Thread Number: 74400
/ Tag: Modern Automatic Washers
Is it ever worth it to replace a main computer control board? |
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Post# 982026   2/9/2018 at 12:18 (2,267 days old) by stricklybojack (South Hams Devon UK)   |   | |
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...once the washer is out of warranty of course. Some of these boards are hundreds, no way the machine will be sellable for a worthwhile profit. Seems you have to find a cheap used part, but that may equally as likely to fail as the original. Shoot, even a new replacement may be the same crap design, I went through that with my Saturn. What does the here collected washer cognoscenti think? |
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Post# 982028 , Reply# 1   2/9/2018 at 12:27 (2,267 days old) by Iheartmaytag (Wichita, Kansas)   |   | |
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Your re-sale value went south the day you hooked your machine up. I wouldn't look at resale value as a factor.
What you will be asking yourself, is what condition is the rest of the machine? How old is it now? Do you plan to keep it much longer, or are you looking to replace soon. I replaced the main control board on my Maytag/Whirlpool dryer last spring to the tune of $460ish. I made the decision to do so based on I didn't want to replace it. I didn't have the funds to replace it with a like dryer costing $1200 new. It matched the washer it was next to. I like the dryer. |
Post# 982031 , Reply# 2   2/9/2018 at 13:04 (2,267 days old) by RevvinKevin (Tinseltown - Shakey Town - La-La Land)   |   | |
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This is possibly mostly irrelevant, but I recently replaced the main control board in a friends 7 year old Kenmore Elite (Cabrio) TL washer. I happened to have a WP Cabrio parts machine that I pulled the computer from. Took less than 10 mins to replace and it only cost them lunch.
It SUCKS that the control boards are made to such inferior standards that they only last a few years. |
Post# 982034 , Reply# 3   2/9/2018 at 13:20 (2,267 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.)   |   | |
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I'd replace the board on my own machine if it's in good condition, depending to an extent on what is the cost of the board (check all possible online sources, including eBay for both used and new). There are also services that repair boards such as FixYourBoard.com and CorecentricSolutions.com. It's always said "what if I spend $$$ to replace the board and something else fails?" ... but that may not happen. |
Post# 982124 , Reply# 4   2/10/2018 at 04:48 (2,266 days old) by arbilab (Ft Worth TX (Ridglea))   |   | |
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The boards at retail are priced deliberately to urge replacing the machine. And scantly designed/spec'd deliberately to make failure beyond warranty likely. Like, if a board that simple were really WORTH $460 it could/should be relatively bulletproof.
I've worked places that had boards made for original install and for replacement. Desktops, laptops, concert lighting fixtures. All more complex than a laundry board. The actual cost of the board is around $30. Not counting the engineering time that went into it, but they had to spend that anyway or have no product to start with. That $30 was late 90s/early 00s when the boards were still made in US. Sourcing from China today cancels inflation, maybe more.
So they've got you either way once the warranty runs out and there is no clear economic advantage going one way or the other. More an 'emotional' decision, as in, how much you "like" the machine.
The field tilts some if you have to replace it AGAIN. Almost doubles chances you're in a moebius money pit and good time to get out. You'll be pissed and rightly so, but that's bidness in the 10s. The spreadsheet jockeys running most all industries don't care. They will replace you as a customer with a refugee from some other vendor doing the same things.
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Post# 982144 , Reply# 6   2/10/2018 at 10:03 (2,266 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)   |   | |
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When the machine has (otherwise) performed well for you and this is the sole problem. When the machine is in a really hard to access place. When the machine does something which no other machine can readily do or do at all. When you know whatever killed it won't happen again any time soon.
Two thoughts, though. One, Bigclivedotcom has a couple of videos of the repair work he does on a SIEMENS OEM part used by most European appliance brands. It's the control panel for a range. One resistor blows on all of them, sooner or later and the way it's positioned leads to the conclusion: It's meant to die. In short, electronics are supposed to fail and the repair costs are intentionally set too high to discourage you from repairing them. Two, for technical reasons (diode protection being one), it's very rare for the actual microprocessor/s to fail. It's almost always a minor component which can be replaced by just doing some common sense diagnostics. Any radio nut over 70 or moderately skilled home kit builder or PC repair shop with spare time can do this. I do it for friends two or three times a year. 90% of the time, it's one of three things: 1) An under-dimensioned resistor. This is the biggest problem with Electrolux/Frigidaire stuff. 2) An electrolytic capacitor from the bad years at the turn of the century (they were fakes and fail super fast). 3) Corrosion, broken wire, loose connector
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Post# 982224 , Reply# 7   2/10/2018 at 23:19 (2,265 days old) by dylanmitchell (Southern California)   |   | |
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You'd think a Raspberry Pi or old laptop would be able to run a washer or dryer but getting the software and programming down plus making the wiring connections could be challenging. But imagine what you could do with 100 percent control of your washer or dryer and what you could program it to do.
CLICK HERE TO GO TO dylanmitchell's LINK |
Post# 982234 , Reply# 8   2/11/2018 at 00:17 (2,265 days old) by stricklybojack (South Hams Devon UK)   |   | |
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Post# 982277 , Reply# 10   2/11/2018 at 09:43 (2,265 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)   |   | |
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Moisture, heat, dust, grease, aggressive-corrosive chemicals + electronics - what could possibly go wrong? The automobile manufacturers figured out how to do it right in the 1970s. The appliance manufacturers see this as a way to limit their products' useful lives. It's that simple. They're built to fail. |
Post# 982481 , Reply# 12   2/12/2018 at 13:57 (2,264 days old) by Whatsername (Denver, CO)   |   | |
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