Advice on stubborn spade terminal

[Baldy]

I'm trying to test the resistance of the electrical heater on my Dometic refrigerator. I can't budge the heater connectors on the control board.

I have been rather aggressive grabbing them with a needle nose pliers but those plastic insulating covers with the swing open door get to moving around and I don't want to damage them.

I did try a 90* awl to try and get behind them and lever them off, but I did not like that the board was bending.

I'm rather embarrased I can't get such a basic task done. Is there a trick - I mean best practice - that I'm missing here. I don't want to do more damage than good. Thanks in advance for sharing your experience.

Refrigerator model number is DM 2852 RBX

[Bill-2020]

I've been in the electronics manufacturing industry for 34 years - You are smart to not pull too hard on those. If you fracture that PCB you'll be buying a new one. Post a picture of what you're up against. Usually if you can grab it with those needle nose and wiggle it side-to-side and pull up gently at the same time you may be able to get it off with some patience.

[LHaven]

I have a spray can of DPL electrical contact lube that I try in these circumstances with mixed results. If you have Liquid Wrench penetrating oil, Kroil, or something similar, thats another possibility (read the label, because I haven't needed to try those on electronic parts.)

Worst case, snip the connector off, get inside it from the top with a pick and pry it open outwards (destroy it), then crimp a new connector on the wire. I wouldn't be surprised if you have a mild current weld inside there.

[sourdough]

Those spade tips can sort of "grow" on the lug. If you have the right tool you might be able to pry under the spade vs trying to just pull it off from the top. I used to do lots of electronics repairs and have several tools you can use to put under the spade and try to work it off.

[wiredgeorge]

Cut the wire, strip on both ends and do your testing. Then solder the wires and put some heat shrink over the weld (put it on the wire end first of course then slide into position).

[Martian]

Take a small screwdriver and put it between the two ridges that make contact. Pry to open that space between them and that should loosen the connector. You could squeeze it back together but replacing the connector would be better.

[Baldy]

Thanks for all the replies. Here is a picture of the board and the connectors I'm trying to remove.

Cutting the wires and making a splice as required may be the next step if I can't get these to budge.

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by Baldy

Thanks for all the replies. Here is a picture of the board and the connectors I'm trying to remove.

Cutting the wires and making a splice as required may be the next step if I can't get these to budge.

maybe a stupid question but are those protective covers on the connectors you circled? do they pop open/unclip to reveal the wire connector beneath it? to protect from short circuit?

[JRTJH]

I've found through the years that those two "slip on spade connectors" tend to "arc weld themselves" when there's a problem with the heater element. What happens is when the resistive heating element starts to go bad, the amperage increases and the "thin edges of the spade connector get hot" which fuses the female part of the connection to the male part of the connection.

The "testing choice" that I've come to rely on is not to destroy the control board to get things apart, but rather to "cut the wire at centerpoint" and use solderless, waterproof connectors to attach the new heater element to the board.

As a matter of fact, just yesterday there was a thread that included a link to some connectors that were on sale at Amazon. Talk about "timing"...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...0?ie=UTF8&th=1

[jasin1]

this is why i asked about the covers…it looks like the cover snaps closed..

[Baldy]

Originally Posted by jasin1

this is why i asked about the covers…it looks like the cover snaps closed..

Those are a protective cover, and those covers do snap open and reveal the actual spade terminal. i've tried removal with and without those covers but those terminals won't budge for me.

[Baldy]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

I've found through the years that those two "slip on spade connectors" tend to "arc weld themselves" when there's a problem with the heater element. What happens is when the resistive heating element starts to go bad, the amperage increases and the "thin edges of the spade connector get hot" which fuses the female part of the connection to the male part of the connection.

The "testing choice" that I've come to rely on is not to destroy the control board to get things apart, but rather to "cut the wire at centerpoint" and use solderless, waterproof connectors to attach the new heater element to the board.

As a matter of fact, just yesterday there was a thread that included a link to some connectors that were on sale at Amazon. Talk about "timing"...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...0?ie=UTF8&th=1

Thanks for the well written explanation regarding the "weld" and the butt splice solution.

[bigrockk]

Another alternative is to use a clamp on ammeter if you have. No need to disconnect anything then unless you need to replace the heater.

[LHaven]

Originally Posted by bigrockk

Another alternative is to use a clamp on ammeter if you have. No need to disconnect anything then unless you need to replace the heater.

True, but make sure your clamp-on ammeter does DC -- the vast majority of them don't.

[bigrockk]

Originally Posted by LHaven

True, but make sure your clamp-on ammeter does DC -- the vast majority of them don't.

No need for DC capability for this test as the heater element is A/C.

That being said if you are going to purchase a clamp on ammeter best to get one that has D/C capabilities, they are more expensive though but very handy.

[LHaven]

Oh yeah. Forgot we were talking about a heater element, not the fridge board power.