Dehumidifier Quick Repair

[blackstone]

The compressor on my less-than-1-year-old GE dehumidifier stopped working. I'm waiting to see how much GE will offer, since there is a 1-year guarantee. The rebate would only apply toward the purchase price of a new one.

So, I figured out a way to get the compressor working--just bypass the little black box on the circuit board. Not entirely sure what it is; probably a relay that cuts power to the compressor when a certain humidity level is sensed. I'm assuming that my bypass would make the compressor run non-stop, which is fine with me, since it drains into a set tub. The dehumidifier is plugged into a switched outlet, so I can shut it down completely.

The pictures show the jumper wire, which has its own circuit breaker. Red oval in the circuit diagram indicates the mystery component. Red arrows show it on the circuit board. My father's homemade watt meter shows a draw of 400 watts.

Anyone else have a similar experience with this digital control of a compressor (dehumidifier or air conditioner)? Fan still has 3 speeds. I really don't care if humidity sensor does its job of shutting off compressor.

 

[turquoisedude]

I never would have thought of this... This is probably what happened to a dehumidifier I bought brand-new and then just stopped working after 8 months.  I trashed it and bought an old Kenmore and even older GE to replace it, but dammit, I am thinking that I might have been able to fix the "new" one....