Electronics > Repair
Furnace circuit board repair - How stupid should I feel?
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MathWizard:

--- Quote from: IanB on July 19, 2024, 05:00:20 pm ---This failure mode is extremely common on all sorts of mains powered devices (dishwashers, washing machines, ovens, etc.).

It is a symptom of cost cutting in design at the expense of the consumer.


--- End quote ---
Yeah I fixed a stove PCB with a bad relay once, and I was surprised how small diameter, the pins of the relay's were. I bet most most stereo's of the 80's/90's would have more metal in their audio relay's.
floobydust:
How is it due to cost cutting? A tiny annular ring and low grade wave soldering I see.
It's worse because appliance mega-conglomerates have one division or contractor doing control board design.
Bad PCB layout, DFM or even firmware errors gets copied into many different "brands" and models.

So much e-waste from people giving up and buying a new appliance because the repair cost is outrageously high. Over a bad solder joint or relay etc.
It's a big expense for a household and not everyone has a few grand lying around.

When I've fixed furnaces, I'm shocked at the ripoff parts pricing. And it's needed in winter when it's -30C and a house quickly cooling off...
Last one was on a oddball model and the generic part I realized would work fine for 1/10 the cost.
Now chinese-built furnaces, appliances are coming in and the quality has dropped again.Furnace controls have endurance tests like 100,000 cycles in the safety standards.
Governments should mandate a minimum product life on white goods or give us the right to repair.
IanB:

--- Quote from: floobydust on July 23, 2024, 02:35:24 am ---How is it due to cost cutting? A tiny annular ring and low grade wave soldering I see.
It's worse because appliance mega-conglomerates have one division or contractor doing control board design.
--- End quote ---

I think it's cost cutting because they want to put everything onto one single board. Including mains power transfer and relays. But it would be more robust to keep mains power off the board and carry it through wires and spade terminals. The downside of this is that it would be more expensive to manufacture.
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