Small freezer that I bought circa 2008 greeted me with weird behavior one evening.
This lil' guy
Compressor was still running but barely, turned off and restarted every 2-3 minutes.
Normal rhythm that I measured 7 years ago was 26 minutes on, then 33 minutes standby.
I heard that it was turning off and on too frequently and when I looked at the temperature LED-Display, I noticed that its brightness was fluctuating. Surmised that probably a bad cap was responsible.
To get the PCB out, I had to be a little medieval. There were two hidden clips that I only found after, which would have made the whole operation a lot easier. I cut the upper plastic frame next to the display-and-button portion with a sharp knife and I'm going to reattach that later with some silicone and insulation tape to cover up the cut.
There is the PCB, frame cut on the right
PCB top
Bottom
Side view
I had suspected the electrolytics, as one does, but they measured absolutely fine.
Measured a couple other passives in-circuit and found nothing weird.
Then, getting a little desperate, I thought maybe the big black relay was making bad contact.
When I took a closer look, it turned out this wasn't a relay at all, but a big ol' X2 capacitive dropper.
Capacitance meter placed its value at about 150nF, when it should have been 1000nF.
"Well there's your problem."
Desoldered
Found some replacements
I like the taste of blue one
He's dead, Jim.
I'm a doctor, not a miracle worker
Reassembly this evening, wish me luck.
Edit: It werks! Purrs like a kitten.
ETA: I don't enjoy working on household products and some car electrics (looking at you, doors and power windows).
So many tricks with hidden fasteners, latches and clips and many things are so fragile and easily scratched/broken.
