Yevgeny Prigozhin sure is a cowardly asshole. He murders from a distance and sends Russians to die. Some smart Russians…
This post is about another case that reinforces my claim that “most repairs are easy” -especially when you know what to look for! One of my neighbours recently brought over a pressure cooker that had ceased to function. In quick initial tests, the unit powered up normally, and panel display and controls seemed functional, but the device heater did not come on. Other key observations were that the relay that supplies AC to the heater could be heard to “click” as expected. This relay is of a common type used in many appliances and electronic thermostats to supply relatively high currents to resistive heaters.
the patient, chest cavity opened
After opening up the base cover under the unit (just one screw needed to be removed, and the the cover rotated to removable position) I did a few quick electrical tests with a DVM (be careful of high voltages!). With the unit powered down and the heater quickly disconnected and out of circuit, I measured its resistance: about 15 ohms, appropriate for a heater of its power rating used at 120V. So, the heater seemed OK and not the cause of the unit not heating up. Next, I decided to look at the main power circuit board that contained the relay described above plus DC power supply for the display panel and some associated control circuitry. The board could be removed by taking out just 2 screws.
circuit board, in situ
Quick inspection of the underside of the circuit board revealed a highly suspect visible flaw in the solder at the common switch side of the relay. Essentially, there was a dark ring surrounding the relay pin between the pin and the solder on the board. Resistance measurements quickly confirmed no connection between the pin and the board. The suspect area is circled in red in the second photo below.
circuit board rolled over
circuit board, flaw circled
To perform the repair, I cleaned the pin of the relay with fine sandpaper, and then re-soldered it to the board. I left an especially thick cross-section of solder between pin and board, and along the full trace to the heater wire, since this is a high current path.
Quick reassembly and testing showed the pressure cooker to be heating and working fine again. One more appliance saved from disposal!
the repair
Brilliant
Comment by threebeard — March 4, 2020 @ 12:31 pm
Hi Dave,
My IP stopped working after a spill. Initially I cleaned it and it started. However next day it stopped working again. I followed your instruction and inspected the IP.
1. No soldering issue on the PCB
2. Both the fuse are fine ( checked voltage on both sides 12V )
3. When rotate the screw on the relay switch I can hear the click and 12V supply gets transferred from the black to the red wire.
4. My IP has 6 pins going to the switch panel. TOp two are marked as PWR +12V
When the relay is on I see the PWR is @ 12V however the +12V is always zero. No sure why that is the situation.
Can you suggest what else can I try. Do you suspect the switch panel is busted ? I opened up the entire assemble and looked fine to me.
Thanks
Saurabh
Comment by Saurabh — May 21, 2020 @ 6:07 am
Both my instant pot MAX stopped working after rice water spilled , but the LCD screen and the buttons functions well the problem is the heating element won’t heat I opened it up all seems well the thermal fuse is ok. Please help.
Comment by Bao — October 18, 2020 @ 4:21 am
What is the resistance of the heating element when you take it out of circuit? Have you checked the high current solder joints for flaws and for continuity? Does the relay work?
Comment by admin — October 18, 2020 @ 8:01 am
I got the C6 error and was able to fix it by just cleaning the pressure sensor with electronic flux cleaner. There was no damage to the board and the front LCD control section was sealed.
Comment by Derrick Smith — October 21, 2020 @ 12:11 am
This just rocks.
Comment by Ted Hammer — February 8, 2021 @ 4:10 pm
Hello, thank you for your post!
I have a different problem. My instant pot Duo 6 qt of 18 months works fine without the lid and does not heat up only when the lid is on, like on Pressure Cook or Yogurt Boil or Slow Cook. For example, when I put cold water in the pot, close the lid, seal the valve, set to high Pressure Cook, the instant pot beeps and says On (as always). After 1-2 minutes it starts counting down. The pot and water are completely cold. The same for the other functions.
But I can Saute or Yogurt Boil or Slow Cook just fine when the lid is off! So I can still use the instant pot but without the lid.
Even when the pot is heating, as soon as I twist on the lid, the heat turns off.
I looked inside the wires and connections as you explained and everything looks good, though the circuit board is different. I jiggled the lid, cleaned everything on the lid and the pot. I reset the pot to factory settings but pressing the Adjust + button, but nothing works.
Do you have any suggestions?
Thank you for your help!
Comment by Susan — March 14, 2021 @ 6:25 am
From your description, I’d look first for an interlock switch associated with the lid closure, to see if anything is wrong with that or the wiring to it. Interlock switch failures are very common in appliances.
Comment by admin — March 15, 2021 @ 5:02 pm
What color is the sky?
Comment by Ian Colley — December 5, 2021 @ 2:12 pm
Vladimir Putin is a murderer and war criminal. He should be tried for war crimes and jailed for the rest of his pathetic life or just pissed on and shot. That would make the world a better place.
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