that doesn't turn on and instead the RUN light just flashes rapidly. Initially I thought it was the bucket switch but that seems to be fine. I'm going to try this and see what happens. By the way, what is this sensor actually used for?
Thanks for the video.
if you have 3 wire red,yellow black. and reading is 20% try adding 100k resistor on the sensor. it should read 45-50%
Thanks for adding your own advice. You never can tell who may read the comments and appreciate your help.
Have an AeonAire 70 pint dehumidifier that was displaying an E1 error code. Code not find anywhere that definitively said what this represented. Took it apart and saw the capacitor on the humidistat board was fried. No parts to be found anywhere. This is a four wire sensor - couldn’t find any recommendations for bypassing. So - determined all the combinations and permutations you could try with four wires and started working through the list. Found that by shorting the middle two wires (white with blue “Xs” and blue with white dashes) together and leaving the other two disconnected the displayed showed “44” and the unit runs continuously (which is fine by me). Takes plenty of water out of the air, so seems to be running at least as well as it ever has in its short four year life.
Good luck.
i have a ge ader50lqq1 dehumidifier.
4 wires to sensor witch to wires do i use
hey bud i have the same issue did you figure it out?
I have a COMFORT-AIRE D25B0 I bought new in 1997, it's never needed any repairs and in fact it's running right now as it's been a rainy week and humid. Sadly, you can't even buy one like this any more with the all metal cabinet, the huge bucket in the back and no electronic controls or circuit boards to fail.
I ended up giving this one away and bought a larger one. As far as I am aware this one still works.
I’m using mine in a wood kiln and when temp gets over 110 it will not pull water anymore I was told there was a temp switch is this the temp switch or is it somewhere else
Thanks
I am not an expert, but I suspect you are above the effective operating temperature of your particular dehumidifier. Also, I have no idea what the humidity level is like in a kiln, but if it goes much below 40% the dehumidifier won't do much good anyway.
What were the symptoms you had before? I have a danby model with digital display that reads temp and humidity, which appear to be correct. The fan runs but compressor is sporadic. At times the unit will power up, fan runs, then it will shut off as if the bucket were full. I've bypassed the freeze sensor and the float sensor already to rule those out - next I'm going to attack the thermal protection part of the compressor and bypass it and see what happens.
Farlande4 This was one of three I was having trouble with at the time, but I believe this one wouldn't run at all before I bypassed the humidity sensor.
Turns out my circuit board was bad. I made a video.
Farlande4
Bummer. Sorry.
can you plug it into a simple plug in outlet timer for on/off?
On mine the power button still worked, it would just run until you either turned it off or the bucket filled. If you are using a drain hose it will run non-stop until you turn it off.
I have an LG LDH30 and it starts and runs for a minute then shuts off. I have to turn knob to off then max for it to come back on. runs for another minute then shuts off again. and so on. do you think this hack might fix this problem? thanks in advance
It could be. Hard to say for sure.
Awesome, works for me to figure out and replace the sensor. Thanks
Hope it helps. Good luck.
I have a Frigidaire and there are 4 wires: orange, brown, blue, red. Which two should I snip and twist? Thank you!
Same problem. Did you ever figure it out?
See Jose's comment above.
Could use an ink bird thermaset to turn it off and on by the power
Not familiar with those, but an always on unit worked for my brother's purpose.
I have an LG 45 pint with the same wire configuration and sensor board. Was working fine last summer and eventually displayed the CH 01 error.
I went down to the garage and took the front panel off, cut all 3 wires with diagonal cutters, stripped the red and white wires, twisted them a bit,
and wire-nutted them together.
Turns on for a second, then goes right back to the CH 01 error with flashing red "bucket full" indicator. I'm stumped.
The bucket full indicator is a different issue. You might have a bad or sticking switch.
@@edt1138 It had the same issue years ago, when my friend gave it to me. I replaced the humidity sensor to get it working. Then I stored it for 10 years. I've used it for 2 summers. I even had to replace the run capacitor last summer. I'm not going to put a bunch of time or money into this thing. It's been a PITA since I've owned it. It's fairly noisy, too. 2006 model.
Probably have to search for a used one on FB marketplace or somewhere. Thanks for the reply.
From LG's website for Error Codes - Dehumidifier:
A CH 01, 02, or 03 error code indicates electronic abnormalities, such as a humidistat or main board issue. Unplug the dehumidifier for 10 seconds to reset the unit. Restore power to the unit. If the issue occurs again, the unit will require repair service.
I'm going to take the cabinet apart to make sure no plugs have vibrated loose on the main board before giving up.
Will this fix my issue? Humidity still high yet my fan turns off and leaves the compressor running by its self for 1-2 mins, then the fan kicks back on for 1-2 mins, etc.
+Bob P I have owned many humidifiers, and I have never had one in which the compressor ran while the fan was off. The fan frequently runs while the compressor is off, but never the other way around. If you have this problem, I would guess that there is an issue with the fan.
Hi, what if it’s five wires connected to that sensor?
'I'm going to assume you guys aren't idiots", yet you ramble off on stuff for the first minute like we are idiots...lol
Thanks for the video.
I've taken the housing off our 3 year old GE dehumidifier and can't find the humidity sensor anywhere. And I've looked online and can't find a clue as to where it might be. Any ideas? Thanks! I think your video would be really helpful if I could just find the thing so I can disable it. :0)
They tend to be near the air intake.
I have four wires. Red. White. Yellow. And Brown. Which do I connect?
What did u end up doing. This is the color of mine. Whirlpool
Is it normal that the fan of the compact dehumidifier does not run when I turn the unit on?
Nope, that seems wrong.
Great video on by passing the humidity sensor! My problem is I have 4 wires (red - blue - brn - or) part number is grjqk04-j , on google that will pull up a picture of the sensor. It is a Frigidaire unit 70 pint, ffad7033r1 Any help is greatly welcomed !!! Thanks, Mark
so you can or can not set the humidity level after doing this?
No, it is just on or off after this.
This has been asked a hundred times now, but what were the problems you were having with the dehumidifier?
I thought I said it in the video, and it has been a while, but I believe my issue with this one was that the compressor wasn't kicking on.
i'm getting a "EC" error code. will this fix mind?
Sorry, I'm not sure.
I would use a 24 hr timer to turn unit on and off at 4 hr intervals
Question....You removed the humidity sensor because it didn't kick in the compressor? After your "fix"...will it still be sucking out humidity (albeit running constantly)?
Yes. The humidity sensor was bad, so the unit just assumed there was no humidity in the room and never switched on. By bypassing it, I made the unit think that there was always 100% humidity in the room, so it never switched off. There is a problem with this too, because the coils will eventually freeze up if it is running non-stop, so you have to turn it off occasionally or put it on a timer.
+EdT1138 ..Hey Ed.....Thanks alot for the quick reply...not knowing when/if i'd get a reply...i was short (but sweet..lol)...My unit still sucks , H2O but only down to 50-55º...So I will remove/test the sensor and get one from Amazon. My unit is 2 months past warranty..lol.......Called Danby and they agreed that the sensor was probably bad...Meanwhile I will monitor the coils (thanks for the reminder).......I will work on this tomorrow and let you know if it worked....◔̯◔
J.R. Zippie
They all seem to die just out of warranty.
I have brown, yellow, red and orange wires?
how long should I let the machine running. in order to clear the humidity
I have same machine at home. I will like to how long should I let the machine on
Just monitor your humidity meter and power the unit on and off according to your desired humidity. Kind of a pain in the a$$ but at least you have some sort of measure of your ambient humidity.
I'd suggest checking if the switch is blown or not first. Cheaper and safer.
SenileTomato Sure, check lots of stuff first.
I didn't hear no police ? Every breath u take! Lol thanks for the video very helpful!
Yeah, had a cold.
Mine doesn't collect water, will this repair fix this problem?
Possibly.
Green acres did you try it?Did it start collecting water?
@@elchoppo9248 nope I turffed it
Thanks for the great vid though unfortunately my damn dehumidifier is still not working. Red and white twisted together and still the same 01 error code and flashing bucket full light as before. UGH, WHY do they have to add so much crap onto things to make them so failure prone? Now the part is obsolete/ no longer available everywhere so i guess this thing is about scrap metal.
Yeah, I bought a used late 80's model as a backup, and it still works fine. It isn't as efficient, but the thing is a tank.
@@edt1138 Yeah, i have an old clunky heavy as hell one that does work. Just was hoping this MUCH newer, HAS to be more efficient one could be saved.
Anyone tried this type of fix on a Hisense unit, Error code E9??
No, sorry. Hopefully someone will read this that has and respond.
Would this be a good fix for if when I bought my dehumidifier at an estate sale it came without a water bucket in the bottom to collect the water. When I plug the dehumidifier in the water bucket adjust dummy light comes on but the compressor doesnt power on. When you turn the dryness control knob you can hear it click like it wants to kick on but it doesnt. Im being told its because I dont have the water bucket in. Well I dont have one to put in lol. Does that make this dehumidifier worthless or is this a good fix for that or do you know of another fix to bypass my issue of needing the water bucket to power on the compressor ?
If you are wanting to use it without the bucket, say with a hose, you will need to trick the machine into believing that the bucket is installed. Somewhere on the unit, in the area that the bucket slides into, you will find a switch that is depressed whenever the bucket is in place. Find it and either use something to permanently depress it, or remove the switch and complete the circuit. If you want you could replace it with a different type of switch, or just connect the two wires together with a wire nut and some tape.
very helpfull
Happy to hear that.
“Most are made by LG and re-branded” . It seems many other brand names are made by Hisense. NOMA for example. (Hisense seems to have a low rating by Consumer Report surveys and testing) I would be more include to believe that various Models within a “Brand” lineup are sourced from various manufacturers. Do you have any other specifics on Chinese manufactures of Dehumidifiers ? I have a great story about going to China to source a manufacture for audio/video recording tape in the 1980s. Each of the very highly rated “brand manufactures” claimed to have the best ...but when given a tour from each, (days apart) we where taken to the the exact same factory and line! Granted there may be different specs used, but it was humorous -hearing each claim they had better manufacturing than their competitors ;- )
I don't have any personal anecdotes, but I do know folks either having products manufactured or working for businesses taking tours of production facilities where the only difference from one brand to another is the label and packaging.
Did Jimmy figure it out?
Or did you have to go over to help?
If I remember correctly, he cheated and bought a new one.
You neglected to say what problems the dehumidifier was having.. Did it work at all?? Did it run but not collect water??
Also did you try blowing out the sensor with compressed air??? I see that you do have some dust build up on the coils... Dust will get into the humidity sensor...
This is why I love older dehumidifiers they have mechanical humidity sensors...
Good news just checked Ebay can get new humidity sensor with shipping for $2.00....
Gary C I honestly can't remember what I said in this video anymore, but I was assuming people had tried all of the simple stuff at this point like my brother had, and that this was a last resort before buying a new one.
I hope the new sensor fixes your machine.
@@edt1138 That was my question, what if I bypass and that wasn't the problem? I would rather test the switch first and proceed from a "known." That would be more helpful.
Geez Ed! Better make sure Jim doesn't burn down his new house!! ... granted if he does... give him some trees to punch down, and he will build a castle equiped with cow launchers in no time!
Haha, probably. He did rebuild his old computer in Minecraft.
Thanks
No problem. A few people have said that it didn't work for their machine, so I hope it helps.
Actually it did not fix the problem. Just replaced the 7 year old machine
Probably for the best. I am just really cheap, and so is my brother.
Ug. The absolute worst dehumidifier I've ever owned was specifically an LG. LOUD, buzzy, intrusive.
Yeah, most of them are loud, I just want one that works longer than a year or two.
@@edt1138 Buy them used off Facebook marketplace for 1/3 the cost of new. Usually if they are a couple years old and still work, they are going to last even longer.
All three wires on my sensor are white.......
That is odd.
Well....here's what finally happened....After much thinking, testing, experimenting......I concluded that the refrigerant has been slowly seeping out (as only the lowest coils were frosting up...then one coil...then just the input tube....... I am not ready to try to re-refrigerate my unit....so...today I bought a new 30 pint GE unit and now my basement is slowly returning to normal...I will offer my old unit "as is" on Craigs list for what I can get...◔̯◔
Lol "most of you probably not !" !!!!!😁😁😁😁
I'm a realist ;)
Just proves all these new dehumidifiers are crap. After 3 of them I am back using my old 1996 Kenmore.
Yeah, I haven't had a new one that has worked for more than a couple of years without repair
Video starts 2:14
Incorrect.
The video starts at the beginning, but there may be things you do not wish to hear. Before 2:14 there are disclaimers, and even some information other people may wish to hear.
To many people this video is entirely unnecessary, but that doesn't mean the video starts at 3:45.
Are you Mel Gibson??
I'm not sure, let me go check my bank account.
Sie haben eine sehr schlechte Kamera das bild ist total unscharf dafür gibt es von mir den 73. Daumen runter.
You have a very bad camera, the picture is totally out of focus, but I give you the 73rd thumbs down.