Interesting fault and fix on a Dixell XW70K refrigeration controller

This started as a very ordinary fault with an easy fix, but then I discovered that a section of the circuitry was getting extremely hot and had to explore further. It turns out that a classic fault was causing a weird knock-on effect that was so unusual that I felt the need to reverse engineer that section to see why it was happening.
The main culprit was a classic bulging capacitor, but it's much less common to find that fault in equipment with traditional low frequency power supplies. It's much more common with modern high frequency supplies. The use of the Glan branded capacitor may be the issue here. The circuitry shouldn't really be stressing it with a guesstimated current demand of around 300mA with active relays.
The unit has the facility to connect a remote display and button interface with just two wires, and it appears to achieve that by using a current regulated supply to that module, and communicating in both directions by shunting its power wires in pulses.
The main capacitor failure caused an unexpected situation where the processor was unable to initialise, and by default the display output data shunt is active, meaning that the current regulation circuit was dissipating high power in its main transistor continuously.
As the capacitor progressively failed the unit would potentially have started glitching and resetting intermittently, getting progressively worse until it just didn't start up.
One huge advantage of doing an on-site repair on these units would be that it keeps their existing settings intact, which saves reprogramming the unit for a specific system from scratch. That can be a real time saver if you have to work out what everything is doing and how it's connected.
Without a working reference unit for voltage measurements, and perhaps a remote display module too, it's hard to say if other damage has occurred. But the configuration of the circuitry and now cool transistor suggests that the fault is fixed and these units have been saved from becoming expensive landfill.
If you enjoy these videos you can help support the channel with a dollar for coffee, cookies and random gadgets for disassembly at:- www.bigclive.c...
This also keeps the channel independent of KZbin's algorithm quirks, allowing it to be a bit more dangerous and naughty.
#ElectronicsCreators

[@Ranger_Kevin]

I wonder if it is always "planned obsolescence" or if some companies just underestimate or do not test for longevity properly. I just fixed a friends's portable induction stove - The fault was a 22 Ohm resitor (roughly rated for 2-3W, from what I could see), that had gotten slightly too hot over time and slowly crumbled until the resistance wire broke and the stove would not turn on anymore. No skidmark or any sign of an explovie fault, just crumbled! I replaced it with a resistor of slightly higher power rating (and did the same on the other plate, that had identical circuitry, but had not degraded yet because it had not been used as much) and now it works fine again. 1€ fix to save it from the landfill.

[@CT-vm4gf]

I hate to think how many products end up in landfill because of a simple resistor or capacitor.

[@gabotron94]

Also could be because engineers with less experience are cheaper to hire. Somebody I know who only recently graduated got hired to write control software for car clusters... the thought is slightly terrifying.

[@tschuuuls486]

Did vaguely similar things to a NEFF (Bosh Siemens) branded, made by E.G.O one. Each phase has a power board, on those the high frequency fets/IGBTs short, burn out the bridge rectifier (maybe the rectifier dies first, not sure). Then melting a pcb fuse (which ironically has provisions for replacement hrc fuses lol). Happened twice to the same stove on different power boards. Granted the thing is over 10 years old and is powered 24/7, maybe it was due to power glitches. Thats a sub 30€ fix on that one. New fets and a bridge rectifier.

[@zombieregime]

A lot of times its simply over stating capabilities. Sure this, say fridge (that has nothing to do with Technology Connections latest video.....he lied), could keep its interior at a lower than ambient temp. But the parts selected arent necessarily meant to keep the entire volume, full of groceries, below the danger zone. What is it actually meant for? No idea. Maybe its meant for an arctic research base where it wouldn't have to run very often, no clue.... Of course there is always the accountants that love to stick their noses into designs. This is where you get things, say with a motor that pulls 2.4A and a FET running it that tops out at 3A. Because its cheaper than a 5A FET that would last forever. Of course its going to burn out if you use it like a normal person, repeatedly, beyond its 'no more than 10min. 90% duty cycle cool down' rating. But its printed in the instructions, so..... user error. Buy a new one.....

[@phonotical]

It has a microcontroller, it would be so easy to program it to stop function after so many thousand cycles rather than say to a company please make us awful capacitors and jeprodise your reputation

[@Lizlodude]

I'm 100% stealing that toothpick tip tip, that's incredibly useful for when those thru-holes refuse to open up even with a wick.

[@S.park.y]

We use and commission a lot of dixell/Emerson products for supermarket refrigeration here in Aus. Generally really good quality from Emerson

[@bigclivedotcom]

These controllers may have come from Oz.

[@DelticEngine]

Thanks for another great video, Clive. I appreciate the point about not using plumbing flux. I have used it for large, difficult, connections to achieve a properly soldered joint for high-current automotive connections. How would you suggest cleaning off any residue from using such a flux? Why are you recommending leaded solder? All modern boards are lead-free and mixing solders can cause more problems. Lead-free solder is not that hard to work with, although it is different to work with in that it requires a slightly high and more tightly controlled temperature. Also, I'm not sure you completely repaired this controller. The controller casing stated 6 VA maximum and the figures from the HOPI calculate to 8.9VA,which is nearly 50% over the maximum power rating. Maybe investigate further?

[@icecreamtruckog3667]

In this case I would of changed both Capacitors with a low Z, high temp ones so the repair lasts longer.

[@bigclivedotcom]

The older standard ESR electrolyte had a simpler and more stable chemical formula than the low ESR ones. So that might be a disadvantage.

[@Derek_Garnham]

mixed feelings, something has to be the weak link in any chain - at least it's a component that shows you that it's failed.

[@Nf6xNet]

It's just not a proper Big Clive video without the bulging Glans.

[@brentengelhart5]

& "todays special guest on this Big Clive episode Richard Senormous who will present a lesson on loss of current due to wire girth & length.

[@channelsixtysix066]

It's an expectation nowadays. LOL 🤣

[@Lykaotix]

The toothpick technique is so simple yet so genius! Gotta add those to my kit now 😅

[@aqib2000]

I actually bought a full set of soldering needles for £2. They’re absolutely fantastic for mosfets packages and all sorts. They are hollow steel tubes which perfectly isolate the solder around a component to remove it without the need for any desoldering braid. Takes a little time to master but is now my go to method!

[@mikemike7001]

Dixell is an Emerson brand, and Emerson makes quality stuff. Glan's web site looks quite professional and says they "have offered OEM & ODM service for many famous brands". In other words, they have manufactured capacitors sold under other perhaps more recognizable brand names. So it could have been one of those relatively rare unavoidable failures. Also, in recent times, many components, including electrolytics, have been in short supply. I struggled to find a high quality alternative for a 220uF capacitor in one of my own designs and actually had to switch from a surface-mount part to a through-hole one for one production run. Perhaps Dixell had to do the same and were less successful. In any case, I enjoyed, as always, Clive's masterful reverse engineering and nicely done repair. And I just added a box of round toothpicks to my collection of soldering supplies.

[@bigclivedotcom]

The unit looks quite well designed. I think it's just an unfortunate choice of capacitor with an electrolyte issue.

[@danl6634]

There's a decent chance this controller was installed in a rather hot location. Refrigeration equipment controllers can end up installed inside a cabinet within the enclosure of rooftop equipment, and depending on the design it may not have good ventilation. Could well have been baked. Or the other extreme; if it was installed in a low temp freezer by somebody who didn't realize the controller can't be installed on the evaporator in a very cold room for long term use.

[@WJCTechyman]

Would this be the same Emerson that also makes shop and commercial cleaning equipment? (Ridgid and ProTeam) Oh, sorry, I guess it does as I see Dixell is a Copeland brand owned by Emerson.

[@aviandragon1390]

Big name brands often use terrible capacitors because it saves them way more money than it would save a small brand. (Quantity) So the fact that they claim to sell to to many big names probably proves that they are junk. And having a nice website was more convincing back when someone actually had to type clunky html code by hand, not drag and drop things in web design software.

[@richardcranium7404]

The smaller dixell controllers are notorious for catching fire. I bin them the minute they show any sign of case deformation and replace them with Carel brand

[@papaalphaoscar5537]

I still remember that slew of electrolytic cap failures on motherboards and electronics in the early 2000's which resulted in the shift to solid caps for motherboards. But if you look closely, some of these caps still use liquid electrolytes but with form factors resembling solid caps.

[@SkigBiggler]

That was due to a Chinese company stealing an incomplete version of Nippon Chemicons capacitor formulation, then sharing it around. It lead to a large increase of ostensibly high quality capacitors at cheap prices, but they died pretty quick, leading to the cap plague of the 2000s

[@tbelding]

@@SkigBiggler - It was worse than that. United Chemi-Con had a huge range of caps that went bad (KZB/KZG) so entire runs of Intel, Dell, etc, motherboards with known good brand parts went bad. (Pentium 4 boards, mostly. I have three in storage waiting for recapping to be stored for replacements. Old control computers that can't run on anything newer than P4)

[@Slikx666]

Its so nice to be able to repair our own things. It saves money and saves waste. 😀👍

[@perrr2]

Really enjoy the repair videos, you should do more. Might not her the clicks from passing viewers but I'm sure long time followers would lap it up. Fixing stuff and modifying stuff to work on solar panels. Suitable panel and diode yeah but I'm sure you have thought about something that seems obvious to you but not to learners. Every good engineer starts with a good mentor 👍🏻

[@matambale]

I've found those pen-based flux dispensers very handy - cheaper, refillable, and it doesn't waste flux. A single press on a joint does the job.

[@SeanBZA]

I got a pack of dropper bottles, and used those instead, as they are also easy to refill, and the pack of 20 was cheaper than a single flux pen, plus if you have one leak it is easy to replace, plus you can keep a few around so no need to refill immediately.

[@chrimony]

You should send one to Louis Rossmann as a gag gift.

[@matambale]

@@chrimony Absolutely. This pen dispenses flux in microRossmanns.

[@joefish6091]

When I worked in production we never had those, know nothing supervisors and managers cracking the whip but not supplying the tools and consumables to do the job properly, the company died eventually of course. We had a qualified certified experienced EE, he designed a SMPS for a USN system, he used a single sided PCB, then took a couple of the units from the first batch to the RN shock tester platform at Portsmouth, all the heavy components fell off the PCB at some high G shock. We had to scrap 50 or so populated PCBs after removing the transformers connectors and expensive components, the Rs and small Cs were thrown away with the useless PCBs. the 90s. The 18 gauge hook up wire inside a refrigerator sized star delta transformer unit, the wiring smoked then caught fire when tested. Quite funny to hear about on Monday morning.

[@rickseiden1]

Something I like to do when replacing an electrolytic capacitor, after noting the negative side as you indicated, is to look at the circuit board where the capacitor goes. Most of the time they will have silk screening that indicates the way the capacitor is supposed to go. I like to verify the polarity of the capacitor with the silk screening because I have a tendency to forget things like which way a stripe was facing two seconds after I made note of it.

[@Whatiwantedwastaken]

Good on you for doing a bit of solid simple education. Be it the mechanics of pulling it apart or the basics of recapping, there’s a lot to apply generally to fault finding

[@gregorythomas333]

Bean-counters have ruined more good products than any other cause.

[@acmefixer1]

Low bidders, too. Basically corner cutting.

[@MattyEngland]

Finally just finishing up restoration of my 1982 Fruit Machine (Jpm eachway shuffle) Had to replace a few caps, but there are still plenty of them left still working after 41 years! Same story with most of the TTL, I had to replace some due to corrosion on the legs, but still plenty of chips left working, some with date codes from the late 1970s. Just goes to show how well manufactured components can last for many many years. (Counters in the bottom show in excess of 11 million plays while it was in a busy arcade😮)

[@SeanBZA]

I had some scrapped Ubix copiers I bought on auction for lower than scrap metal price, and most of them had 6 digit mechanical page counters in them, the one with an 8 digit counter was well over the 80 million page count. I repurposed one of those counters, after opening it to reset to zero, as a cycle counter for another machine, and when that eventually was sold on it had also rolled over twice on the 6 digit display, and was still running well. I estimated that, based on the previous owner use, the machine had probably done over 200 million cycles before it was replaced with a new one, after around 20 years of operation, as it ran 24/7 in the previous application, but with us it ran perhaps 6 hours a day 3 days a week, at a much slower rate. Original German manufacturer still had some spares for it, but mostly it was a good machine shop, and fix what was broken, instead.

[@bigclivedotcom]

Does the counter still work? Sometimes they clock up such high plays that the counter rolls over or just twitches the last digit without incrementing.

[@stevejagger8602]

Michael Dranfield recently shared a video of a common fault on Samsung flat screen tv sets. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eoOooJl7abx8rMk A 10 ohm 1/16 W resistor was fitted in the supply line to the power factor correction circuit. In reality it needed to be rated at 1/2W. Of course over a 2/3 year period or less that 1/16W resistor is toast and the tv fails to power up. This is the manufacturer deliberately making their product obsolescent.

[@SeanBZA]

PTC is there also to reduce inrush, as those small 3VA transformers are almost always internally protected, both by the inductance of the primary winding, and by a built in one time thermal fuse as well, buried in the potting. With the capacitor I would go to a 35V one, as the 25V ones on 18V are being run rather close to the limits, and the 35V ones tend to also have better ripple current capacity, which here equates to a longer life, and likely comes in the same can.

[@Roy_Tellason]

I would also go with a 105C rated one, as opposed to an exact replacement for the original...

[@SeanBZA]

@@Roy_Tellason 85C vs 105C the make and series is more important, you get plenty of different ones, with life varying from 1k hours to 15k hours for the same capacitance and voltage, just different makes and series. Derate the voltage and life is a lot longer.

[@raygale4198]

I have an industrial aircon friend here in Australia swears by dixell controllers. He claims the only thing the don't do is swallow. I have used an few of the simpler panel mount ones and found them to be easy to use and totally reliable.

[@zombieregime]

"...wooden toothpick to open stubborn desoldered holes..." OH MY GOD!!!! Where the hell was that advice 2 hours ago?!? .....And 4 days ago..... And 6 days ago..... And last week..... And.....Basically Ive been having issues with getting that last little bit out of holes and have almost, or completely, borked a board swapping parts, salvaging, or otherwise messing with old PCBs..... Clive.....my guy.....my dude.....my man.....my guy-man-dude-mentor-crush.....PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF THE ISLE OF MANN DO A VIDEO WHERE YOU PASS ON A L L I MEAN A L L OF THESE TIPS AND TRICKS!!!! Please?! I beg of you! Look at it this way, ya know all those old crafts that fell into obscurity because of the old salts that wouldnt really talk about their crafts and tricks (or no one would ask...), like for instance movie model making and kitbashing? Well Im asking! Please dont let these little off the cuff tricks disappear with you! SHARE THEM!!! We need them! PLEASE!!! Also, ya know, just in general, dont leave us any time soon either. Love the vids, bud. You are exactly the kind of old salt I wish I could find around me to pick the brain of. The invitation to be annoyed by a brain picker if you ever find yourself in southern California still stands. Keep on keeping on, mate. 😎👍

[@SeascapeStl]

Freaking amazing reverse engineering skills. Can you do a series on your tools(toys)?

[@unclefrogy743]

I have seen hollow "pins" of different sizes sold on amazon to do what the tooth pick does for a lot more then the tooth picks costs. I would never have thought of that on my own . thank you thank you thank you!

[@bigclivedotcom]

The hollow stainless pins are good for desoldering some components with a lot of leads.

[@genevasimmonds8208]

Have seen a few of these, used in supermarket cabinet refrigeration, often connected a Modbus module then connected to Emerson control panels. E2 etc, dixell is Emerson product. most of it is made well. they are easy to program

[@bigclivedotcom]

It is a well made unit. Just hobbled by a rogue capacitor brand/batch.

[@SA4AQS]

These controllers usually sits on the top of industrial fridge and freezers, where the compressor and condenser also is and it gets hot up there in the summer.

[@sepposyXIV]

A big piece blob of Blue Tack is really helpful in holding components to the board or whole small boards to the table when soldering. Especially if you have shaky hands that you can rest on the table as well.

[@Whatiwantedwastaken]

Clive have you ever had an apprentice? I reckon (if you had the time and inclination) you’d be awesome at hosting a second channel where you share those all important tidbits a mentor shares with their apprentice with videos like this. They need not all be full length masterpieces like this. Wether you’ve had an official apprentice you’ve doubtless inspired many aspiring technical people.

[@RavenLuni]

I misread the title as 'weird and insulting fruit' - probably not beyond the scope of a Clive video :p

[@bzuidgeest]

Or maybe that's just how you subconsciously think of Clive 😂.

[@FerdinandFake]

I have swapped out dozens of these boards, 99% of the time it's the relays burning out because the manufacturer decided to switch something directly off the board. They may look beefy but if you use them for anything other than switching proper relays it will burn out quickly.

[@bigclivedotcom]

Yeah, that's annoying when they use an onboard relay for a high load. Some use an offboard relay module.

[@joefish6091]

And no snubber circuit across the contacts.

[@ryanroberts1104]

Just like grandma used to say..."If you poop too fast you might get splashed!"

[@WJCTechyman]

I wasn't sure if it was Glan or Gian like a Chinese capacitor or something. Huh, toothpicks for a desoldering tool. Thanks Clive, that will help the next time I am desoldering through-hole circuitry. Well, I was always taught that, "A system is only as good as its weakest link" and that's pretty much your conclusion on this, I guess? It's interesting how one capacitor can bring down an entire relatively expensive refrigeration controller like this.

[@johndododoe1411]

I notice the friemdly board designer printed a nice + where the plus lead of the capacitor goes, just in case someone didn't memorize it during the recap .

[@michaelpage8337]

Someone at work connected an electrolytic the wrong way round it did make a loud pop and the room was filled with snow

[@johnwiley8417]

Excellent repair and soldering primer! I've done that for more than fifty years, but I always enjoy your presentation.

[@christopherguy1217]

What a nice change from the usual tear down videos. I like seeing the hands on videos where the soldering iron comes out.👍

[@markmarkofkane8167]

Electrolytic capacitors are the Kryptonite of electronics.

[@raisagorbachov]

I had a Radio Shack 330mf capacitor. I left it in my supplies box in its little baggie. It was fine. I never used it. A couple of years later I wanted it, pulled it out and it was bulging so badly that it was coming apart. Never ever been used!

[@bigclivedotcom]

That's quite odd to have the electrolyte degrade and gas out in storage.

[@TopEndSpoonie]

Great work, thanks Clive.

[@johnpipe362]

Interesting explanation and repair.

[@NiyaKouya]

Always interesting to see how cheap components like that failed cap can make electronic devices fail. From what I've heard it's quite common in the entertainment electronics industry to use electrolytic caps for "planned obsolescence" purposes. Flat screen TVs seem to be especially bad, it's always funny and sad at the same time when you hear that someone fixed a TV that cost 1k€+ new and failed after maybe 3 years, and fixing it only takes a screwdriver, spudger, soldering iron and replacement caps for maybe 1-2€...

[@twocvbloke]

Sound slike one of those "well, we COULD use that capacitor, but this one is a fraction of a cent cheaper, so we'll go with that!!!", and then warranty claims roll in and they blame the user for some made up reason and try to sell a new one instead of replacing the caps they shouldn't have used in the first place... :P

[@nunamvseravno]

This is strange. Why the 15-18VDC supply? What is the relays coils rating? Also I would not use 25V cap on this supply....rather double the cap voltage rating....they will last longer.

[@youtubeviewer7077]

Doesn't seem like a good layout having an under-rated capacitor so close to a warm transformer and a "roll yer own" voltage regulator. Personally, I would've used another "proper" regulator (7812), slapped em both on a heatsink (or flat on a copper pour with thermal vias on the PCB) and put a 35v capacitor a little farther from the hot stuff.

[@jaycee1980]

Yay for crapacitors. Generally I stick to using Rubycon, Nichicon or Panasonic. Nippon Chemicon are OK as well, as are Kemet. Anything else, i presume it's junk!

[@jbeeblebrox4062]

On wiggling the faulty cap out....: A few days back I came to watch the 'Desoldering Made Easy - Amazing Trick' from Mr SolderFix right here around the next corner on yt. I never desoldered (multiple pin) components more easily and more important without any relevant destruction observable on the component..

[@richardbriansmith8562]

Awesome Video big clive

[@HeIsTheHighlander]

Toolkit called "Hollow needles desoldering tool electronic components Stainless steel 8Pcs/lot" for $2 may be very suitable for desoldering various through-hole parts. Sometimes I prefer use toolkit for $2 instead of Japanese desoldering gun for $200.

[@phcoh]

N your list of tools required for the repair, you failed to mention a bucket full of commen sense. Like not presuming the 680ohm replaced with 2 330ohm in series and presuming the lnk304pn was fine... Wasent long till the smoke detector went off. 😊 Oh that magical smell of burning resistors. Oh well tumble dryer awaiting lnk delivery.

[@Jbrimbelibap]

Would you reverse engineer a FS1000A radio module, or similar one ? I'd like to learn more about those radio modules with cristal osclillators And i'd like to modify one, but I don't quite understand it

[@brucepickess8097]

Luckily the capacitor "out gassing" was still contained, my "out gassing" is frequently vented.😖

[@throttlebottle5906]

dix's'mell, they forgot a letter in their name. 🤣🤣 **further that by the capacitor branded "Glan" just needs an S added "Glans". made in China or all China materials.... when will it end(oh wait, ending is in process)

[@gooseknack]

Firstly, why complicate a reliable system? Secondly, if they plan to add electronics to a standard household refrigerator. The least they could do, is to take a leaf out of the book from Engel and Danfos/Secop for electronic systems. Those units run for 10 years or more from 12/24 volts, without issue. Even in the 40 degree celcius temps of australia. Usually, all ive had fail it's the NTC temperature sensors that give out. The little silver canister fills with moisture over time and shorts the terminals. So far, the Engel fridges haven't suffered the issue. If anyone wonders, I am not connected to the grid. So everything runs from a small 12 volt solar power system. Have been Engel now continuously for 2 years.

[@radio-ged4626]

Looks like it was suffering from swollen glans... painful. Love the tooth-pick tip. Soldering for 40+ years and never heard of it. Can't wait to try it out.

[@markthintie5132]

I have a Mobile Phone charger that is 5V 1000Mah. Is there an easy way to limit it to 4.5V externally?

[@bigclivedotcom]

If using it to power something that runs on 4.5V it's usually enough to put a standard 1A diode in series.

[@brucepickess8097]

​@@bigclivedotcomYep, that's the way. I adapt a lot of my old 5V psu's/chargers to run equipment that use triple 1.5V cells (4.5V).

[@channelsixtysix066]

"It's A Glan !!" - Here's Clive, handling a bulging Glan between his fingers ..... it does look hard and bulging, for sure. 00:42

[@nickyross7127]

I started my electronics career repairing refrigeration PCB's. I can tell you capacitor failure on this type of power supply is super common, not sure why but I've repaired literally hundreds. Great throwback 👍

[@cen7ury]

Hey Clive! I just had some components go bang on one of the boards within my 6 kW solar inverter, would you be interested in making a video out of taking a look at it for me? While I can do my own soldering, I'm unfortunately just not bright enough to know what to use when the old part fails spectacularly enough that the markings on it are no longer legible. Thanks so much for putting out videos like these! I appreciate the content so much, and I really hope that one day soon I'll be in a position to buy you a coffee, or a whiskey, or really just contribute in any meaningful way. Stay awesome, man!

[@MrCobo04]

Exploding electrolytics! Can remember having a couple of nee - well ok new to us, system boards as trials. Neither powered up but hmm smelled a lot. Me being me took them apart. All looked clean except the mains area. The smoothing capacitor in both units had exploded. More like a volcano. Took a while to workout that the capacitor in both units was put in reversed. Replaced and all was ok check with company and hmm manufacturer fault. The entire batch were built the same.

[@Damien.D]

Glitching the power supply... very naughty communication protocol.

[@brianbrooks4448]

I've made so much money in my career from faulty electrolytics. God bless them. I remember when mini camcorders first came out. I was living in South Africa at the time and it seemed that no engineers in the area wanted to touch the new microelectronics used in these camcorders. If you remember they used aluminium radial electrolytics that were well known (to me anyway, in SA) to leak and go faulty in a few ways. Lets just say it was a great career and economic advantage for me to be aware of this and to be prepared to tackle faults in these tiny circuits. Love your videos btw Clive. Thanks for making them.

[@d.t.4523]

I'll keep a few, ish, old ones from the scrap bin and send you the parts. I'll let you know ahead of time. Cheers. Good luck.

[@rachysnip]

"This is a dick-cell...." "you can see the bulging there, it's a glans capacitor" when i listened to audio only and didn't look at the screen for the first few minutes

[@PenryMMJ]

A lot of companies will just swap the controller out for a new one, which creates more sales for Dixcell, so the cheap component might have been deliberate. But of course it will give them a reputation for poor reliability and in the long term will damage business. But companies don't think long term.

[@MD4564]

It's always CAPS CAPS CAPS that seem to be an issue with high powered devices, sometimes it's better to not cheap out on most important part where you are temp storing energy.

[@frantickoala994]

I put a TIP102 in my tester today... yeah... it caused my tester to go in to calibration mode.

[@rimmersbryggeri]

Do you have a good source for buying ust one size/ type of these soldering iron tips? Found it hard to find multi packs of the one I want.

[@aylesburynumptydrivers9672]

I repair epos motherboards all the time and always use Panasonic long life caps now. My desoldering suction gun is the best investment I ever made

[@hinspect]

Those *_"Glans"_* Capacitors are probably the Chinese lowest bidder! 😅

[@bzuidgeest]

Someone that doesn't know how to orient an electrolytic capacitor has no business repairing high voltage electronics. Let them learn repair skills on something less dangerous.

[@ShanesGettingHandy]

Thanks for the Toothpick trick, I had no idea!

[@grantrennie]

Thanks for another great video Clive 👍

[@oldengineer464]

A lot of micros default to "input, pull up", that would turn that transistor on.

[@thatraymond]

Panasonic is good, but I'm partial to Kemet.

[@mevk1]

every dam home appliance has a bleeping control board these days just so they last an even short time.

[@markedis5902]

I found the best thing to clear through holes was air duster from poundland

[@bobroberts2371]

340 Have you tried to run Ripple through a Soda Stream ?

[@piconano]

The Glan cap developed a cancerous gland and died. The name fits.

[@AintBigAintClever]

I wonder if these can also be controlled by something like an XWEB 500 like the one I did a teardown and unbricking of a while back?

[@mina47879]

Hate when my Dixell doesn't work

[@mcflapper7591]

Dick-Sel. What a company name!

[@jameskennedy7295]

morning Clive. Would you be able to help with a treasure Hunt puggy that stopped working. 80's machine just buzzes.

[@bigclivedotcom]

First suspect is the power supply capacitors as in this unit. The lack of smoothing may manifest as audio hum and the processor not booting.

[@mikeyyoyo6464]

Vot eez dis skullduggery? Where’s the Armageddon prepper globalisation depressing the sky is falling etc etc 😂👍

[@RonNona]

Do you need to discharge the capacitor before removal?

[@dlock2k]

Well, in this instance, no. The cap is faulty, and won't hold a charge. That's the reason for the overlarge ripple voltage which caused the transistor to overheat. Secondly, the voltage across the cap would be 25 volts or less, which is not a dangerous voltage. In the case of higher voltages, it would be wise to use a voltmeter to check for any stored voltage across any capacitor you intend to replace.

[@bigclivedotcom]

No. It's low voltage and will discharge through the circuitry for whatever capacity it has left

[@Lenny-kt2th]

Ah... bad caps.Normally you don't mention capacitor brands, but now you do (while replacing one with a similarly dodgy brand). Over the years, I have taken lots of stuff apart, and when you disregard stuff from the capacittor plague era, there isn't really that much difference between Chinese and Western made caps, including the Japanese brands.

[@aviandragon1390]

Laughably false. There are good capacitors and there are bad ones.

[@wafikiri_]

In 1972, while testing a power supply unit I designed in the University laboratory, I noticed one of the transistors in the unit was very hot. I desoldered the transistor and tested it with an oscilloscope transistor tracer. For a whole half an hour the beautiful graph of collector-to-emitter current vs collector-to-emitter voltage at a dozen various base-to-emitter (B-E) currents was stable and slightly varying as I tested the transistor to increasing maximum B-E current, first at one milliamp and ten milliamp dial notches, then 100 milliamps intervals, and, when reaching 2 amps of B-E current, the curves wobbled, the transistor released a wisp of smoke, and the curves went flat to zero current. I was amazed. Two amps B-E current to kill a transistor? Of course, it was not constant but maximum, the tracer ramping it up in the various curves, only the upper one correspinding to 2A, but still.

[@joefish6091]

I once had a TO-18 transistor vaporize two legs and melt the paxoline on a PP3 powered RF circuit. very strange.

[@dougsabug]

Add about 40 minutes and 16 seconds you talk about touching the board and the pastor wires but you don’t mention the temperature. I’d love to have you, if you could share, tell the temperature that you use on your soldering iron. That’ll help, probably not just me, but a lot of us. Thanks. It’s not something you typically do but once in a while you do

[@bigclivedotcom]

Typically around 350C but I recommend going by soldering feel and not an exact temperature.

[@friedrichvonsnatch3501]

What happened to your finger?

[@Mark1024MAK]

Hi Clive. A question… Are you aware that KZbin is now putting mid video advertisements in for your videos?

[@bigclivedotcom]

Yes. It's a test to see if they were muting my content due to the lack of advertising revenue.

[@annierenard5954]

a capacitor close to a heat source dies fast

[@Derek_Garnham]

truth

[@bigclivedotcom]

Especially annoying when they are mounted against heatsinks.

[@KarldorisLambley]

i like the tooth-pick trick. i have had issues with just this thing. although last week i bought a Japanese engineer brand solder sucker, an ss-02. and it is amazing. i had used several of the cheap blue ones that get given away in soldering kits, and i found them awful. so before spending a lot on a de-soldering gun thing i tried the engineer. some circuit boards i have found use a little metal tube thing with a crimped over end on all the cool stuff. the full wave rectifiers, voltage regulators and heat-sinks all use this arrangement, the through holes are big, and they have this tube gubbins in, it makes the solder have a pretty flower petal pattern in it. i dont know what they are called, nor what they are for, but it makes things a bugger to de-solder, but the engineer's silicone tip lets it get right against the hot solder, so now all these nice things are in little drawers on my wall, rather than on an old PCB in the bin.

[@KarldorisLambley]

i asked chatGPT what they were, it knew right away, they are called self-clinching standoffs. so now i know!

[@Roy_Tellason]

Do you happen to know what those green connectors are called? I've run across them in a few places, and they strike me as being pretty darn reliable...

[@bigclivedotcom]

Phoenix connectors may find them.

[@CRAZYCR1T1C]

What a coincidence, I just fixed one of these last week. The big black relays are a main point of failure.

[@bigclivedotcom]

I'd guess it may be switching a load like compressor or defrost heater directly.

[@getsomebud]

what's up clive!

[@jayzo]

Very intreresting design having the live and neutral on separate terminal blocks, why would they do that over having them on the same one which seems logistically easier.

[@bigclivedotcom]

It is odd. I wondered if they just wanted to limit the number of ways of the connector and that was just how the connections landed, or if it was to prevent damage if the connectors got swapped.

[@spokehedz]

That 'on and off' communication sounds a LOT like the old Telephone rotary dial scheme with toggling the hook/cradle. I would bet that it would be a fairly simple protocol to 'sniff' with some current shunts and/or measuring probes. I wonder if it is like some of the "AC" units where the remote display actually sends the ENTIRE CONFIG every single time you push the button.

[@Tims_Projects]

I like the cocktails stick trick.

[@argoneum]

We had some failed capacitors with VENT brand in a number of network equipment. A brand with a promise, so we named them Will Vent's capacitors.

[@NZHippie]

The remote display communications technique reminds me of the way RFID systems work... Great video Clive...

[@brianharper9798]

Use a lot of dixell unit's at work, mainly the XW60K, generally pretty reliable. Occasionally get the odd failed relay. Think the keyboard runs on 12v and pulses low for the data.

[@adamstone4261]

Did you have two fault glen caps? One had short legs and the other had uncut?

[@bigclivedotcom]

I tacked on extra leads to test the faulty capacitor.