help. diagnose my d...
 

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help. diagnose my dehumidifier fault please

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Meaco 20 litre jobbie, packed in this morning.  emptied water, taken filter off back to see if it was clogged up (it wasnt), and more importantly ruled out the fuse by way of swapping around with other appliances.

theres just no sign of life, no flashing or red lights, nothing, so maybe suggests no power to it?

IMG_20231005_141000

i also have a multimeter, one of these, but no idea how to use one 😀

multimeter

anyone care to walk me through anything to try?  settings on the multimeter across various wires etc?  i think ive taken everything off that i can so cant delve any deeper, although that doesnt mean ive missed something.

any ideas gang?

cheers


 
Posted : 05/10/2023 2:22 pm
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I've got two more here if you want to fault find those, one the fan speed is now always on low and the compressor doesn't appear to run as it collects no water and the other the fan and controls work fine, but again it collects no water.


 
Posted : 05/10/2023 2:25 pm
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and more importantly ruled out the fuse by way of swapping around with other appliances.

Do you mean you have taken a fuse out of another appliance and tried it in the plug on the dehumidifier? Or you have tried plugging other appliances into the wall socket to rule out the RCD/fuse blowing at the consumer unit?

Have you checked the wiring into the plug? Could one of those worked loose? You could try checking the plug and also try wiggling the power cable to see if there is a loose connection somewhere else.

And if you don't know how to use a multimeter, I wouldn't go prodding around inside the unit - I doubt you'll know if you even to happen upon the fault but you do risk electrocution.


 
Posted : 05/10/2023 2:44 pm
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Do you mean you have taken a fuse out of another appliance and tried it in the plug on the dehumidifier? Or you have tried plugging other appliances into the wall socket to rule out the RCD/fuse blowing at the consumer unit?

Have you checked the wiring into the plug? Could one of those worked loose?

yes, tried dehumidifier in different sockets, and swapped fuses with different appliance which still works, the dehumidifier still doesnt.

wiring looks good in the plug.

And if you don’t know how to use a multimeter, I wouldn’t go prodding around inside the unit – I doubt you’ll know if you even to happen upon the fault but you do risk electrocution.

thats why i was hoping someone here could talk me through it maybe.  if too dangerous then maybe not.  ive got the back off now and can access the circuit board.

IMG_20231005_145605


 
Posted : 05/10/2023 2:57 pm
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At this point, if I was my dad, I'd be giving the unit a big thump whilst it is plugged in to see if anything sparks into life.


 
Posted : 05/10/2023 3:02 pm
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well it was worth a try but no, a good kicking whilst plugged in didnt spark that bad boy into life in any way at all....


 
Posted : 05/10/2023 3:32 pm
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Google found this thread that might contain some useful possibilities - we have two Meaco dehumidifiers, so a certain amount of skin in the game. One is making a slighty rattly noise, which I suspect is the motor bearings - anyway... thermal fuses?

https://forums.ybw.com/threads/%C2%A30-43-fix-for-meaco-dd8l-dehumidifier.443173/


 
Posted : 05/10/2023 4:01 pm
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I’ve got a delonghi dehumidifier and I reckon every few years the capacitor on the circuit board just decides to stop working. Fairly common fault on older dehumidifiers for some reason, no idea why. I’ve never checked it with a multimeter but bought a couple for 20p and soldered old out/new on. Job jobbed. 


 
Posted : 05/10/2023 4:22 pm
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thanks @BadlyWiredDog, currently working my way through that, and yes, id like to be able to access a thermal fuse to test, but no matter how many screws i take out i just cant get the board lear to get at the screws holding it in place.

and @paino, i suppose same answer, just cant get to the working side of the board.

the more screws come out the more i fear this isnt going back together 😀 


 
Posted : 05/10/2023 4:38 pm
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Check continuity between plug and circuit board? Flexing of wire could have broken it.,


 
Posted : 05/10/2023 4:44 pm
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Check continuity between plug and circuit board? Flexing of wire could have broken it.,

i refer you to my earlier answer my good man, cant get to the 'right side' of the board unfortunately.  as you can see form the above pic, i can see the underside, but the little screws are too fiddly to get to cos of that big er.... something or other in the way 😀


 
Posted : 05/10/2023 5:05 pm
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FWIW, mine died recently also. I contacted Meaco who asked for photos, but I've not managed to do that yet as something else dying has taken priority.


 
Posted : 05/10/2023 6:00 pm
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Check continuity between plug and circuit board? Flexing of wire could have broken it.,

well ive got the circuit board out, so id be happy to follow some instructions on how to do this if its simple enough.  not that i have the skills for any soldering or anything anyway, so from hoping to find a simple answer ive now got parts and screws all over the place and a wife with a twitchy trigger finger on the argos site 😀 

and @Cougar, yes i suppose thered be no harm in contacting them, altho i dont think theyd be too impressed with my 'deconstructed dehumidifier' pic.  i would have guessed at it being 6 or 7 years old, wifes just told me nearer 15, so its had a good innings.

look out for a 'what dehumidifier' thread coming your way soon.....


 
Posted : 06/10/2023 6:57 am
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Could you post pictures of the circuit board please? Might be easier to draw on a picture than try to explain.

Re "what dehumidifier", if this one lasted 15 years than another of these ones sounds the right answer.


 
Posted : 06/10/2023 8:22 am
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Could you post pictures of the circuit board please? Might be easier to draw on a picture than try to explain.

certainly, here you go....

IMG_20231006_082936


 
Posted : 06/10/2023 8:34 am
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MrsF killed a small dehumidifier by letting salt water from her wet suit drip onto the top of the unit - it then soaked into the display and killed it dead ! Touch sensitive buttons don't like sea water.


 
Posted : 06/10/2023 9:11 am
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MrsF killed a small dehumidifier by letting salt water from her wet suit drip onto the top of the unit – it then soaked into the display and killed it dead ! Touch sensitive buttons don’t like sea water.

Some contact cleaner should sort that one out I reckon.


 
Posted : 06/10/2023 9:47 am
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Nothing obvious in the photo, interestingly I can't see any capacitors on the board although the photo's a bit blurred at the top - can we have another photo and one of the other side too please? The thread linked above suggests a fuse, I can't see any in the photo either.

What's the other end of the ribbon cable connected to? More photos please!


 
Posted : 06/10/2023 5:29 pm
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 The thread linked above suggests a fuse, I can’t see any in the photo either.

What’s the other end of the ribbon cable connected to? More photos please!

getting dark now, ill wait for daylight tomorrow and post a few more pics.  

thanks


 
Posted : 06/10/2023 6:10 pm
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Our 10 litre Meaco is on the blink too.  It works for 5 mins, then stops amd makes a distinctive beep pattern - three long followed by two short.

Meaco customer services didnt seem intetested in the beep pattern.  Their attitude was that it is 8 years old and therefore toast. Thats a shame - it  can live in garage/tip purgarory until i have time to give it the OP's treatment.

They did offer me 20% off a new dehimidifier though. Good luck OP


 
Posted : 07/10/2023 5:57 am
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as promised, both sides of circuit board from the top of machine, and a pic of the board it leads to....

IMG_20231008_100627

IMG_20231008_100636

IMG_20231008_100724

thanks


 
Posted : 08/10/2023 10:17 am
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They did offer me 20% off a new dehumidifier though. Good luck OP

emailed them and theyve done this for me too.  itll still be a couple of hundred quid but better than £260.  if anyone comes back with ideas for testing/fixing this one then it can just be sloooow time but gut feeling is its toast.

cheers


 
Posted : 14/10/2023 11:57 am
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Which did a big review of dehumidifiers a few months ago. Meaco was in one the best buys.

I have a 12 litre jobbie that is awesome and quiet, I think I got it from John Lewis to take advantage of the longer warranty.


 
Posted : 14/10/2023 1:48 pm

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