Lid switch board has broken reed switch

Jayeff,

We used a little door-mounted alarm when our kids were young and I knew it was in a box in the garage. It just happened to have a similar size reed switch in it. Swapped it in and now it successfully does the #00 diagnostic for opening and closing the latch.

I was wondering if it had to be wired facing a certain direction to activate. Either I got lucky or it's not a big factor.

Not sure what the voltage rating on the replacement was and if it will be sufficient but I'll find out tomorrow.

Put some fresh dielectric grease on the slider while it was apart.

Thanks!

Rob

@rcblum

The image in this link gives an idea of how they work.

Also the wiring diagram in the tech sheet shows that the lid lock operates at 12V DC so I would image that the voltage applied to the lid switch would be the same and not 120V AC.

Nice! I'll go ahead and order some that I know are rated for 12V in case this one gives up. I'm doing my work clothes as I write this, no issues yet, working normally.

I've been familiar with reed switches for a long time but never had any issues with them so was unsure if there were placement considerations. This one failed in a strange way and I wish I could post a pic, maybe this will work https://imgur.com/a/Wc71sKQ

It was hard to capture but the glass was cracked at the end right where it opened into the cavity that holds the contacts. It might've led to some oxidation? The crack was only visible from the end.

Funny to see this whole washer brought down by a tiny, old school reed switch!

@rcblum

Maybe find some rated for a bit more than 12V, 24V perhaps. Having a slightly higher voltage/current rating won't harm as it is not a fuse trying to protect something, merely a switch and you don't want it working too close to the top end of its rating. Maybe costs a bit more but perhaps worth it in the long term

You should be able to test the switch using an Ohmmeter and a magnet.

Connect the Ohmmeter to each end of the switch and then just place a magnet near the switch and there should be continuity through the switch i.e. 0.00 Ohms on the meter. Move the magnet away and it should show OL or infinity Ohms on the meter. Bring the magnet close again and it closes etc.

Had the same problem with my Bosch dishwasher. There is a flowmeter (fancy name for a turbine wheel with a magnet that rotates as the water flows through it and as the magnet rotates it operates and releases a reed switch.

This sent "pulses" to the control board which must count them so it knows how much water has entered the machine. The reed switch in mine went "high resistance" i.e. instead of 0.00 Ohms through the switch contacts it measured ~1K Ohm and presumably the control board didn't like it. It just stopped, drained the little bit of water that had entered and then just sat there doing nothing.

No doubt the problem with the switch was due to oxidization of the contacts but as it was enclosed in a glass tube with no apparent cracks you can't fix it, you can only replace the switch.

BTW if you want to post images or documents on ifixit here's how to do it. This works the same way in either your question or if you answer a question, but it doesn't work if you post it in a "comment" to either

Agregar imágenes a una pregunta existente

Cheers