Whirlpool Refrigerator LED lights flickering

[Log_on_Bob]

Re: Whirlpool Refrigerator LED lights flickering

Bluto

Exactly... I had to go but that was the next plan to test. Now, on the bench I did test Top light direct so 120v. tapped in 2 more lights in series. These lights say Non-dimming but they worked without any flicker. Voltage across either of those two bulbs was 53.9v so a bit less but close to what Ohms law says. That was as far as I got...

Still pretty bright, no where as bright as the single light but to my surprise, still a Daylight White. The single light is too bright to look at until it is put away fully installed in the holder, then it's fine. This should be just fine OK but what I don't know is will those two fail shortly being supplied half their rated voltage. I plan to test both ways as the diagram and all three with two in series. Since I now have 6 bulbs, if 2 burn out no biggie or if I want more light in the Freezer I can go with just the two and 120v in the freezer.

I sure didn't feel that more light is really needed low on the Refer side but we will see, I will put up some pics later.

[Log_on_Bob]

Re: Whirlpool Refrigerator LED lights flickering

OK, I am done for now though I might experiment later adding the lower Refer light. I choose to just go with a Top Refer and the Freezer light. I am running a test on the Bench with Two Lights in series off the Top Refer. Have about four hours run time so far, so that should be months of opening and closing the doors.

I taped the Door Switch closed. Keep in mind both doors are in series so open one turns on all. If you are not comfortable, unplug the Refer or at your own risk.

1. All four Connectors were snipped off the wires stripped back.
2. Lower two refer light wires attached together with a simple Wire Nut. This completes the circuit ( once the bulbs are in ) Top light through the Freezer and back to the Top.

3. On the Bench ( pic 1 ) I found some Insulated Female Quick Disconnects in my junk drawer. Fry's carries them or Ebay. If you only have the un-insulated then electrical tape or heat shrink tube, I wouldn't leave them open.
As mentioned, I couldn't solder direct the bulbs. Butt connector worked but these will allow you to plug a new bulb down the road easily or, Maybe an actual G9 socket MIGHT fit, I don't know.
So on the bench, the connectors were not as tight as I would like, so simply squeezing one side ( one side is all that fits ) of the connector with pliers did the trick, you want it very firm.

4. Freeze side, I just left the Female connector on the bulb while crimping the wires. These connectors happened to be 14-16 gauge, I had to extra squeeze with a large pair of pliers, pull test on the wire and I could feel it not so secure with just the crimper.

5. NOTE: Unplug or Tape the door switch ---- Top light Refer, now you have to join ( see Bluto's diagram #60 ) the two 120v wires to the other two circuit wires. This makes the Top Light 120v and very bright and the lower & Freezer in Series at half voltage, still bright.

There you go,, oh another tip, I had to use a flashlight while connecting and crimping..:-)

[Log_on_Bob]

Re: Whirlpool Refrigerator LED lights flickering

Pic 3 Bench Testing - unfortunately you can't in the picture see much difference but there is. Full 120v is hard to look at and if you look at Pic 1 you can see all the individual LED's, at 120v you can't but in Series and Half the Voltage you can see the LED's but It's still pretty bight. About 6 hours now and they have not burned out so lower voltage may be OK. FYI - 120v Bulb gets to uncomfortable to hang onto for very long, the other two are just Warm.

[Dave125]

Re: Whirlpool Refrigerator LED lights flickering

Why do you need to tape the door switch closed?

[Log_on_Bob]

Re: Whirlpool Refrigerator LED lights flickering

Why do you need to tape the door switch closed?

Dave

I suggest since you don't know why to tape the switch while you are working on the wiring, is to Unplug the Refer from the wall if you plan on doing this yourself.

Or do you know anyone familiar with basic wiring? I for one would like to see still around to see the new lights.

The Red/yellow wires on the Top Light Wide Plug are 120V , same as straight out of the wall socket.

[Dave125]

Re: Whirlpool Refrigerator LED lights flickering

That is funny, I thought you meant tape it shut permanently, not just while you were working on it

[Log_on_Bob]

Re: Whirlpool Refrigerator LED lights flickering

That is funny, I thought you meant tape it shut permanently, not just while you were working on it

Excellent Dave.

[pkfridges]

Re: Whirlpool Refrigerator LED lights flickering

Circuit may be having loose connections.

[rgriggs]

My (rather involved) fix for Whirlpool Refrigerator LED lights flickering

Hi, the issue is not loose connections or bad LEDs but a bad power supply. Most likely a bad capacitor or other regulation which prevents the supply from starting up in a stable state. I think it's part of the "fade-in" circuitry, but the oscillator is not stably starting.

For my fridge (Whirlpool) I removed the board from the main LED unit (top of fridge) and replaced it with a small 120VAC to 12VDC power supply. Then I removed the four chip LEDs from the original board and soldered them to some perfboard, two in series, along with a 150 ohm resistor for each series. At 12VDC, this provides about the right current limiting for the desired brightness.

Photos





Then I soldered the J2 connector on and connected the 12VDC to it.

Finally, I removed the other two LED boards and did the following:

1. Cut trace between middle two LEDs as shown: (they are all connected in series; we want two sets of two in series.)

2. Remove U11 diode as shown



2. Inserted two 150 ohm resistors as shown (these can be inserted directly into the vias as shown - but be careful to solder them well, or they will cold-joint.



With these being done, the entire setup is powered by 12VDC using the existing wiring.

[sam_sam_sam]

Re: My (rather involved) fix for Whirlpool Refrigerator LED lights flickering

With these being done, the entire setup is powered by 12VDC using the existing wiring.

Very interesting way to repair these boards

Thanks for sharing this repair

[redwire]

Re: Whirlpool Refrigerator LED lights flickering

I worry the door switches can handle the inrush currents for a larger SMPS?

It's too bad we don't have one of these boards to sketch a schematic, or know any of the semiconductor part numbers.

[dmiles]

Re: Whirlpool Refrigerator LED lights flickering

I have the same issue with this way more complicated than it needs to be LED arrangement with this refrigerator. I wasn't able to find any good info, then I stumbled upon this great forum.

My R15 was dust, so I appreciate the information about the value. I have a bunch of resistors, but no 130. I put 2 270 1/4 watt in parallel, and even with a full 1/2 watt in place of a surface mount, they heated up instantly, and the whole mess still didn't work. I have the wife at Home Depot now picking up an online order for the puck type LEDs from the link in a previous post. I'm just going to wire those in to the 120v, and use the wires that normally carry the 3.5V over to the freezer, and splice those into the 120V, and use the same puck type LED in the freezer. That should let there be the light we need, and I won't have to worry about spending another $100 2 years down the road for another board that is obviously designed to fail.

Would be willing to share some pics if anyone is still interested, but it looks like you guys already have this figured out. Just let me know.

[bluto]

Re: Whirlpool Refrigerator LED lights flickering

The output connector from the top light is wired in series to the lower light and the freezer light. So you have 2 options: 1. Eliminate one of the two and splice the two wires at the eliminated connector together so the other connector will get 120v. 2. Keep them in series and live with the lower light and freezer light running at 60v.

I went with option 2 and after a few days I was fine with the less brightness from the light in the freezer.

[ron350]

Re: Whirlpool Refrigerator LED lights flickering

I have been following this thread since the first day Bluto started it. So far all of the fixes can only be used if you own the frig. What if the frig belongs to a friend or relative you cant get away with changing the wiring on those.

Today I see there is a guy on ebay selling rebuilt boards so it looks like there might be a way to repair the factory circuit board and make it last.

[bluto]

Re: Whirlpool Refrigerator LED lights flickering

Do you have a link to the rebuilt boards? I can only find one board that appears to be professionally refurbished for $97 which incidentally is only $2 less than the price of a new board. If it was $50, I would buy one to try and figure out what was replaced on it.

[ajshoe]

Re: Whirlpool Refrigerator LED lights flickering

learned about 6 years ago - NEVER buy a Maytag / Whirlpool / Roper (or GE) appliance again. I'm sticking to it.

[ron350]

Re: Whirlpool Refrigerator LED lights flickering

Bluto I sent you a PM with the ebay link I don’t want to get in trouble by posting a link.
That seller wants more than what the new replacements are selling for but the point is that he might be rebuilding them.

If that guy can rebuild them then some one here should be able to do the same.

[ajshoe]

Re: Whirlpool Refrigerator LED lights flickering

unlimited appliance parts has this for $50

[ron350]

Re: Whirlpool Refrigerator LED lights flickering

Ajshoe what part # did you search for at United Appliance Parts? I cant find anything under $100 when I search for WPPBA001052G or WPW10615058.

[ajshoe]

Re: Whirlpool Refrigerator LED lights flickering

W10615058

whirlpool just bought out maytag and other manufacturers and put WP in front of all their parts now