Frigidaire KRMF706ESS user interface board (Kitchenaid W10769076)

[edy]

Hi everyone,

My friend’s refrigerator started acting up. The lights won’t turn on, other problems, but still keeping things cool. A quick search on the internet revealed it is a common issue:

https://www.applianceblog.com/mainforums/threads/kitchenaid-fridge-krmf706ess01-no-lights-and-front-panel-unresponsive.74074/

Has to do with the deli door user interface board:



As per the suggestion on the above link, we unplugged the door cabling and a few things like the lights and water dispenser display started working again. We opened up the user interface board on the deli door drawer (which happens to be located just under the water/ice dispenser) and it was completely full of water! The board was basically submerged and even one of the wires of the connector corroded out of it and was dangling. I’ve attached photos of the board so you can survey the damage. Everything inside was covered in a green muck, I’m assuming it is corroded copper?

The problem is the boards are hard to find and when you do the cost is absurd! $400-500? I was hoping I could get some schematics or an idea of a few components to replace as only one side seems to be mostly affected and perhaps we can have some luck repairing first. Any help would be appreciated.

[edy]

I’ve attached the back of the board… a few more posts to get the rest of the images in.

[edy]

Close up of front of board 1 of 2

[edy]

Close up of front of board 2 of 2 (really corroded side).

NOTE how shiny everything is... I'm assuming they used a conformal coating on the PCB. Still not enough to protect it when it's basically submerged in water!!!! Here is a picture I found on the web showing this common problem with the design of this fridge... Notice wires broken, burned PCB near connector and greenish water filling up the entire inside of the compartment for the control board (sorry I couldn't find a higher resolution photo):

[edy]

The back of the board seems in pretty good nick but needs some cleaning. Notice board seems to be manufactured 2618 yet copyright on it is 2012? The fridge is only 4 years old. The side with the connector for the power seems to be corroded the most. Hopefully I can rework this board, it’s crazy to have to spend $500 for this part on a 4 year old fridge. No idea how that area got flooded with water, poor design, bad seal? No drain hole in that compartment. Ridiculous!

Take a look at this parts document:

https://www.whirlpool.com/content/dam/global/documents/201809/parts-list-w10853389-rev-f.pdf

It’s on page 14-15…. Part #41.

I’m hoping the top left corner of the board near the jumper is the main area that needs to be reworked. I’m not sure what that part is in the top left corner, a black SMD (voltage regulator, diode)? The corrosion seems to affect it the most along with the jumper connection (you can see crackling of the print mask and that peeled off revealing copper underneath). It’s a multilayer board so I have to start tracing the paths to components from the main jumper power connection and seeing where things go.

[Runco990]

Do you have access to an ultrasonic cleaner?  I have repaired many boards this way.  You need the ultrasound to get under the IC's to clean everything out and then rework anything obvious.

I just did this with my spa control board that was deemed un-repairable, is now obsolete and the "fix" is to replace the control board AND spa pack to the tune of over $2000!!!  (They changed the "software compatibility")

I think NOT!

2 runs in the tank, an alcohol bath and some manual clean up.... it works!  And I took measures to protect the board this time.

Worth a shot!  That board looks repairable.

[edy]

Thanks, I’ll give it a shot. I don’t have an ultrasonic cleaner but they use something at a dental office to clean instruments. It has some disinfecting solution so I assume you would use plain water or distilled? What do you use in those ultrasonic cleaners? Or would you put in 99% isopropanol (which is what I was planning to do and use a vibrating electric toothbrush to go over the entire board). I still am worried about some of the solder mask peeling off one corner (where the corrosion was greatest… I’ll send photos soon)… I can see copper underneath, looks to be a ground plane as it shorts to one of the main power pins on the connector. That component in the corner that looks most corroded I still can’t figure out where it connects to, I have to use a continuity tester and check resistances between components to see what is connected to what (a schematic would be ideal but I doubt one is available). 

[jpanhalt]

Whirlpool appliances usually have a schematic included.  It is large folded sheet and is usually tucked behind some grate or panel.  On my dishwasher, it was behind the bottom kickplate.  It is not component level for the PCB's, but it does contain troubleshooting and diagnostic procedures.  For example with the dishwasher, which is 10 years old, the question was whether the problem was with the control panel switches or control board.  Diode testing of the FFC showed the switches worked fine.   That focused me on the control board for which there is/was a repair kit (2 relays and 2 capacitors).  The relays are little cubes and upon disassembly the applicable contacts were badly burned.

Of course, your refrigerator may be different, but I would certainly search for that document.  The Whirlpool site provided no help.  I called and was told that Whirlpool no longer has "technical service."  It is now called something like service clinic and has no live agents available.  Everything Whirlpool wants to share is supposedly on YouTube.  In my instance, the YouTube to which I was directed had nothing about troubleshooting.  It only covered replacing the entire module, which was pretty obvious without the video.

I have had Whirlpool appliances for all of the 50+ years I have owned a house.  I will probably be switching to Bosch or Miele if my repair fails again.

[El Rubio]

I have the exact same model refrigerator and have had the exact same problem. The controller on the deli drawer is just below the water/ ice dispenser in the door above it. The tech that replaced mine said that it was likely due to water running down the upper door and pooling on top of the control panel, eventually seeping into the circuit board area. I have been vigilant to make sure we don’t “ overfill” glasses of water and spill some below. I was under warranty and the board was replaced.
I suspect it was caused by a previous visit where the technician thought the the controller had gotten wet, but it was dry. I believe he broke the seal when he popped the controller out which then allowed water to penetrate.
I have had some logic type issues where that controller would appear dead and the door water/ ice dispenser would also appear dead. I would have to power cycle to restore it. Recently, several LED lights went out. The lights at the very top and in the freezer failed at the same time.
I had purchased an extended warranty when new and I have about 5 months left on it. They want to sell me another extended warranty - 5yrs $900+
It’s a very nice ( expensive) refrigerator and while it is great when everything is working, I’m a bit nervous it won’t last 20 years like my previous one.

If you get the controller board working, I would put some kind of sealant around the edge to keep water out and drill a couple of drain holes in the plastic housing below so it doesn’t hold water. There’s nothing in the door below it. I also thought of some type of diverter that would not allow water to run down the front of the upper door to drip on the top of the controller. Good luck.

[edy]

Thanks for the advice, yes I thought about sealing the control panel so it won’t let in water and also creating a hole to allow drainage. There is no reason that compartment should be the way it is designed. When I opened up the panel the entire thing was filled with water to the top!!!! The board had been probably submerged in water for some time, the conformal coating saved it for a while but the higher voltage connector eventually corroded and shorted out because of this.

Anyways I have attached a few photos of the board cleaned up. I’ve checked the contacts and nothing seems to be shorted. There is an area near the connector where the white solder mask got peeled off… it had corroded under and popped off the painted coating and now you can see a large area of copper exposed.

I checked and this is continuous with a ground plane, it shorts to one of the pins on the connector (like ground) and also some of the nearby components (ground connections) and also one of the test points. I believe this is normal ground plane.  More importantly it is not shorting to the power pin. I think we would probably give the board a try for now and see how it goes.

We still have to fix the connector as the orange wire is corroded out as well, that’s another issue which we don’t know yet about… apparently the cable harness on this drawer gets chewed up over time. So we need to still fix the connector and check for  through continuity.