Hi Everybody, Welcome! Please be sure to subscribe to my channel - where I'll be posting repair videos ONLY for GE Side-By-Side refrigerators! Hopefully I can share some knowledge to help you keep the repairman away and keep your fridge running for years to come.
Good job showing that! Relay's can also fail to make contact between the switch terminals as well.. You may have a good coil.. but the silver pads have too much carbon build up to actually make a connection... just got finished working on a whirlpool slide in range with a bad bake element. When the element went into full welding mode it damaged the bake relay, and the isolation relay. Ordered a new board and the bake relay was bad on the new board... I was able to rob the convection relay off the old board and replace it on the new board to get it working... The logic was sending the 12VDC to the relay and it was clicking, however no continuity between the switch legs... after swapping components I had a happy customer ready to cook a turkey 😀
Nice video. I heard you say something about there’s somebody out there that’s interested. Not too many people are but glad there is! Thanks for the video!
I had a refrigerator where the compressor wouldn't run. I figured out which relay on the control board switches power to the compressor. I removed the relay from the PCB and tested it to confirm it was bad. I then cut the relay open, cleaned the contacts and reinstalled the relay back onto the PCB. This got the compressor running again. Then I ordered a new relay from eBay. It had to come from China so it took three weeks to get it. The old relay held out for the three weeks until the new relay arrived and then I put in the new one. The new relay cost about $6 while a new control board was about $250.
If the relay kicks on then back off, its bad? I have a amplifier where you press the power button and the system turns on then back off. The relay i can hear and click on then back off.
I am trying to troubleshoot a relay on a board....I have narrowed it down to a bad relay but I want to be sure...one post of the coil side is reading 12vdc...the other side of coil is reading 6vdc....do both sides need to be 12 volts? Does 1 side need to be 12 and other 0? Or is it right being at 12 and 6?
Hi, It is best to fully remove the relay from the board to do the testing. I think there may be specialized equipment that may be able to test with the relay on circuit, but I'll be honest in saying that's out of my wheelhouse. With the relay removed, you're then able to apply appropriate voltage to the coil, activating the contacts and then measuring for low resistance across these pins. You'd also be able to test the coil resistance measured against the relays data sheet to see if it's in spec. However, in circuit the way it is, your readings may or may not mean much as you aren't able to isolate the relay. I hope it's helpful.
@@GraceAppliance I doubled up a 9v battery to get 18v and put it to the relay to get it to click and I still don't have continuity where there should be...I think it's a bad relay
That's probably so. Feeding 18vdc to a 12vdc relay can damage the coil. I'm not sure of that's enough to fry the coil windings, but I'd use caution with that approach is all I'm saying. The relays data sheet probably does list a maximum voltage allowance if you'd like to confirm. Mouser.com is a great place to take a look for datasheets.
You need to be careful applying 12 volts from an external power supply to the relay while its still mounted on the board. For one thing the relay coils usually have spike suppression diodes across them so putting the 12 volts across the coil in the wrong polarity will short out and possibly damage the diode. Also, the board uses a solid state device, usually an driver IC, to switch the power going to the coil. If you put voltage across the coil from an external power source it could destroy the driver IC. If you do that the board is junk and it will never work again even if you replace a bad relay. All in all its better to remove the relay and test it off the board. If its bad and you replace the relay without damaging any other components on the board it will probably work fine after that.
I'm reading 12 volts dc on one end and only 6 volts dc on the other end.....it is feeding voltage to a compressor for wine cooler I tested continuity where there should be and there is none
tom Waters hi Tom, if you mean the meter: www.graceappliancediy.com/products/fluke-116-hvac-multimeter-standard?_pos=1&_sid=af300bc7f&_ss=r But, if you’re talking about the DC power supply: I am not nearby my power supply at the moment to look on the brand, but there’s many different ones that would do perfectly fine for this. It’s a device that has two leads coming out and is adjustable DC output. It makes testing relays, fans, etc etc very easy.
tom Waters sure thing, here you go: www.graceappliancediy.com/products/yescom-110v-ac-30v-10a-dc-power-supply-precision-variable-digital-adjustable-w-clip-cable Thanks!
Unfortunately, no. Not to my knowledge at least. You can only test the output voltage to see if it's working. You might be able to get the coil of the relay to activate if one had a DC power supply by applying 12vdc to the coils 2 pins. But making the needed resistance measurement would not be accurate because the relay is in series to the rest of the circuit which would add resistance. So, you would not get the low resistance figure you're expecting on your meter.
If you've got a relay that clicks and has some continuity but you want to check if it's failing, you can check it in-circuit by checking the voltage drop across the relay terminals under load (much like you would an automotive relay). I don't recall what an acceptable voltage drop is, but it shouldn't be much. Obviously this can be dangerous, particularly if the relay is switching 120VAC. And getting probes in place while the board is mounted is going to be tricky. But if it can be done, that's how you'd test it in-circuit. Really though if you're trying to figure out if the relay is working *at all* in-circuit and can energize the coil you can at least tell if the coil and contacter are opening/closing appropriately if the resistance goes from infinity when it should be open, to "low" when it should be closed.
You need to be careful applying 12 volts from an external power supply to the relay while its still mounted on the board. For one thing the relay coils usually have spike suppression diodes across them so putting the 12 volts across the coil in the wrong polarity will short out and possibly damage the diode. Also, the board uses a solid state device, usually an driver IC, to switch the power going to the coil. If you put voltage across the coil from an external power source it could destroy the driver IC. If you do that the board is junk and it will never work again even if you replace a bad relay. All in all its better to remove the relay and test it off the board. If its bad and you replace the relay without damaging any other components on the board it will probably work fine after that.
Have and do you rebuild those boards? Whirlpool charges a $60.00 core so to discourage rebuilding and GE is charging $55.00 for their control board core
I've had luck with replacing the capacitors and relays if the issue was not fan related. However, not so much luck rebuilds if the fans had damaged the two large green resistors. This may have been bad luck or something beyond a failed board, but haven't tried much outside of that. I've tried a couple times to make a rebuild video, but it's tough to show the level of detail needed to remove and replace the components. The clear protective coating that's on the board makes the removal really difficult and pretty ugly from a video standpoint. I wouldn't put a rebuild board on a customer's machine personally just due to the liability, but have used the shop down in Austin (fixyourboard) for oven boards with great success. All that said, it can be done if you don't mind getting a little rough with the board for parts removal. Radio shack used to sell a solder pump iron that made the removal a breeze, but since they've gone out of business I haven't looked around for a suitable replcamamet.
Hi Andy, thank you for the great video it is extremely useful. My refrigerator has the same board and upon inspection I found that the U14 chip has blown. Before I replace the board I like to know what that chip drives. I would hate to replace the board and have the same thing happen again. I would appreciate the help.
Hey guys, let's see if we can get it figured out. My fridge has this chip, but it's labeled U14 on the board and about 1/4inch square. Closest to the J5 connector pins. Is yours the same? Also, what is your model numbers. My fridge does not utilize the J5 plug so I expect it may be something like custom cool fans for crisper drawers or something my fridge doesn't have. I beleive that's the typical plug used. Do your fridges have custom cool fans for the crisper drawers? Looking at the copper traces on the board, at least one of them leads to a pin on J5.
Andy my J5 connector is not connected as well. I have the connector pins on the board but no harness gets connected to it. The model number for my fridge is PFS22MBSBWW.
Hi Everybody, Welcome!
Please be sure to subscribe to my channel - where I'll be posting repair videos ONLY for GE Side-By-Side refrigerators!
Hopefully I can share some knowledge to help you keep the repairman away and keep your fridge running for years to come.
Good job showing that! Relay's can also fail to make contact between the switch terminals as well.. You may have a good coil.. but the silver pads have too much carbon build up to actually make a connection... just got finished working on a whirlpool slide in range with a bad bake element. When the element went into full welding mode it damaged the bake relay, and the isolation relay. Ordered a new board and the bake relay was bad on the new board... I was able to rob the convection relay off the old board and replace it on the new board to get it working... The logic was sending the 12VDC to the relay and it was clicking, however no continuity between the switch legs... after swapping components I had a happy customer ready to cook a turkey 😀
Great vid. I appreciate the effort you have put in to transfer the info clearly and legibly.
Awesome, thank you.
Great shot of the Relay closing
Very helpful video. Would love to see a video of you rebuilding or fixing problematic or bad control board. Thank you, again :)
Great relay explanation and demonstration! Thanks!
Thanks. This applied to all boards. In my case Kenmore Oven.
Nice video. I heard you say something about there’s somebody out there that’s interested. Not too many people are but glad there is! Thanks for the video!
This is exactly what I’ve been looking for. Thanks so much
Informational content. Changing out a control board today. Similar issue no cool display acting crazy. Thanks for this. Love the info.
I had a refrigerator where the compressor wouldn't run. I figured out which relay on the control board switches power to the compressor. I removed the relay from the PCB and tested it to confirm it was bad. I then cut the relay open, cleaned the contacts and reinstalled the relay back onto the PCB. This got the compressor running again. Then I ordered a new relay from eBay. It had to come from China so it took three weeks to get it. The old relay held out for the three weeks until the new relay arrived and then I put in the new one. The new relay cost about $6 while a new control board was about $250.
Concise and informational. Just the information I needed. Thanks!
At 3:35, to bypass test relay can you jump lower right pin (red lead) to upper left pin? Essentially bypassing the relay just to make sure?
Where did you get the 12-volt power supply for testing? A car battery?
What is the max current you can set your power supply to to energise the coil ?
Can you test with ac voltage?
Dude its super helpful, thanks so much
If the relay kicks on then back off, its bad? I have a amplifier where you press the power button and the system turns on then back off. The relay i can hear and click on then back off.
Thanks for a great video.
I am trying to troubleshoot a relay on a board....I have narrowed it down to a bad relay but I want to be sure...one post of the coil side is reading 12vdc...the other side of coil is reading 6vdc....do both sides need to be 12 volts? Does 1 side need to be 12 and other 0? Or is it right being at 12 and 6?
Hi, It is best to fully remove the relay from the board to do the testing. I think there may be specialized equipment that may be able to test with the relay on circuit, but I'll be honest in saying that's out of my wheelhouse.
With the relay removed, you're then able to apply appropriate voltage to the coil, activating the contacts and then measuring for low resistance across these pins.
You'd also be able to test the coil resistance measured against the relays data sheet to see if it's in spec.
However, in circuit the way it is, your readings may or may not mean much as you aren't able to isolate the relay.
I hope it's helpful.
@@GraceAppliance I doubled up a 9v battery to get 18v and put it to the relay to get it to click and I still don't have continuity where there should be...I think it's a bad relay
That's probably so. Feeding 18vdc to a 12vdc relay can damage the coil. I'm not sure of that's enough to fry the coil windings, but I'd use caution with that approach is all I'm saying.
The relays data sheet probably does list a maximum voltage allowance if you'd like to confirm.
Mouser.com is a great place to take a look for datasheets.
A relay can still click closed but have degraded, high resistance contacts.
What kind of 12v power supply do you use? And can you rest the relays in circuit without removing them from the board?
A 9 volt battery will usually work to trigger the relay. Be sure to connect it to the coil terminals.
You need to be careful applying 12 volts from an external power supply to the relay while its still mounted on the board. For one thing the relay coils usually have spike suppression diodes across them so putting the 12 volts across the coil in the wrong polarity will short out and possibly damage the diode. Also, the board uses a solid state device, usually an driver IC, to switch the power going to the coil. If you put voltage across the coil from an external power source it could destroy the driver IC. If you do that the board is junk and it will never work again even if you replace a bad relay. All in all its better to remove the relay and test it off the board. If its bad and you replace the relay without damaging any other components on the board it will probably work fine after that.
I'm reading 12 volts dc on one end and only 6 volts dc on the other end.....it is feeding voltage to a compressor for wine cooler
I tested continuity where there should be and there is none
Thanks for the lesson 😊
Can you tell where I can get the test leads you are using? Thanks
Thanks
Where can i get that tool you was using too test the relay please
tom Waters hi Tom, if you mean the meter:
www.graceappliancediy.com/products/fluke-116-hvac-multimeter-standard?_pos=1&_sid=af300bc7f&_ss=r
But, if you’re talking about the DC power supply:
I am not nearby my power supply at the moment to look on the brand, but there’s many different ones that would do perfectly fine for this.
It’s a device that has two leads coming out and is adjustable DC output. It makes testing relays, fans, etc etc very easy.
No the power supply tool that was giving the relay power please
tom Waters sure thing, here you go: www.graceappliancediy.com/products/yescom-110v-ac-30v-10a-dc-power-supply-precision-variable-digital-adjustable-w-clip-cable
Thanks!
Is there a way to test the relay when it's still on the board?
Unfortunately, no. Not to my knowledge at least. You can only test the output voltage to see if it's working.
You might be able to get the coil of the relay to activate if one had a DC power supply by applying 12vdc to the coils 2 pins. But making the needed resistance measurement would not be accurate because the relay is in series to the rest of the circuit which would add resistance. So, you would not get the low resistance figure you're expecting on your meter.
If you've got a relay that clicks and has some continuity but you want to check if it's failing, you can check it in-circuit by checking the voltage drop across the relay terminals under load (much like you would an automotive relay). I don't recall what an acceptable voltage drop is, but it shouldn't be much. Obviously this can be dangerous, particularly if the relay is switching 120VAC. And getting probes in place while the board is mounted is going to be tricky. But if it can be done, that's how you'd test it in-circuit.
Really though if you're trying to figure out if the relay is working *at all* in-circuit and can energize the coil you can at least tell if the coil and contacter are opening/closing appropriately if the resistance goes from infinity when it should be open, to "low" when it should be closed.
You need to be careful applying 12 volts from an external power supply to the relay while its still mounted on the board. For one thing the relay coils usually have spike suppression diodes across them so putting the 12 volts across the coil in the wrong polarity will short out and possibly damage the diode. Also, the board uses a solid state device, usually an driver IC, to switch the power going to the coil. If you put voltage across the coil from an external power source it could destroy the driver IC. If you do that the board is junk and it will never work again even if you replace a bad relay. All in all its better to remove the relay and test it off the board. If its bad and you replace the relay without damaging any other components on the board it will probably work fine after that.
Can you test it without taking it off the board
Have and do you rebuild those boards? Whirlpool charges a $60.00 core so to discourage rebuilding and GE is charging $55.00 for their control board core
I've had luck with replacing the capacitors and relays if the issue was not fan related. However, not so much luck rebuilds if the fans had damaged the two large green resistors. This may have been bad luck or something beyond a failed board, but haven't tried much outside of that.
I've tried a couple times to make a rebuild video, but it's tough to show the level of detail needed to remove and replace the components. The clear protective coating that's on the board makes the removal really difficult and pretty ugly from a video standpoint.
I wouldn't put a rebuild board on a customer's machine personally just due to the liability, but have used the shop down in Austin (fixyourboard) for oven boards with great success.
All that said, it can be done if you don't mind getting a little rough with the board for parts removal.
Radio shack used to sell a solder pump iron that made the removal a breeze, but since they've gone out of business I haven't looked around for a suitable replcamamet.
I wouldn’t put a used board in a customers machine either.
Hi Andy, thank you for the great video it is extremely useful. My refrigerator has the same board and upon inspection I found that the U14 chip has blown. Before I replace the board I like to know what that chip drives. I would hate to replace the board and have the same thing happen again. I would appreciate the help.
Hey guys, let's see if we can get it figured out.
My fridge has this chip, but it's labeled U14 on the board and about 1/4inch square. Closest to the J5 connector pins.
Is yours the same?
Also, what is your model numbers.
My fridge does not utilize the J5 plug so I expect it may be something like custom cool fans for crisper drawers or something my fridge doesn't have.
I beleive that's the typical plug used.
Do your fridges have custom cool fans for the crisper drawers?
Looking at the copper traces on the board, at least one of them leads to a pin on J5.
Yes exactly the same.
Andy my J5 connector is not connected as well. I have the connector pins on the board but no harness gets connected to it. The model number for my fridge is PFS22MBSBWW.
I can send a picture to you if you can provide an email.
@@mr.v139 Sure, graceappliance@gmail.com
Good deal!
I like it
Thanks, so lame that I need a brush up on this.