Salvaged a Calypso, Not Working

[bobbi]

Hi Folks. My husband recently scavenged a Calypso from the recycling center. Upon inspection of the PC boards, he noticed a blown capacitor. He replaced the capacitor. The machine powers on, but will do nothing. It shows a number 7 in the Time Remaining window. He removed the wash plate, but that would not stop the machine from starting up properly, would it? We did find the Service Tech manual hidden in the machine, so that's one plus. I talked to Yogitunes, and he confirmed this is a first or second generation machine. Any suggestions for the next course of action? Thanks!

UPDATE- The control panel is working fine! Turns out the number 7 was lit up because the Extra Rinse button was pressed. Duh! We're not familiar with this machine.
Next, with the wash plate removed, we are examining under the cone above the U-joint and then the U-joint.
To be continued.... [this post was last edited: 8/28/2018-17:20]

 

[bobbi]

Today we did some more tearing apart and cleaning. My husband put water in the tub to see if it would drain, which it did not. The pump just buzzed. So he took that apart and found it had debris in it. That is now reassembled. Tomorrow we will try the pump again. We broke one of the plastic feet when moving the machine outside. Apparently they can just fall right out. Hopefully not a hard to find part.

The machine is disgusting inside. It is caked with scum everywhere. Today I was using some lime and rust remover spray which was working well, but I ran out. The machine has a smell to it and I see some mildew. Hopefully once it is all clean the smell will be gone.

 

[bobbi]

All we had time to do last night was to continue cleaning parts of soap scum. The parts look SO much nicer with the muck off! Stopped at the Dollar General and got a bottle of foaming bathtub cleaner with bleach for $1, and it's working great!

He really doesn't want to take out the stainless steel tub to reach the film on the outside and inside of the outer drum, so I am hoping once the machine is ready to run that a few dishwasher tabs ran through a cycle on Hot will get rid of that. If not, perhaps adding some soap scum remover and running it through a cycle will clean it? I will try to reach down between the tubs as far as I can with a sponge. Hope we can get it all out. It's pretty gross.

There is a top ring that is plastic that sounds like it is filled with water, which is removed for cleaning. Is it supposed to be like that? And is it sealed so that you cannot empty it ever?

 

[yogitunes]

yeah, that balance ring is sealed, never to be opened.....but a good cleaning will help....

and yes, that foaming bleach cleaner works wonders...…I never fully understand how machines can get so filthy and cruddy.....

also using that, or Purple Cleaner, sprayed down between the tubs will help remove most of the gunk.....

if you have a refrigerator coil brush to slide down in between the tubs, that will help scrub some of it away.....

I have a feeling though, your going to need another set of boards to get that working...

keep us posted....

 

[bobbi]

Today we finished cleaning the top parts of the machine and reassembled it. The inner and outer tubs were not removed, just the top plate, balance ring, dispensers, etc. We plugged it in, and now the control panel does nothing. None of the buttons respond. Since everything in the control panel was working and responding just a few days ago and we never messed with the electronics, we are baffled as to what could have went wrong between then and now.

You can hear a slight buzz when the machine is plugged in, and the buzz is in the hot water valve. After about a minute, the hot water valve quits buzzing. Since we have the front panel off, we pressed and held in the safety/power button on the left front and at bottom/underneath the front.

Could this be something simple we are missing? We are trying to find our ohm tester. I am going to look through more of the documentation that Dadoes was kind enough to email me, but from what I have seen so far it looks like an ohm tester will be necessary.

 

[DADoES]

 
The buttons at the edge of the front panel and under the bottom panel do not prevent the machine from running.  Only the lid switch does that ... but it doesn't make the panel dead.

May be a bad/erratic board, one or the other, or a flaky touchpanel.  Try reseating the ribbon cables.

 

[bobbi]

Thanks, Dadoes. We were not sure about those buttons interfering or not. Good to know.
By reseating the ribbon cables, do you mean to simply unplug and replug?

Thank you for your reply.

 

[DADoES]

 
Yes ... unplug, replug.  It apparently worked before your cleaning disassembly so maybe a connection got disturbed/loosened.

The two interlock switches ground the motor for exposure safety when the front panel or bottom panel is removed.  It's not grounded during normal operation.  As explained in the service manual, page 14. 

Diagnosing electronics problems can be tricky.  Sometimes it's more a matter of changing a suspect part.  The touchpanel went bad on my machine a couple years ago.  I tried to test it via the key matrix details in the service manual, and also tested a spare panel for comparison.  Neither gave any good readings but I swapped in the spare panel and it worked.

 

[bobbi]

Dadoes, he reseated the ribbon plugs per your advice, to no avail. We believe the problem is the Machine Control Board. A neighbor who repairs appliances lended a hand last evening and says that board has telltale signs of getting too hot.

According to info found online, and confirmed in a Service Update Bulletin, this control board was replaced with an updated version that eliminated the Flood Pressure Switch: "Machine control board repair manual: 948450 (part number 8542693 replaced with 8571359)."

We found a few replacements on eBay, however one seller specifies that the part number is followed by Rev B. Our original PN is followed by Rev A. Will this matter?
Here is a link to the one, where the seller clearly states if the PN does not match it won't work: https://www.ebay.com/itm/8571359-Re...865305&hash=item2f2111e91e:g:B4EAAOSwsTtbhaRw

Thank you.

 

[yogitunes]

first....you usually want to replace boards in pairs....or at least that has been my history with them....if theres a virus, it will transfer from one to the next...

never has really been an issue using one board from one machine to the next.....just if your familiar with one type of program from a cycle, the new board may change things a bit...

 

[DADoES]

 
Your machine has the FLD pressure switch?  Or no?

Seems the difference between utilizing FLD and not is the revised machine control board has a jumper across the contacts at P17-1 and P17-3 where the FLD would connect.

I have three spare boards.  All are Rev B and do not have a jumper across P17-1 and P17-3.

Pic 1 is of a board that is jumpered (no FLD support).

Pic 2 is one of my boards that is not jumpered (FLD supported).

Perhaps a revised board without FLD support reasonably should work in a machine with a FLD switch since the FLD switch can't be connected to a revised board ... just leave the FLD disconnected.

Contrary, a board that expects a signal from the FLD switch reasonably would not work in a machine without a physical FLD switch since P17 isn't jumpered on said board and there's no FLD in the machine to connect there.

I don't have direct experience with either situation.

 

[yogitunes]

yes....in the KQ2....the last and latest revision.....P17 is jumped, and you leave the pigtail just hanging there.....

when purchased new, there is an extra slip inside with the instructions telling you that pig tail will be left hanging....no place for it...

 

[DADoES]

 
Engineering revision 2 was not the last.  There was also a 3.  Original and three revisions.  0, 1, 2, and 3.  The FLD pressure switch was eliminated during the 1st revision (1).