[tmprobst]

Have Avanti EWC16B wine cooler. Product Catalog - Model EWC16B - 16 Btl Thermoelec Wine Cooler is manufacturer link with operating and parts manual. Cooler stopped functioning - I followed all manufacturer directions in troubleshooting section with no result. I disassembled back panel and vacuumed all components. Attached pics show critical components. Please give advice on how to diagnose and repair. Thanks for any help.

[malpert]

did anyone find an answer why the cooler does not get cold?

[denman]

With luck the original poster will get back to you.

I could not find any technical info on this unit anywhere.

I can tell you that the unit uses a peltier device for cooling, just google it for more info.
Basically they run off of DC voltage so if you do not have DC going to the peltier you will not get any cooling so I would check that first.
If you have DC then check then unplug the unit and the peltier and check the peltier for resistance. Use different meter scales and also check all with meter probes on the opposite pins. Peltiers are solid state so polarity matters.
I have no info on what you should see but if all you get is infinite resistance (open) then I would check the peltier for a thermal fuse.
They usually have one.
If it is in a white paste try to keep as much of the paste as possible. This is thermal goop it conducts heat but does not conduct electricity so is used to help in heat transfer from the peltier to the fuse. They probably also use it between the peltier device and the heat sink.

[malpert]

a little beyond my capabilities? maybe i could unplug the pelier? if i knew what it looked like.. i assume i have to take off the back panel to get to it

[denman]

Yes I think you will have to take the back off.

The peltier is the unit under the cooling fins.
Should be a red and black wire going into it.

The cell itself is usually a 1 to 2 inch square wafer mounted in a aluminum block sandwich and then cooling fins are either machined into the blocks or by the look of the pictures attached to the block.

[steelman93]

Originally Posted by denman

The peltier is the unit under the cooling fins.
Should be a red and black wire going into it.

The cell itself is usually a 1 to 2 inch square wafer mounted in a aluminum block sandwich and then cooling fins are either machined into the blocks or by the look of the pictures attached to the block.

If you go to amazon and search tec-12706 you will find peltier units for sale for about 5 bucks as well as pictures to give you an idea what they look like and denman describes the location.

To diagnose:
1) if you have a voltmeter test the wires going to the peltier....important, do not do this with the heat sinks removed, even for a second. Applying voltage to a peltier without a heat sink can damage it quickly.

2) If you don't have a volt meter then just touch it to check. There are two sides to a peltier, a hot side and a cold side. There are two heat sinks and two fans, the outer sink and fan removes heat from the hot side, the cold side and fan acts as a radiator to blow cold air into the refrigerator from the cold side of the peltier. You can remove the entire unit as a whole and just feel the heat sinks. if it is working it will be cold, not cool.

3) If the peltier is not cooling then it could be the unit or could be the board, you will only know for sure by testing voltage. But the most common failure is the peltier and for 10 bucks delivered it is worth a try.

4) if replacing make sure you pay attention to the way the original is installed so you don't get it backwards.

5) Make sure you clean the thermal compound off of both the heat sinks and peltier and apply new thermal compound. You can buy it (called thermal grease) at radio shack, and to clean the old stuff use rubbing alcohol and qtips. (If you are not comfortable find your local geek that has assembled a PC, same principle applies to installing a CPU and he/she will be comfortable doing it)

6) just splice the wires together

good luck

[SportThis]

Originally Posted by steelman93

If you go to amazon and search tec-12706 you will find peltier units for sale for about 5 bucks as well as pictures to give you an idea what they look like and denman describes the location.

To diagnose:
1) if you have a voltmeter test the wires going to the peltier....important, do not do this with the heat sinks removed, even for a second. Applying voltage to a peltier without a heat sink can damage it quickly.

2) If you don't have a volt meter then just touch it to check. There are two sides to a peltier, a hot side and a cold side. There are two heat sinks and two fans, the outer sink and fan removes heat from the hot side, the cold side and fan acts as a radiator to blow cold air into the refrigerator from the cold side of the peltier. You can remove the entire unit as a whole and just feel the heat sinks. if it is working it will be cold, not cool.

3) If the peltier is not cooling then it could be the unit or could be the board, you will only know for sure by testing voltage. But the most common failure is the peltier and for 10 bucks delivered it is worth a try.

4) if replacing make sure you pay attention to the way the original is installed so you don't get it backwards.

5) Make sure you clean the thermal compound off of both the heat sinks and peltier and apply new thermal compound. You can buy it (called thermal grease) at radio shack, and to clean the old stuff use rubbing alcohol and qtips. (If you are not comfortable find your local geek that has assembled a PC, same principle applies to installing a CPU and he/she will be comfortable doing it)

6) just splice the wires together

good luck

Steelman93's fix worked on my Frigidaire. Simple, but takes some time. 3.5 grams of thermal compound is just enough for one peltier, front and back. Cooler started cooling immediately after bonding the pieces back together. Thanks for the help.