Help me fix a fridge!

tigerstyle

tigerstyle

tigerstyle

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So typical situation, 10-13 year old fridge is working fine, unplug it to do some hoovering, plug it back in, thing doesn't work, has power, leds light up, but no compressor action. An 'error' of sorts is lit up on the display, but not an error code you car read, just fully lit up screen = error.

Couple of linked pics (huge for detail)
http://i.imgur.com/t719C.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/GvjpE.jpg

When plugging it in I can hear a click from the area of the board that has the blue square relays in (top left) but nothing else, the transformer is outputting DC (measured with DMM and the display lights up)
Can't see any broken fuses (there are only two)
Nothing looks burned

It's a twin fridge (side by side) so has 2* temp sensors and 'heaters' (marked on the PCB) so a bit more wiring than normal. I know a tiny bit about compressors and run/start capacitors but don't know how to check them!

Anything obvious to do?

Oh, should say of course it's a Samsung skr1370g but I don't think that'll help much, it's a Korean specific old model.
The PCB has 240 Volts running through it ok, but it isn't outputting anything to the compressor, guessing one of the relays/chips has thrown a wobbly and won't let it run :(
Unless I can track down a PCB from 1999 this whole fridge is now junk :(
 
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First thing i would do is give the compressor a good kick whilst it's unplugged. It might be stuck or something. Failing that, i think you're asking in the wrong place and i would suggest you get over to ukwhitegoods and ask on there as a lot of them are repairmen in the trade.
 
I can't even find that model in our parts DB.

The first picture, top right there is a fuse, you can start by replacing that.
 
skr1390S is the model on the back of the PCB, I guess they use the same PCB over similar models. It's a Korea specific fridge though. Very specific. Bult to store just one type of vegetable at optimum temperature -Cabbage!

The fuses are both fine, thanks for looking though!
What would a small click from the relay(maybe more than one) mean when first powered on but nothing after that?

There is no dust or **** over the evap fins, checked that so isn't tripping out, but then it never has, problem only came after unplugging it!
 
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You can google the model. I have 383 Samsung fridges and freezers etc listed and that model doesn't appear.

Can you see the information sticker/plate at all? It will also tell you which gas is used as that makes a big difference as to who can repair it.
 
It's a Korean only model, not exported. Won't be on any European lists.
it's R134a few, but it's a Pcb problem, appreciate you looking!

I was hoping diagnosing fridge PCBs might be a bit similar across makes/models. Or basic fault finding would be.
 
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Write to Samsung and ask for the circuit diagram?
You might be able to get a company through whitegoods who will do basic fault finding on it, even without a circuit it's operation is going to be just like any other sequencer.

I was going to suggest how to check the relays but it's more likely the wiring has failed (always worth a wiggle and a power cycle).

I didn't realise they had so much electronics in them now :(
 
The boards aren't serviceable, you just replace them, on modern Samsung fridge freezers you are looking at spending close to £200 to replace the PCB.

I wouldn't advise that the OP spent that sort of money on an appliance that was maybe 13 years old.
 
Really, £200 ?
I was thinking more like £100 tops as a swap in part, but it's your area of expertise I guess.
I had a go at my Bosch washer panel when it had failed, couldn't spot anything though.

That board does look fairly straightforward though, but it's finding someone who will want to look at it.
 
bitslice said:
Really, £200 ?
I was thinking more like £100 tops as a swap in part, but it's your area of expertise I guess.
I had a go at my Bosch washer panel when it had failed, couldn't spot anything though.

That board does look fairly straightforward though, but it's finding someone who will want to look at it.
Click to expand...

Some of the boards are really expensive, as you say they are easy to swap out though.
 
Is the compressor supposed to run all the time? (or only for short bursts when it's getting too warm?)
Maybe try shorting out the pins to the temp sensors and try measuring the voltage to the compressor again?
 
I highly doubt the compressor has failed but say it has, if the fridge is 13 years old it may use R134a gas so the repair again becomes incredibly expensive.
 
OldCoals said:
I highly doubt the compressor has failed but say it has, if the fridge is 13 years old it may use R134a gas so the repair again becomes incredibly expensive.
Click to expand...

I'm no expert in this sort of thing so i dont know what the common failures are. He has a multimeter so it's not going to cost him anything to try and identify the fault. Then he might have a better idea of how much it will cost to fix. As you say, if it's anything more than a fuse/relay, it's probably not going to be an economical fix.
 
You could bodge it with a £6 thermostat off eBay, basically all a fridge has to do is turn the compressor on and off according to the temperature.

A shame nobody conformal coats boards any more, that's just waiting for some insect to die on it and short something out.

Edit.
Ah, I've just noticed the wiring diagram in that picture, that's handy.
 
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Appreciate all the help here! Fixing things is certainly fun, this was a challenge I was hoping to beat as well as shopping today the replacement will cost about £1000 :(

I'll have a look at shorting the pins, but as there are two temp sensors there must be some kind of 'logic' in there dictating the compressor control as well as operation of the two solenoids too.
R134a gas is still prevalent here, I can buy some from the shop just outside my house (severely doubt that is the issue though as the thing was running a treat right up till it stopped) and looks to be no leaks inside.


I thought half the board was DC, it's not, just an AC to AC step down transformer for the low voltage half of the board, will check its AC output now.
Detail of PCB:

http://i.imgur.com/O6av0.jpg

PCB sticker on fridge: (pictures aren't clear sorry too dark in the kitchen to get a clear one!)
http://i.imgur.com/EUxHp.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/RML46.jpg
 
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Looks like if you short out the K5 contact (relay) then the compressor will turn on, this is where I would wire in a thermostat.

I'm assuming you are OK with 240ac control, don't want you killing yourself here :)

The rest all look like outputs, heaters, display etc so it's got no external dependencies stopping it from turning on, so probable board fault or wiring to compressor.

You can check the K5 relay by sticking 5v (or 12v, check on relay package) across it's coil diode, (+ve at the white line side) if that's OK and the contacts close, work back from there, you may find the driver transitor is duff, at which point this gets more complex to troubleshoot.

Check the resistance of the temp sensors too, I'm guessing a few hundred ohms is nominal?
A short or open circuit would be bad.
 
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