We have a Whirlpool French-door, bottom freezer refrigerator, and the LED overhead cabinet light started flickering and is getting worse. From my searches it seemed to be an easy fix—many EBay replacement parts noted to fit this model. I ordered just the two LED panels (4 lights in each) and set about to put them in. Only to find out—SURPRISE! Ours appears to have a driver board and supply in it. (I’ve now ordered another whole panel this time, with board)
But I’m curious still—what’s happening with this one…only one side was flickering. And somehow earlier when I was trying to remove it from the cabinet, it “fixed” itself. Of course it didn’t last…
(I measured 110v coming into it)

 

Chances are pretty good that replacing these 4 electrolyte caps will fix the problem.

 

Chances are pretty good that replacing these 4 electrolyte caps will fix the problem.

View attachment 368652

Very good! I will be giving that a try in the next day or so…thanks!

 

Make sure to follow the polarity marks.

 

Hi,
" only one side was flickering" -It looks like one of the LEDs is broken. It looks like the LEDs are connected in series, so if one of them goes out, the rest won't light up either. To find out which LED is bad, you need to short it with a wire.

 

A blown LED won't normally cause flickering – a blown LED will usually have a "black spot of death" and all of the LEDs in series will be off.

 

A blown LED won't normally cause flickering – a blown LED will usually have a "black spot of death" and all of the LEDs in series will be off.

I have seen many LED lamps where one LED is broken but not completely dead, and such a lamp flickers until the failing LED finally goes out.

 

I stand by my recommendation.

 

Hi,
" only one side was flickering" -It looks like one of the LEDs is broken. It looks like the LEDs are connected in series, so if one of them goes out, the rest won't light up either. To find out which LED is bad, you need to short it with a wire.

To be more clear on my end…there are 4 LED units on each board. But only one board exhibited the problem. And that was that all 4 units were flickering/flashing, and in sync. Sometimes the flickering has been almost strobe-like. It would drive you crazy if you were having to keep the door open for a longer time…
For the time being while waiting on another part to arrive, I put it back together and simply covered the row of 4 LEDs with strips of black electrical tape. No more flickering! (well, it is a little darker inside there now but so much better than the alternative )

But now I want to pull it back out and look at those caps…just because it’s one of those things the wife and I don’t jive with—she always says “just throw it away and get a new one” and me, I can’t let anything go without at least giving it a try to fix…LOL

 

It could also be a bond wire in one of the LEDs that has become intermittent when heated. I have several LED flashlights that exhibit this problem.

 

To be more clear on my end…there are 4 LED units on each board. But only one board exhibited the problem. And that was that all 4 units were flickering/flashing, and in sync. Sometimes the flickering has been almost strobe-like. It would drive you crazy if you were having to keep the door open for a longer time…
For the time being while waiting on another part to arrive, I put it back together and simply covered the row of 4 LEDs with strips of black electrical tape. No more flickering! (well, it is a little darker inside there now but so much better than the alternative )

But now I want to pull it back out and look at those caps…just because it’s one of those things the wife and I don’t jive with—she always says “just throw it away and get a new one” and me, I can’t let anything go without at least giving it a try to fix…LOL

you have two sets of LEDs, one side works, the other side flickers. since they share same power supply, and one string is working, problem here is not the capacitors in the power section but intermittent connection on one of the LED strings in the low voltage output circuit.... could be bad solder joint, micro crack on the PCB or defective LED.
you can try using 56 Ohm resistor... bend the resistor leads and then use them to touch one LED at a time. there are only 4 of them so probe all four. one that acts differently is the problem (when resistor is placed across LED with bad connection, other LEDs may continue to flicker but will not go completely off).
note, you may have to pierce any coating on the board.

of the problem is not with LED strips but with power board, same logic applies. since one side is working, common part of the PSU is ok. that means problem is not in HV section but near output:

 

One way to determine if it is the LEDs or the board is to swap the two LED strings. If it moves with the LEDs they are at fault.

 

you have two sets of LEDs, one side works, the other side flickers. since they share same power supply, and one string is working, problem here is not the capacitors in the power section but intermittent connection on one of the LED strings in the low voltage output circuit.... could be bad solder joint, micro crack on the PCB or defective LED.
you can try using 56 Ohm resistor... bend the resistor leads and then use them to touch one LED at a time. there are only 4 of them so probe all four. one that acts differently is the problem (when resistor is placed across LED with bad connection, other LEDs may continue to flicker but will not go completely off).
note, you may have to pierce any coating on the board.

of the problem is not with LED strips but with power board, same logic applies. since one side is working, common part of the PSU is ok. that means problem is not in HV section but near output:
View attachment 368672

Hmmmm…that could explain why when I was fiddling with it on the initial removal the affected ones suddenly worked fine. But after I pushed the unit back in place a few minutes later the problem was back…

 

One way to determine if it is the LEDs or the board is to swap the two LED strings. If it moves with the LEDs they are at fault.

I’ll be giving this a shot as well when the new part comes in and I pull the old one. (You KNOW I’ve just gotta see if it’s fixable—don’t tell my wife LOL)

 

fridge is place where temperatures can swing a lot. when you work on circuit it is near room temp and micro cracks are hardly noticeable since material expands. but once it cools down and material starts to shrink, gap become larger and circuit goes off, leds turn off. the distances are still tiny so the spark can make it warmer (contact = light) etc. cycle continues. common tools when troubleshooting such issues are cold spray and hot air gun (hair drier). this allows you to aim and freeze/heat-up specific spot and see the results.

 

Maybe it's me, but this whole assembly seems rather overly complex for the intended job; I can understand the power supply - but then the LED driver board seems...kinda out there? Why so many parts? The LEDs don't look particularly special or anything...?

Personally, this is one of those things that I'd probably look into replacing the whole thing with some kind of bracket and sockets for regular E26 base LED bulbs (or smaller nightlight LED bulbs) - the kind of thing you can get the bulbs cheaply anywhere (assuming something custom like that could be made to fit).

The fridge my wife and I have is an older model (because our house was built in 1973, the nook for the fridge is such that we can't fit many or most of "new models" that exist - not without what would turn out to be an entire kitchen remodel), that used regular incandescent bulbs - I swapped 'em all out with LED bulbs.

 

Ouch!! Got the new light module in this morning and put it in—-SAME RESULT! Although it seemed with a little fiddling with two harness connectors it would stop flashing, but would act up again. Right now I’m working on further testing to try and isolate it more…hang with me…

 

The light module is separate from the power supply?

 

The light module is separate from the power supply?

I believe so…scroll back up and you’ll see pics of it. The new one I ordered (2nd try) did have the electronic module attached.

 

If you replaced the LED strips but didn't replace the power supply board and still had the identical problem, it's either:

● The power supply board, with the most likely problem being the electrolytic capacitors as I stated in post number 2.*

Or

● Bad cables between the LED strips and the power supply board, an unlikely failure.

* The argument that it can't be the power supply because one side flashed and one side doesn't assumes that the power supply is connected in parallel to both strips. Looking at the board however suggests there may be separate sections for each strip.