Rockwall_Reef
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- Joined
- Oct 13, 2017
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- What state or country do you live in
- Texas
This is how I've fixed our 1/3 HP Arctica chiller. I am posting this mainly to help another user but also anybody who has a problem similar to this. I know when I was doing research, I found very few posts on this so hopefully this is of some assistance for your situation.
BACKSTORY: A few months ago (about 2 months before the work in this post was done), our 1/3hp arctica (MODEL NO: DBM-250) was not turning the compressor or the condenser fan on after the about ~ 3 minute wait from when the "cool" light on the front display began to blink.
I knew if the chiller compressor was going out, the condenser fan should still run despite the compressor being "dead". I was afraid of the compressor going out because in Texas, during the summer, the chiller keeps up with the tank very well, but it comes on much more. More use means there is more of a chance for problems, right? That was not the case, the "cool" light would blink for the 3 minutes or so, then the light remained lit (as normal) and at this point, the compressor and fan should be spinning. But I noticed something else, I should have heard at least a single relay, and I did! Once the light remained on, the only noise was the single relay closing.
I removed the chiller panels and got access to be able to remove the front display. You'll understand. Unplug the two wire connectors in the back of the display. With the display panel apart, I noticed there was a burnt spot on the case and a bit of yellowing in the circuit board. When a circuit board turns a lighter color than around it, that signifies a place of high temp. Turns out that there was a cracked solder joint on one of the relay's contacts. Reflowing the solder fixed this problem and I haven't had a single problem (like this) ever since. Taking it apart and reflowing the solder joint saves you $125 for a new display in addition to shipping.
TODAY: Recently I noticed the chiller on our tank beginning to click followed by a pop anywhere between 2-5 minutes later. It would then wait a minute or so and repeat the click of the relay, wait 2-5 minutes, then pop. This was my pattern.
My condenser fan was running as normal, only the compressor wouldn't kick on everytime. My chiller at this point would still cool the tank down and function, but on apex fusion, I saw the current drawing 20+ Amps. I usually have a current draw around 2 Amps from various pumps/skimmer etc. so when I saw 20 Amps, I freaked out a bit.
I now know the clicking is going to become a major problem if I don't get it fixed soon in this Texas summer heat. I removed the left side of display's panel and watched the process of click, minutes later a pop. The pop was an electrical arc. I then did some research and was unable to find a replacement for the manufacturer's start relay, at least I think it's still the manufacturer's (JAHWA 3R3MD2). (The start relay is the black 2 connector block that has a white and yellow wire). The arc was coming from this relay after further inspection in addition to noticing this one was much warmer to the feel than the white/black one.
In the end, I ordered "6748C-0004D Refrigerator Start Relay" because it looked like the correct start relay and searching the original relay gave me nothing.
I also ordered a new 20uF 370V capacitor since it was only $10. I later checked the chiller running on the stock capacitor and the current draw was the same as on the new capacitor so I would have been fine not buying a new capacitor but now I know I have one that will run the chiller in the event the original capacitor fails, which is good to know!
My chiller was fixed after replacing the start relay. I also took a guess on the other white/black one but it caused the chiller to not run, but in a different way. The amp draw was normal but the compressor kept shutting off before it had run for enough time to cool our tank. So I sent the white/black one back and lost a couple bucks on it. Win some, lose some.
I have no problems as of now.
I have included a image of my apex amps graph to show bad operation and good. It is good to find a start relay to keep these chillers in service. My guess is that it will solve the problem I mentioned, for any size arctica chiller, but just check that the start relay looks the same first. Beats the hell out of buying a new chiller.
Any questions, I do receive emails each time I get a PM so feel free. -Chase
BAD START RELAY:
NEW RELAY:
edit: fixing images
BACKSTORY: A few months ago (about 2 months before the work in this post was done), our 1/3hp arctica (MODEL NO: DBM-250) was not turning the compressor or the condenser fan on after the about ~ 3 minute wait from when the "cool" light on the front display began to blink.
I knew if the chiller compressor was going out, the condenser fan should still run despite the compressor being "dead". I was afraid of the compressor going out because in Texas, during the summer, the chiller keeps up with the tank very well, but it comes on much more. More use means there is more of a chance for problems, right? That was not the case, the "cool" light would blink for the 3 minutes or so, then the light remained lit (as normal) and at this point, the compressor and fan should be spinning. But I noticed something else, I should have heard at least a single relay, and I did! Once the light remained on, the only noise was the single relay closing.
I removed the chiller panels and got access to be able to remove the front display. You'll understand. Unplug the two wire connectors in the back of the display. With the display panel apart, I noticed there was a burnt spot on the case and a bit of yellowing in the circuit board. When a circuit board turns a lighter color than around it, that signifies a place of high temp. Turns out that there was a cracked solder joint on one of the relay's contacts. Reflowing the solder fixed this problem and I haven't had a single problem (like this) ever since. Taking it apart and reflowing the solder joint saves you $125 for a new display in addition to shipping.
TODAY: Recently I noticed the chiller on our tank beginning to click followed by a pop anywhere between 2-5 minutes later. It would then wait a minute or so and repeat the click of the relay, wait 2-5 minutes, then pop. This was my pattern.
My condenser fan was running as normal, only the compressor wouldn't kick on everytime. My chiller at this point would still cool the tank down and function, but on apex fusion, I saw the current drawing 20+ Amps. I usually have a current draw around 2 Amps from various pumps/skimmer etc. so when I saw 20 Amps, I freaked out a bit.
I now know the clicking is going to become a major problem if I don't get it fixed soon in this Texas summer heat. I removed the left side of display's panel and watched the process of click, minutes later a pop. The pop was an electrical arc. I then did some research and was unable to find a replacement for the manufacturer's start relay, at least I think it's still the manufacturer's (JAHWA 3R3MD2). (The start relay is the black 2 connector block that has a white and yellow wire). The arc was coming from this relay after further inspection in addition to noticing this one was much warmer to the feel than the white/black one.
In the end, I ordered "6748C-0004D Refrigerator Start Relay" because it looked like the correct start relay and searching the original relay gave me nothing.
I also ordered a new 20uF 370V capacitor since it was only $10. I later checked the chiller running on the stock capacitor and the current draw was the same as on the new capacitor so I would have been fine not buying a new capacitor but now I know I have one that will run the chiller in the event the original capacitor fails, which is good to know!
My chiller was fixed after replacing the start relay. I also took a guess on the other white/black one but it caused the chiller to not run, but in a different way. The amp draw was normal but the compressor kept shutting off before it had run for enough time to cool our tank. So I sent the white/black one back and lost a couple bucks on it. Win some, lose some.
I have no problems as of now.
I have included a image of my apex amps graph to show bad operation and good. It is good to find a start relay to keep these chillers in service. My guess is that it will solve the problem I mentioned, for any size arctica chiller, but just check that the start relay looks the same first. Beats the hell out of buying a new chiller.
Any questions, I do receive emails each time I get a PM so feel free. -Chase
BAD START RELAY:
NEW RELAY:
edit: fixing images
Last edited:
