Hi everyone, Before I start I'm technically minded but don't know much about electronics meaning I can change stuff that plugs in and do basic trouble shooting but dont understand some of the technical stuff.

So I've been having a browse through here because my Wifes wine cooler has stopped getting cold. It's IMPORTANT! You all know that already though right?

The cooler has power and the internal fan spins when its on but its not getting cold. I have taken the back off and put power to the other fan which works but im guessing that only comes on when it gets hot to draw the hot air out the back. Theres no burning on the pcb and there is 12v power going to the TEC Peltier Plate from the board. It gets slightly cool on the internal side but not COLD so I'm guessing righly or wrongly that the TEC is the potential problem. So ive ordered one which should be here in a few days. I have thermal grease if it comes without any.

Whats concerning me is not the install but which way round it fits. I would fit it the same as the one came out, writing facing out. The TEC in the cooler ( looking at the writing side ) has red wire on the left and black on the right.



The ones on ebay have the black on the left and red on the right. Does it matter?


Also how do I know which is the hot side and which is the cold? If its the wrong way round can I just turn the TEC around?

If it works its a cheap fix. If its a fail I'm going to be asking a few more questions.
The pcb is a hys60-12-kd and I may need to know how to check it for faults so with minimal electronics knowledge I may need some assistance.

Thanks in advance

Jord

 

Normally, +V is on the red wire.
The writing side is the cold side.
TECs are reversible. If you get it wrong you can reverse the wiring. You can always do a short test before installing.

 

Normally, +V is on the red wire.
The writing side is the cold side.
TECs are reversible. If you get it wrong you can reverse the wiring. You can always do a short test before installing.

Thanks for the info @MrChips
I apologise for asking so many questions but I have to get it straight in my head.



On my pcb theres +OUT which I presume is V+ and the red wire is attached to it. And a gnd which has the black attached, but on my TEC the writing is facing the big heatsink and fan which is facing out the back of the cooler. This may be why the wires are reversed compared to what is on ebay.

When I hook it up and turn it on, one heatsink should get cold and the other warm.
On this cooler the small heatsink faces inside the cooler and the large heatsink is facing out the back with a big fan on it.

Should the cold side of the TEC touch the small heatsink aiming into the cooler housing and hot side touch the large heatsink and face out of the back of the case.

No worries If I can just reverse the wires. Black to v+ or +out on mine and Red to gnd.

Again sorry for all the questions.

Regards

Jord

 

I would expect to see the small heatsink on the inside and the larger one on the outside.
Of course, you want the inside heatsink to be colder if the purpose is to cool the wine bottle.

I have never actually seen a Peltier wine cooler. I would think that a TEC1-12706 would be under powered to work as a wine cooler, but I really don't know. TEC1-12705 is rated at 5A @ 12V, or 60W.