Cold Machine Electrical Issue

[KenKrawford]

I fired up my refrigeration unit for the first time this year and noticed that it was running short cycles. The compressor would run for 2 or 3 minutes, shut of for 15 seconds and then resume. This happened over & over. I also noted that the red LED on the controller had a slow flash.

In past spring startups, my compressor wouldn't run at all and inevitably I would find that one of the fuses on the compressor would have a bit of corrosion on the pins. A light sanding and I was back in business. I pulled the fuses this year and noticed that the 15 amp one was a bit difficult to extract. After getting it out I also noticed that one of the pins was darkened and the plastic around it slightly melted. I'm interpreting this as arcing.
My concern is the condition of the female fuse connector on the controller. It's just about impossible to visualize it and its condition.
Any suggestions or insight is appreciated.

[wolfe10]

Ken,

Is the condenser fan running? If not, high temperature/PSI could explain the short cycling.

[KenKrawford]

Brett, the condenser fan was running until I pulled the fuse. After cleaning the contacts, only the spillover fan was working. I’ve got some new fuses to try on my next trip back.

[KenKrawford]

I tried to scratch/clean the fuse contacts as best I could before installing the new fuse. I can hear a faint hum like the compressor is trying to run but nothing else. The LED isn’t lit and the spillover fan runs.
I pulled the module out to see what the circuit board looked like. There was some discoloration near one of the solder joints from the 15 amp fuse.

PC board.jpg (214.01 KiB) Viewed 7293 times

This unit is 14 years old and a bit of Googling didn't show any hits for this board.
The back of the PC board says:
Waeco Adler Barbour
Cold Machine Board
F - 1886 Rev 2

[wolfe10]

Ken,

You might check around with local companies that install marine refrigerator units-- they may have removed an old unit and have a PC board laying around.

[Richard Kollmann]

Unfortunately that printed circuit board is poorly designed structurally the power copper strip plus and minus will overheat and burn through.

Check TECH TIP # 1 on my web site for more info. http://www.kollmann-marine.com/tip1.aspx

[KenKrawford]

Richard, thanks so much for your reply and the link. Since my problem seems to center around the 15 amp fuse, could I reroute just the positive and negative cables that are now on the PC board directly to the Danfoss module and leave the other 6 wires that go from the board to the Danfoss module connected? If the thermostat phone cable is plugged into the PC board will the thermostat still function?
Thanks again for your help. It is greatly appreciated.
BTW, I found a replacement board from Marine Warehouse in Miami for $101 but it is out of stock currently. I couldn’t find many people who carry these.

[Richard Kollmann]

There was a rumor that AB had developed a replacement board correcting the CU 100 and CU 200 failures. It would be a mistake to replace with the original failed design.

You can bypass the complete board and be sure to add a new 15 amp fuse to the refrigerator boat's power wire. By bypassing it you lose the 5 amp fuse circuit that might be powering any additional fans loads and the trouble LED. If this is a CU 200 water cooled function is also lost.

Best solution is to leave this circuit board in place and remove 15amp fuse. Then connect a jumper to existing power wire terminal and other end of jumper wire along with existing power wire on Danfoss module. Do not forget the refrigeration now must have a new in line 15 amp fuse for protection.
The last jumper wire required is needed to again go around circuit boards ground terminals keeping original wires connected as well.

[pdenoncourt]

Ken, I have an original pc circuit that appears to be in good shape. I could let you have it for the cost of postage from Jacksonville, FL. I no longer have my C350, "Kite".

IMG_0003s.jpg (223.58 KiB) Viewed 7265 times

[KenKrawford]

Thanks again Richard for your help. That will get me through the near term. I will definitely take Peter up on his most generous offer. Thank you Peter!

[KenKrawford]

While waiting for Peter’s PC board to arrive, I verified 13.3 volts to the PC board. I then added the 12V jumper wires to the Danfoss module. The compressor failed to run.
Today I installed the replacement PC board and again, no joy. The spillover fan runs but the compressor fails to start. The red led on the replacement board stays lit. I’m not sure what this means since all the error codes are flashes. The ammeter on the circuit breaker panel show no deflection when the breaker is switched on.
Is it possible that the Danfoss module is fried?
I also called Waeco and asked if there was a new PC board coming out? The answer was NO.

[Captain Kirk]

Ken: Just wondering how you made out with this?

On a recent 10 day cruise our fridge stopped running, discovered the situation in the morning. I turned off the DC switch on panel and started looking for issues with the circuit board etc, but no burn marks or anything. I turned it back on a few hours later and it worked fine but within 2 hours as I monitored it I found the compressor/condenser was very hot and the fan wasn't running. Shut it down and dug a little deeper

As I played with removing the CCT board I notice the 5 Amp fuse was loose, in fact it simply fell out of its holder as i tipped the unit over. It was not burned out. Guessing this is the fuse for the fan I pried the legs out a bit and got it fit in nice and snugly. Fan came back to life and no problems since. I keep an eye on the compressor now to see that the fan is running.

I guess there is hi temp shut off function somewhere in the system.

[KenKrawford]

I'm back up and running after replacing my circuit board (thanks again Peter). Another strange anomaly associated with this project was the wiring from the board to the compressor controller. There are 8 color coded wires that run between the 2 components. I took a picture before removing the old board. After quadruple checking the connections from the new board the unit still wouldn't run however the red LED was lit but not flashing. No mention of this in the manual so I called Waeco. They immediately said I have something wired wrong. Everything still agreed with my picture so in desperation I pulled out the manual and noticed 2 wires were in different positions. After switching them the unit powered up. Go figure. I'm the original owner and have never touched those wires before and the unit has run fine for 14 yrs.
My previous problems with fuses on the circuit board always involved the 15 amp one. This printed circuit board is there largely for diagnostic purposes. If your unit quits cooling, the first step is to look at the LED and see if it's lit and note the flashing pattern. The codes are listed in the manual and will being to give you an idea of where your problem might be.
During the course of this adventure I made 3 calls to Waeco's tech support. I was very impressed. My call was answered on the first ring each time and the people I spoke to were knowledgable and unhurried.

[sargentef]

Our fridge also declined not to work this spring. After reading this thread and climbing into compartment to look at trouble LED, noticed there was some kind of worn sticker over it! Who new it was even there. The 5 amp and 15 amp fuses were ok, removed the ss box with pc board for closer look, and found that one end of the glass fuse holder on the back of pc board had broken and was making momentary contact. I replaced that and reinstalled, unit fired up but fan did not run. Ordered another fan from amazon, unit works now however my back doesn't!
Seawing
hull#309 2005

[russp]

Can you get a new back from Amazon??

[sargentef]

It's on "BACK" order!

[rrdimattia]

Sean Coleman at shiver me timbers is in the Annapolis area and was very helpful to me and are reasonably priced
I had a problem with the Adler Barber controller
Regarding the cycling problem I remedied mine by re-priming the pump down in the bilge and then all was well

I disconnected The feed after closing the through hull fitting and use a garden hose to push water through the system then reconnected it

[KenKrawford]

Ralph you must have the A/B Super Cold Machine which does employ a water pump plus the fan to cool the compressor. I believe the majority of installs use only a fan.