Burned out connector repair

4 months ago by evasive_chimpanzee to c/askelectronics

I replaced my fridge ice maker a few years ago because part of the circuitry burned out. The replacement has also now burned out (though not nearly as badly). For reference, the burned part is supposed to hold onto the end of a copper peg that leads to the heating element (which melts the ice slightly so it can be popped out of the mold).

It seems silly to spend $60 on a new one when it's just $0.05 worth of copper that needs replacing. Is there a safe way to fix this? Unfortunately, I can't just solder the connection because it is enclosed when assembled. For reference, those tabs aren't just fouled, they are burned completely through. My first thought is to pull out the whole trace, solder on new tabs (not sure where I'd get the material), and put the trace back in.

How_do_I_computah 11 points 4 months ago

I really wouldn't do this. This connector burning up is a symptom not a cause. There's something in the control circuit not working correctly or your heating element is failing.

I would gladly pay $60 to know my ice maker isn't going to burn my house down.

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evasive_chimpanzee 3 points 4 months ago

It's electromechanical, so essentially everything is just controlled by the timer rotating and making contact with different circuits. The only control in there is a bimetallic strip that tells the timer that it's cold enough to rotate.

The heating element itself isnt burnt out or anything like that. Since the connection to the heating element is a round peg, and it's being gripped by this connector that just sits tangent to the diameter of the peg, there are only 2 small spots that actually make the electrical connection. I'm assuming the tension on the tabs was bad, so the connection was patchy leading to arcing that burned it out.

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BarbecueCowboy 3 points 4 months ago

Above could be right though. If you can find a fridge ice maker that has lasted more than a few years without needing repairs, we all need to know. The failure here may be the 'safety' feature and continuous functionality may have been an at best minor concern.

I'm always wary of working on heating elements, don't over engineer it if you try to fix it and it could just be arcing like you suspect... but just remember that the wear/increased resistance on other items leading to that burned out contact may have contributed to that specific piece failing and you maybe should be thankful that it failed.

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evasive_chimpanzee 1 point 4 months ago

Yeah, I suppose it would be different if this was the heating element of something that only gets used under supervision. There doesnt appear to be any kind of fuse, unless there's one on the fridge side upstream of the ice maker.

Maybe I am better off replacing it and just keeping this one around for spare parts (I'm wishing I had done that when I replaced the first one).

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Soapbox 1 point 4 months ago

I have a 2003 Kenmoore fridge that came with the house that won't die. Ice maker works perfect. No repairs needed in the decade I've had it.

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evasive_chimpanzee 1 point 4 months ago

I've found that the ones that deposit ice into a glass for you aren't very durable because they dont always seal completely, leading to icing on parts of the mechanism, which ends up freezing everything solid, and puts a lot of strain on the parts. This one is dead simple, so it should be pretty durable, but here we are.

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How_do_I_computah 2 points 4 months ago

What is the resistance of your heating element and what is it supposed to be? If it is lower than it's supposed to be that can cause it to draw more current than that connection is rated for.

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evasive_chimpanzee 3 points 4 months ago

Resistance is 52 ohms. Element says it's a 260 W element on 115V, so it's designed for 2.26 amps, which would be 51 ohms. Thats gotta be within spec.

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How_do_I_computah 1 point 4 months ago

I still would not do this but I will admit it's possible that it's just a bad/poorly designed connection causing this failure. If you had gotten to it before it had burned up maybe shimming between the tabs and the plastic would help tighten the connection. I do not have a good source for the electrical connectors that you need for this repair or a strategy for removing the trace to help with the solder.

I have used jlcpcb.com when building my own circuits with great results tho and they might have a connector that works for you or AliExpress.

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Dezorian 1 point 4 months ago

Maybe you can drill a whole from the outside just enough to view the trace and the copper peg, solder it together through the whole and then close the hole up with a plastic patch and glue. It won't be the prettiest fix, but soldering seems like a much better connection the this.

And this looks like a real engineers mistake to have such high current flow through such a flawed connection. Be safe though! Test a couple of times before trusting the machine again.

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