DWC283BLS Danby Wine Cooler -- E3 code

[sapp4l]

I've had this unit for a couple of years. The evap had to be replaced under warranty about  a year ago. Since then, it's been chilling the vino OK-- a bit colder than I want, but OK.

Now, however, a code "E3" is flashing on the Lower Chamber display.

The customer service says this is a "Evap Sensor", but knows nothing else.

Questions:
1) Does anyone have a parts and/or service manual available for this beast?  I'd like a bit of info about the error codes, as well as a parts diagram.

2) What function does an 'evap sensor' do? I'm guessing it sets the evap surface temperature so the unit doesn't get too cool, and frosting the coil up (this is a frostless machine), but this is a guess.  

3) Who sells service parts for Danby -- other than their captive parts distributor? The part they referenced is not expensive, but I guess I'd like to understand who the options are before I buy anything here. Not overly impressed with Danby.

Thanks in advance for help.

[JWWebster]

A small thermister is used on these machines in lew of the old mercury type cold controls. A small amount of current is fed this el cheapo thermister all the time from the control. As the temp changes, the resistance changes inside the thermister and gets fed back to the control which determines if the temp is cold enough. You need to disconnect the thermister and check for continuity. Check for shorts to ground and see if the thermister is properly attached to the evaporator plate to get an accurate reading.  If you have voltage to the rthermister then the control is good, no voltage bad control. Thermisters come in 2 category's, negative temp co-efficient or NTC and positive temp co-efficient or PTC. They all look pretty much the same from the outside. You would be screwing up if you installed the wrong one. As far as a source for this product or parts I ain't got a clue. I ain't even seen one.

[sapp4l]

Thanks, JW.

Update: I  pulled the evap cover off tonight, and the coil was fully iced up. I guess the sensor that controls defrost mode is zonkers (yes, a highly technical term), as the E3 code says.

Thanks for the heads up on different kind of thermisters.

The fix looks easy, as the control board cover comes off, and the sensor plugs directly into the board.

I'll look for the part locally before I try to send away for something.

Thanks for the help and hand holding.

I'd still love a link or something to some type of manual. I did get a fax from the Danby parts guy of the parts list but an unreadable parts diagram. Seems the whole thing is in Chinese. So much for local support..

[sapp4l]

OK, now I'm confused.

I've checked resistance on all the thermistors... and they are all reading about the same ~2.1k.

The coil thermistor was about 3.2K when the coil was iced up, but came back down to the same as the box thermistors when fully defrosted. When I heated the thermistor in my hand, it dropped down even more. I'm surmising the thermistor is OK.

Now, why is the coil iced over?

There is no defrost heater in the unit; I believe any defrost is by off cycle, as the box compartment is always above freezing.

There is a PTC heater element in the upper compartment, to maintain a higher temp than the lower one, but it is blocked off from heating (directly) the coil.

MY scenario:  Somehow the coil got too much ice on it (door left ajar), and the unit went into defrost, but came out on a timer mode (max defrost time?) As the ice wasn't cleared, and the airflow remained blocked, then the unit stayed in cooling mode (couldn't cool off the box), and the control thought the sensor dead as it didn't change in resistance during defrost. The unit kept in cool mode even though iced over.

Does this sound reasonable?

I'm going to dry it out, and reassemble, and restart.

Any other ideas?

A pic of the guts is attached.

[JWWebster]

I have an electrolux wine cooler manual.... want it? It looks like the same dang wine cooler. Has a big old drier mounted on the evaporator just like you pictured. It says that excessive frost buidup is due to bad door gasket, door left ajar. door out of alignment etc.

[sapp4l]

I'd love a manual.  How do I get it? Thanks.

I turned the unit on, and it is cooling. Now to see if it builds up frost after a couple of days.

[JWWebster]

OK I don't know how much good it will do:
wine cooler manny

[sapp4l]

Thanks for the manual. A similar but not the same appliance, but useful for the trouble shooting tips.

Update:  Overnight, the unit ran, and the temp on the lower section was at 32F, while upper was at 50, and the compressor still operating. The set point was at 45.

Looks like the control is bad -- i'm guessing the relay that controls the compressor on/off is stuck 'on'.  This would explain also why the coil iced over. When the coil was full of ice, the cooling capacity decreases, so the compartment wouldn't stay as cold as it is now.

I'll price out a control board first, and if too expensive, may try to replace the switching component on the board. I see both a mechanical relay as well as some type of solid state switch -- I believe the latter controls the compressor,  but I haven't looked in at detail.

Thanks for all the help.

[sapp4l]

Update on this repair. Finally got around to finishing.

I priced out a control board... about $85... too rich for this device.

I finally found a replacement board-mounted relay. Not being an electronic component master, I removed the relay, and took it to an electronics parts distributor. It was a SPST PC mounted relay -- there are several standard package sizes, and this was one. Upgraded from a 10A to a 16A version (closest one he had). Cost about $5.

A bit of soldering the thing back on, and everything works fine now.

I deconstructed the old relay; thing didn't look too bad, but I guess a little arcing on the contacts, and the thing would be prone to stick on, causing the compressor to stay on and getting the unit quite cold, until the evap frosted over.