Indesit WIDL 146 - Dryer Heater Relay Error

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Hello everyone,

I am new to this but will be using this forum more often since I like DIY things. :)

My problem is one that happened to some people in this forum already. My Indesit WIDL 146 wash/dry machine has encountered several issues.

Right now, the machine won't start up, and just flashes all LEDs on the control board. According to the error code ( //www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1282161#1282161 ), the dryer heater relay is broken.

Before this, it still worked and had another issue though. The machine kept letting water in and turning the drum, and repeating that process forever... while it should just do that once or twice and then continue washing. I've been able to avoid this problem by restarting the machine in the past. (which is just luck I guess).

Anyway, now I'm stuck with something nonfunctional so I decided to open up the machine and take a look at the PCB and see if I can find the broken relay (as it says wit the LEDS). I've taken a look at the following two topics for help: //www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=185931 and //www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1245330

I've purchased 4 spares of the exact same relay... so I decided to try to fix the PCB myself. I've desoldered two of the relays which I thought could be broken, and one of them had a broken open contact. So now I replaced that relay, and plugged the PCB back.. and nothing seems to have changed. Here is the old picture of the PCB:
fnzew4.jpg

The broken relay is the one on the upper-right corner. Now the PCB looks the same, but all relays are opened up, making it easier to test them. Also the soldering in the back isn't that nice since I'm not a solder expert hehe.. but I've soldered it good enough I believe.

Help is highly appreciated!

- Ethem
 
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Not sure but it looks like you may have a problem with the components I have highlighted
GALLERY]
 
Thanks for the reply jj! What are those components supposed to show on a multimeter? Are you saying that they might be broken because those components look darker/burned in the picture? It's not like that in reality.. that was probably a shadow ^^
 
Here's an update on this:

I've identified which cables go to the water heater, dryer heater, water thermometer, dryer thermometer, door lock, control unit, drum motor, fan motor, water valve, power supply and water/pressure level measurer.

If I identified the units correctly, I know where they are all connected on the pcb. I've tested the dryer heater, water heater, the thermometers and the dryer (fan) motor... and they seem to be flawless (even checked the inside of the dryer and cleaned the dust).

I guess this means something is wrong with the pcb, but I've also check the connection between the heaters and the relays... and all seems to be fine too. :s I'm really lost now, could someone please help!
 
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Maybe its just my eyes but the card contacts at the bottom (just to the right of the letters "EDT0118.9") sure look look like they suffered a flashover. You are nearer the board than me, is this the case? If so maybe you ought to check out the plug as well.
 
Maybe its just my eyes but the card contacts at the bottom (just to the right of the letters "EDT0118.9") sure look look like they suffered a flashover. You are nearer the board than me, is this the case? If so maybe you ought to check out the plug as well.
ohh yeah, should have mentioned, I checked that already and there seems to be no disturbance in continuity... many thanks for the post though!
 
It doesn't matter if you have continuity, if you had a flashover it can easily blow a triac. Often he only evidence to see is a tiny, tiny part of the triac is missing...no burning. Looks like a new pcb I'm afraid.
 
Really? How can I test a TRIAC? Where is the piece supposed to be missing? I think I've located two of them on the board, one at the bottom left and one attached to that metal thing in the back. Do you see them in the picture?
 
I see the picture & I see a flashover. I would need more than just reading glasses & a photo to see a blown triac. Bite the bullet, throw the thing away & buy a new pcb, that's the best advice I can offer. Make sure the plug, wiring & component/components on that particular slot are good before you switch on.
 
Thanks a lot for your advices zipper!
It's a bit difficult for me to purchase that exact pcb at the moment. I'm going to be looking for more advice though, it might just be an easy thing I haven't noticed yet. Meanwhile, here are two more pictures of the pcb:

6rrno1.jpg

2vt8s3a.jpg
 
you can send the board to these peeps as they test boards and repair them.

Cost about a fiver to test your board

http://www.emwelec.co.uk/

Have you tested whatever was on the other end of that burnt/arced edge connector.

Looking at the pics though it does look like the componants near C17 capacitor are damaged (they can not really be tested in situ due to parrallel paths etc)
It may be the light as well but the group of three capacitors the top left hand one (largest of group) looks like the bottom is domed outwards slightly 'indication of failure'.
The error codes are also only a rough guide and sometimes very misleading.

It could be a fault with the heater itself, wiring loom, or something totally unconnected.
 
you can send the board to these peeps as they test boards and repair them.

Cost about a fiver to test your board

http://www.emwelec.co.uk/
I'm a bit of a beginner when it comes to shipping etc. plus I don't live in the UK :( so this would be possible I guess, but difficult! I'll probably have this as my last resort!

Have you tested whatever was on the other end of that burnt/arced edge connector.
Yes, but there is no printed copper wire connected on that side.

Looking at the pics though it does look like the componants near C17 capacitor are damaged (they can not really be tested in situ due to parrallel paths etc)
It may be the light as well but the group of three capacitors the top left hand one (largest of group) looks like the bottom is domed outwards slightly 'indication of failure'.
Great observation! Yes that C17 capacitor seems to be expanded (curved outwards) more than the others. Would it be possible to test it if I isolated that capacitor from the circuit?

The error codes are also only a rough guide and sometimes very misleading.
It could be a fault with the heater itself, wiring loom, or something totally unconnected.
I've tested almost every other component for continuity, and most of them seem to have continuity (LINE IN = LINE OUT). I've read on a site that the Indesit wash machines have the water cycle problem I mentioned at the start, because the machine thinks that the water is too warm. That would make my water thermostat faulty... however there is continuity between the line in and line out (19.5 Ohms I think it showed). So that must be something on my PCB as well I guess.

Thanks for all the advice Leccy758!

I've also experimented a bit around and looked at what would happen if I did not connect all cables to the PCB and got interesting results:

In all cases, the flashing came up again (except of course when I didn't connect the cable for power or the display board to the PCB). When I removed either the dryer thermostat, water thermostat or the water heater connections however, after 30 seconds of flashing, the door got locked, dryer fan started up and the pump started doing something (I think?). It didn't go on smoothly though, 2 relays kept switching on/off with a spark (the K6 relay for the fan, and the K1 relay for the pump). Does this suggest that those two relays are not for the dryer heater?
Also, if I removed all of those three connections at once, only the fan started up after the flashes (without pump). Forgot to say, the flashes actually persist but much dimmer than at start.

I might be shooting in the dark but it's worth a try. :p
 
If the capacitor C17 is low in value (fairly common problem with these boards) it can give you problems as this is part of the power regulation circuit.

All the cylinder capacitors should have flat bases
 

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