Whooa!

I fixed it!! Many thanx to all who have contributed to this thread.
F.Y.I. In my case it was the lower part that newer stoped cooling the green light started to flicker instead of going out when reaching decired temp. Replaced CA1 C10 C206 CA4 C202 CA2 C4 C5 C8 C9 C201 and got it working.
Kjell

 

Whooa!

I fixed it!! Many thanx to all who have contributed to this thread.
F.Y.I. In my case it was the lower part that newer stoped cooling the green light started to flicker instead of going out when reaching decired temp. Replaced CA1 C10 C206 CA4 C202 CA2 C4 C5 C8 C9 C201 and got it working.
Kjell

Thanks for taking time to add to the feedback. If you're still here, can you post any more details about your model and so forth? It might help someone else with a similar problem find your solution.

 

Shure, It was sold as "COSO" "Germany" on front 2 zone 21 bottles (6 + 15) two identical PCB:s one for each zone

 

Hey all,

I have a Vinotemp VT-28TEDS that I bought from a thrift store that is not cooling. Upon first inspection, one of the two hot side fans was seized up completely/not turning, so I have replaced that and now it spins freely and works just fine.

However, the unit itself will still not cool. Based on this video, it appears the thermoelectric cooling plate is bad, as it is not heating up/is cold to the touch even after the unit has been running for some time:

.

Therefore, I believe the thermoelectric cooling plate is bad and needs replaced.

I did check and found that the cooling plate itself is getting 12v from the red/black power wires from the PCB, and 6v from the blue wires/plug labeled NTC1 on the PCB.

Before ordering the $72 cooling system from Vinotemp, I wanted to check and make sure there wasn't anything else I was missing/should check.

(In case anyone needs it, the replacement parts for the VT-28TEDS can be found on Vinotemp's site here: http://www.vinotemp.com/View.aspx/4972/Replacement-Parts-for-VT-28TEDS-Wine-Cooler).

Thanks!

-Noah

 

Update: Disassembled the heatsink assembly to get at the actual thermoelectric cooling plate itself, and determined it was not working (it would sit at room temperature on both sides, instead of one side getting warm and the other side cold).

Found it labeled as tec1-12075. Ordered a five pack of these Peltier plates for $15.99 off of Amazon, instead of the $72 that Vinotemp wanted. Will report back once I've replaced it to let you all know how the repair went.

Thanks!

 

Hi! Greetings from Italy. I'm trying to retrace all the work you've done so far but for another board (i think's the same as the fx-101 or 102). The board is named C-3909C for an A&K wine thermoelectric cooler.
Components seem the same but a little different so i think i'll do a new schematic. Then i'll replace caps and so on. I'm having bit of an issue trying to identify some components. Anyone could help me with that? For example the first common mode choke inductor named UM-006/ UF16-31. Seems to have 90turns for every Nx, 30mH minimum inductance @ 1KHz 25°C. But i cannot match it with the specs of analogous components (for example on rs-online), just to find its operating class. However, two images for those who'll search this board online.

 

I have looked at the original Digikey order list and have noticed that most of the components were rated for only 1000 hours at 105 degrees. As it is obvious that caps fail quickly here because of the bad design. The bad part being the fact that the board is right over the heating side of peltier element, making caps heat up. Also at least in my fridge there is no vents or cooling over the circuit board.

All of this leads to overheating of circuit board and components and early cap failure. So the bottom line is that we need caps that are rated for the highest temperature and life span. I have therefore looked up the caps that have at least 10000 hours at 105 degrees. Here are the part numbers in case you want to minimize the need to replace again in the future.

CartShare with part numbers:
http://www.digikey.ca/short/357b7m

Hope this helps us to avoid the need to replace the caps again in 1-2 years due to the poorly designed product.

Thanks,
monsterru

 

sorry - duplicate

 

sorry - duplicate

As the poster, you can delete a post.

 

As the poster, you can delete a post.

This is very off-topic, but I don't have an option to delete my post. I have looked everywhere.

 

This is very off-topic, but I don't have an option to delete my post. I have looked everywhere.

Maybe it's a capability that is only granted after X number of posts. Don't worry about it.

 

Successfully replaced the caps. The only difference for my board was 1 - instead of 1000uf 16v there was 2200 16v. Luckily I had a spare in my collection. Also there was another cap not mentioned in the original post.

So lesson learned - double-check that your board has the same components, as things do change.

 

I have two generic unbranded wine fridges; both have two FX-101 power boards in them. Until now I have just had to replace fans that have gone U/S. Recently, though, one of my FX-101 stopped working. On investigation, I found blown fuse and on leaked high voltage electrolytic (200V, 120uF). Replaced those and all the electrolytic caps. No joy. It works for a few minutes and then packs up with a buzzing noise (but does not blow the fuse) and both LEDs off. Turn off then turn on (no wait period required) and it works again fine for a few minutes. Nothing obvious blown. With lower current loading, it lasts longer before it packs up and worked ok without the TEC connected (just fans working) though I did not test it like this for very long. It is as though stability is drifting out with temperature/time. TEC draws about 4.3A (though that is 30% higher current than the other one in the unit). Checked all the semiconductors for obvious faults, and some of the non-polarised caps but found no problems. I have not extensively tested resistors. Put 0.75ohm resistance in series with the TEC and it appeared to last a little bit longer (pulls about 3.6A) but still packs up with buzzing/whining after a small number of minutes. Measures 12.6V across the fan/TEC supply for the few minutes it does work. After failure, applied freezer spray everywhere with no effect. Nothing appears really hot to the touch but do not have a FLIR.

Any ideas?

 

Basically no, I have no ideas. But here's a straw to grasp at. These units have an overheat detector to shut down current to the TEC if one side of it gets too hot, such as if one of the fans fails. I wonder if this is kicking in? Could your cold-side fan (inside the cooler) be bad?

 

These units have an overheat detector to shut down current to the TEC if one side of it gets too hot, such as if one of the fans fails. I wonder if this is kicking in? Could your cold-side fan (inside the cooler) be bad?

Thanks for the idea but both fans are working ok at the moment (although they were incorrectly wired so that each TEC hot side fan was powered by one board and the cold side by the other board!). Feasibly, it could be something like this but the manner in which the circuit fails cannot have been intended; buzzing/whining from the switch mode section.

 

Found this board to be functionally identical to the FX-101 but it is a different size.
PCB80812K1 MP-031 SH10241

Fitted and working ok. It is advertised as being a part for a Dihl WF-32.

This board also looks very similar:
PCB130312K7 HYS60-12-KR V-0 130C

Also just listing these similar parts to put everything in one place to aid others trying to find replacements:
TWR215ESS TWR210EBL and TWR125S
TWR325ESS and TWR320EBL

 

Fitted and working ok.

Same jumper connections and everything? Nice find.

 

Same jumper connections and everything? Nice find.

My cooler is not getting down as cold as it should so there maybe some feedback change I need to make to the board I switched in. Or it maybe the TEC has lost efficiency and that extra current draw might have actually pushed the previous board just past its limit of current supply. Not sure, more investigation needed...

 

I have a small Wine Enthusiast cooler, which stopped working with some 'chirping' sounds. It has an FX-101 board.

Following the advice here, I replaced all the electrolytic caps. Bingo. It is working again. Thank you.

The world needs better capacitors. And companies willing to pay for them.

 

I have a small Wine Enthusiast cooler, which stopped working with some 'chirping' sounds. It has an FX-101 board.

Following the advice here, I replaced all the electrolytic caps.

Same exact symptoms with the Wine Enthusiast! I replaced all of the electrolytic caps with long lasting 10,000 hour caps (costs a few cents more) and both cooling fans because one was making an annoying rattling noise and the other could barely spin because of dust buildup.

Works like new - if not better than new because now it's super quiet.