Ive had this hand iron for less than 4 months, i use it to cover RC planes and such, just the other day it bunked on me, when i plug it in, i hear a rattle as in there is a loose connection, the iron will not heat up, but crackling noise comes and goes and LED light turns on for a split second when heat actuator dial is on high, but turns right off..i opened it up and it seems like a simple circuit for anyone that knows circuitry ( not me )
here are some pictures of the circuit board,,,i can go out and purchase a new one but to fix this myself and learn a thing or two would be just awesome.
here is what the unit looks like below link..and see attached images of the board...any info on why its not working would be just super..
thanks so much all
http://www.amazon.com/Coverite-21st-Century-Trim-Sealing/dp/B000X4OLS0





Mods Edit:
Please compress the files size to the clear resolution as 800x600 or 1024x768, thank you.

 

Nice pictures but can we have one of the back side of the board as well?
Is the iron powered by plugging it into an outlet or is there a separate low voltage power unit?

 

Nice pictures but can we have one of the back side of the board as well?
Is the iron powered by plugging it into an outlet or is there a separate low voltage power unit?

thank you so much for the reply.
here is the back side attached, i had to peal off the 3M double sided tape so it looks a bit messy..
and yes the power plugges right into the outlet..
thanks for your help. hope you can help me out,,,i am able to solder as i do work with electronics but not that great with circuits.
thanks

 

Looks like a simple triac dimmer circuit, ..possibly like this.

http://www.eleccircuit.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/1200-watt-ac-dimmer-by-triac-q4006lt.jpg

 

Looks like a simple triac dimmer circuit, ..

you think the dimmer is the issue here? because when i play with the dimmer, up and down, i do hear the crackling noise but still iron will not get hot

 

The crackling noise maybe the slider control..

You need a multimeter to test the heater and circuit.

 

The crackling noise maybe the slider control..

You need a multimeter to test the heater and circuit.

i do have a multimeter, what am i testing exactly, as again im not too familiar with circuitry...
thanks alot

 

Test the resistance of the heater on Ohms, probably around 120 ohms, also the resistance of the slider pot.

 

Test the resistance of the heater on Ohms, probably around 120 ohms, also the resistance of the slider pot.

so point the + and - of the reader to the ends of each line on teh board? again im pretty much a noob,,any step by step would be so helpful lol
thanks again much

and i do this while its plugged in i assume

 

so point the + and - of the reader to the ends of each line on teh board? again im pretty much a noob,,any step by step would be so helpful lol
thanks again much

and i do this while its plugged in i assume

No.. not when plugged in..
Be VERY careful handling that when its plugged in.. In fact don't handle it at all when plugged in.. You can be exposed to mains voltages and shocked/killed..

 

ok when i touched the red and black wire on the slider with my ohm multimeter, it reads 13.5 and the red LED turns on

im very careful while handling this with gloves and im grounded as well..thank you for the concern

 

can i just get rid of the slider over all and get max temp ouf of this,,,my guess is the slider has gone bad...any thoughts?
see pic of slider temp cover

 

PS: the slide potentiometer is 18MM and stamped B104

 

So its a 100k ohms pot slider, you can short it out and the iron will be on full heat.

Dont measure the circuit with power on using ohms, you will damage your meter.

 

So its a 100k ohms pot slider, you can short it out and the iron will be on full heat.

Dont measure the circuit with power on using ohms, you will damage your meter.

by shorting it you mean just remove the slider pot and connect the + - together?
because i only use this heat iron on high temp anyways..
thanks much for your help

 

Yes, short the two wires on the slider.

 

Yes, short the two wires on the slider.

fantastic, let me give this a try...

 

ok i shorted and removed the slider,,its working again,,perfect,
thanks so much for all the help...i guess potentiometer's go bad as its happened to other devices in teh past..