Maytag Dehumidifier

[jimbowlie]

I have a new Kenmore Dehumidifier that seems normal, But.... 4 seconds after plug in and turned on, the condenser stops but the fan continues.  I have the 70 pint low temp.  but my basement is never colder than 75...  Was wondering if the cap to supply power has failed.  The Dehumidifier is only 1 month old, but bought off line, so no receipt to prove purchase.  Yes, I brought it upstairs, and it did same thing...  HELP!!!!  How do I check anything with regard to the humidistat or cap?

[applianceman18007260692]

it may be nothing but a bad connection on the compressor

[applianceman18007260692]

this is my most coveted photo

the old fried cap

if it resembles this dude it might be bad

[Pegi]

You should have some sort of receipt from where you bought it on line, did you buy it from Sears itself???  The only place you can buy a Kenmore product new is from Sears...if it was not bought from Sears I doubt it is a new product....if you did order it from Sears they will have your purchase information in their data base for the warranty information..Your heading says Maytag but the body of your post says Kenmore, which brand it this...

[applianceman18007260692]

when all else fails attach this bad boy to the ac and run!!!

 it will either make it run or blow it up or flip the breaker.

[jimbowlie]

Many days ago in a far off land (Wisconsin).  I purchased this Kenmore dehumidifier from a peddler online promising me happyness and dryer cave.  It was not expensive due to nature of box being damaged.  I used this mystic machine for nearly two months when energy efficient aspect of machine began to fail.  Instead of running properly every other three hours, it seemed to operate when humidity rose to level set by my hand all of the time.  I was still happy  (very dry cave!!)  Then one fatefull evening, the mystic machine seemed to draw more power than it had when it operated normally (cave lights dimmed more than normal).  I relocated the machine to new outlet in cave to see if maybe I had to many amenities that were drawing to much power and making machine work to hard...  (I know I should know better than that, but I often do ignorant things as my master (the wife) has told me on many occasions).  From this point on...  the clouds of doom have hovered over my cave.  When turned on the machines fan turns on normally.  Then when the gods tell the unit cave is to wet, the lights dim and sound is heard for three seconds.....  Then compressor never gets up to speed as they say and it shuts off.  Fan continues as if all is well.  But, a foul wind blows as the compressor continues to restart and fail.  When the compressor fails and shuts off there is a piece about 1 inch around and 3/4 inches thick that shows a spark inside. (connected by Blue and brown wires and unsure of part name (diagram shows it to be either O.L.P. or RY-COMP).  I ask if a cap should have power stored within it until compressor is activated?  Is the cap shorted when machine is turned off so as to remove stored potential?  I removed cap to test and am unsure how to do so.  I have many electrical units of which testing is possible.  I pray that the cloud of doom is chased away by dropplets of wisdom falling from your experience!

[Pegi]

Sounds like a grounded compressor or locked down....this should be under warranty.

[applianceman18007260692]

you can first check to see if this guy is shorted by testing for continuity.

using an old school meter the reading should show a tiny jump up and down

if it goes all way across meter and stay then it is bad.

next you power up the cap for 2 seconds with 120 volts

 short out the 2 terminals and it should spark or pop a little

no pop no good

have you got photos of the machine? the compressor, the controls?

[jimbowlie]

I have tried to ask the operator to help me with warranty.  They respond that unless the person I purchased this from is an authorized seller they can't help me.  This guy was on ebay and I have since lost his name or ID (bought it back in may!).  How can I possibly get warranty help if they won't give me the time of day?  As they have told me I have no warranty I unscrewed the pannels and I am sure that voids it anyway.  I tested the resistance on the cap and it showed  ( 1 ) infinite.... (this was disconnected and out of the dehumidifier).  When I put it back in and started it up it acts like it is shorted by the compressor and discharged instanly or something I don't understand (it shows voltage going to cap but is gone as soon as compressor kicks off from failure)...  It acts like it discharges and never stores.  I will try to get a few pictures shortly.  Any way to test storage capablility outside of dehumidifier?  I do have an adjustable power supply.  Thank you  for your input!  Again... if you have any ideas with respect to getting warranty relief,  I will worship you until the end of my days!!!

[Pegi]

You could very well have a bad capacitor, testing on X100 the needle should move to the right then drop back down to the left, reverse your leads and it should move to the right and drop back down, if it stays to the right your capacitor is shorted...now I ask again, you say in your heading this is a Maytag but in the body say it is a Kenmore brand, which is it...what is the model and serial numbers...

[Budget Appliance Repair]

Depending on how long the person you bought it from had it and how long it may have set in a warehouse, it may still be under warranty from manufacture date.

The manufacture date can be determined by serial#, just call the service center, tell them you forgot when you bought it and lost your paperwork. Give them the model/serial info and see if it has any warranty left from orginal manufacture date instead of actual purchase date.

Put it back together and don't say anything about opening it up and poking around inside.

I'm not that familair with dehumidifiers, put isn't the capacitor used to run the fan motor? Are you sure the capacitor has anything to do with running the compressor? (Note: it very will could, I would have to see a wiring diagram or the actual unit to know for sure.)

If it is the compressor, the sealed system should have an extended type warranty like at least 5yrs parts, maybe even parts and labor.

[jimbowlie]

It must have been sake that made me say maytag...   My dehumidifier is a Kenmore model 580.54701 low temp.  Although it sure seems like a very large paper weight at the moment... (and cave is very humid!!!)  Am I using the multimeter in the correct setting to test by using highest resitance setting. Unsure if I can hook it up wrong to test it. (other than testing leads both ways).  Testing this way makes no sense as the needle sits at 100 when wires are in contact it goes all the way to zero...  then goes back to infinity very slowly almost 1 per second.  If reversed it goes close to zero and subtracts until it hits zero (again super slow)  My experience is that the needle goes over to zero quickly and drops right back down...   And yes....  The compressor needs the power boost, the fan shouldn't.  Thank you again!

[Budget Appliance Repair]

From what you describe the meter doing when testing the cap, it sounds like it should be ok.

All depends on the meter setting and size of cap, how the deflection of the meter looks, should go up pretty quickly then slowly decay back to zero.

I believe if you set the meter setting on a lower scale you will see a quicker deflection, (if that next lower scale is enough to give a reading).

[Pegi]

"My dehumidifier is a Kenmore model 580.54701"

Ok this makes it clear you are screwed as far as warranty goes as the only place you can buy Kenmore products NEW is from Sears....even tho this was made by LG Electronics, so, sounds like you either have a bad capacitor or compressor???

"When the compressor fails and shuts off there is a piece about 1 inch around and 3/4 inches thick that shows a spark inside"  That is your overload, if it is sparking bet you have something bad wrong with the compressor, like it is grounded.  And yes that capacitor holds a charge, think of it as the coil in your car, it will bite the hell out of you even out of the unit if you do not discharge it first...

[jimbowlie]

Ok...  So now the million dollar question.  Is it worth it to replace the compressor since that is about 96% of cost of entire unit?  What do they cost plus having a tech resolder and refill coolant...  Am I looking at a bonfire here?  (grin)  Last time I buy a Kenmore...  I was always to the understanding that this was top of the line when you got Kenmore.:X  Well,  what are your suggestions?  I will take any under advisement.   I might have to get my old dehumidifier back out...  It worked well until it got so full of cat hair.  I litterally had to remove all electronics and bring it out to hose it clean.  It is a Holms 40pint I think.  It works well but frosts up (and no the basement isn't that cold).  I might have a less expensive bill at the end of the day figuring out that problem.  Thank you all again!  I enjoy and respect all contributions!

[Pegi]

Imagine it would cost at least double to repair than you could buy a new unit....remember if you had bought this new from Sears you would be having this repaired or exchanged at no cost to you under warranty, so the problem here seens to me is buying it from elsewhere with no warranty and it could not have been new since it was not sold from Sears...

[applianceman18007260692]

I would not chunk it just yet

their may be a recall on that unit

maytag has had a bunch of problems

I would try and get in touch with them

and express my disapointment with the product

[Pegi]

dehumidifier is a Kenmore model 580.54701...not a Maytag, it is a Kenmore not bought at Sears....so not see them doing anything to help here...and since it is made by LG they are not going to do anything either since it is branded Kenmore..and unless there is a manufacture date on the unit no one knows how old the unit really is, what is the serial number on the unit...????

[jimbowlie]

The serial number is 505TASW00798 and model is 580.54701500.  I am running low on firewood in cave....  May roast mashmellows yet!  <grin>

[Pegi]

Ok, this unit is over 2 years old....

[applianceman18007260692]

if item 3-c is open then the compressor will not kick in

this is the compressor overload it is a cheap part, easy to replace

bypass it for a minute or 2 just to see if it will come on, kimosabe

[Pegi]

"there is a piece about 1 inch around and 3/4 inches thick that shows a spark inside"

I would sure be careful doing this and not be anywhere near the compressor trying this, by-passing the safety device on the compressor, if it blows a terminal it will be like a 22 bullet going off and somebody could get dead or worse...this sparking is telling me the compressor is shorted or grounded...

[applianceman18007260692]

what you should do is check first to see if any of the 3 pins coming out of the compressor is shorted to the compressor

If you find a dead short from any of the 3 pins to the case of the compressor then she is bad

these coffee can compressors can blow real easy if shorted

I have one of these compressors you could have if you lived near here.

It is out of a 5000 btu frederich window unit,nothing wrong with it.

 

[jimbowlie]

Interestingly enough, the three pins are not shorted to the compressor case...  However,  If the C-3 part is not very expensive, I would rather buy one and test it than short it.  Cave doesn't need sun roof.  If there is indeed a short in the compressor, it would have to be within one of the winds (I assume).  Also, what would cause a short after many days of usage with no changes to location or being  jarred or anything that you would assume to cause failure....? (poor workmanship?)  I thank you for the offer on the compressor, but think I will try to replace C-3 first to see what happens.  When cycled with all parts in tact and failing to start compressor, the compressor does get quite warm.  (my first instinct is that the short is causing that heat).  Now to see if the short is compressor or part (C-3).  Thank you all again!

[jimbowlie]

One more thought...  If I test C-3 and it shows no break in circuit when I use multimeter wouldn't that mean no break?  Wouldn't that put the short full on the compressor?   hmmmmmmmmmmmm  The plot thickens..