Braun Carestyle 3 SteamGenerator/Iron Repair
Completely unexpected a friend delivered today a Braun Carestyle 3 steamgenerator/Iron at my door for repair. It wasn’t his but of an acquaintance and these devices are not exactly known for their service-friendly designs because disassembling is a lot of work and needs to be done with care. Mostly because of all internal wiring and water tube connections which make it hard to simply remove the electronics . Which was no different with this Braun Carestyle Iron also because the front buttons made it difficult to remove the board from the case and its holder.
I first removed the 3 Torx screws on the top thinking they were holding the holder in which the board with the electronics was mounted. But apparently they weren’t holding anything. Maybe added by the owner? I then removed 4 longer cross head screws at the bottom side.
The 4 shorter screws on previous photo are the screws that we have to remove to extract the controller board from the white plastic holder. But first we have to pull out the 4 long transparent rod-shaped light ‘sticks’ from the front side of the case out of the board holder.
And we also have to press the Standby button inside and remove the eco button from their front holes before we finally can lift the entire plastic white printholder up out of the case.
The 4 mentioned long transparent sticks are light extenders for the smd leds on the controller board. On above photo we see this printholder after it is removed from the inside case. To be able to do this we also have to carefully press the 2 small flexible flaps on top of the holder on the front side out of their square shaped white plastic holders before we can lift the entire holder up. When we re-assemble the holder back in the case later on we simply shift the 2 white top flaps back into the square white plastic holders on the inside of the case front first from below in up going direction. And this will correctly connect the printholder with the buttons back to the case front inside again.
Next photos clearly show that all connected wires and water tubes make it harder to examine the device. Why taking photos is never a bad thing to do! Which reduces making any stupid mistakes. First photo shows the printholder with the electronics board and the connections after the bottom is removed. Next photo shows all wire connections that are visible if we look at the bottom of the printholder (the side that normally is mounted under the inside top of the case). Those wires show the On/off switch. The left brown wire to the standby switch is connected to the mains EU power plug. And the right side of this On/off switch has a double wire plug attached. And after the 4 short cross head screws are removed, we can remove the board from its plastic holder for further inspection. Of course after all attached wires to this board are removed.
On previous photos is visible how the printholder was removed. Next photo shows the 24V [IRON] relay that on a small ‘floating’ pcb with also a second 24V relay [BOILER] on the component side is mounted.
The darker brown wire on the right goes as double wire to the On/off switch and also to connection LINE on the left board side (the second connection left next to the first yellow wire [BOILER]). The lighter brown wire on this relay board goes to the Iron cable. And the brown wire that is connected entirely on the right of the board [F5] probably goes to a thermic fuse on the Boiler Heater element. And the yellow wire from that thermic fuse with marking 32-5 goes to the previous mentioned BOILER connection. I will include a clear wiring schematic later on.
After inspection of the board both zeners and 1 larger resistor were found defect. The resistor with code red-purple-black-gold was clearly open (27 Ohm circa 2 of 3W?). And the 24V zener type 1N5359B (D2 on pcb) was a special 5W diode now entirely shorted with a resistance of just about 0.16 Ohm. And also the 5V1 zener type BZX85C 5V1 was now shorted (just about 19 Ohm). Other components are likely not killed because after both zeners shorted, also series resistor 27 Ohm acted as fuse by blowing open.
Luckily the board is clearly marked on all wire connections with text of their functions. Which does simplify the repair. Next photos show more of all inside parts of this Braun Carestyle 3.
Previous photos showed the 3 defect components plus the board after the defect components R1, D2 and D3 were removed and will be replaced as soon as those parts are received. Above shown schematic explains how the power supply of this transformerless Braun steamgenerator works. Mark the special 1uF X2 275VAC capacitor C1. And also C2 is a special safety X2 275VAC capacitor! Below another clear view on all wire connections of this board. Next followed by a wiring diagram of this device to clear up all internal connections.
SMD transistors Q6 and Q4 had code 13 11 (11 was placed horizontally). The other components were hard to identify. Also because the entire board likely was varnished with plastic spray or some other moisture protecting layer. From the examined circuit it however looks like Q5 and Q7 are npn transistors.
Now all I can do is wait on the already ordered parts from Aliexpress. As most of the examining work is already done. And reassembling everything back will be a piece of cake since it is all heavily documented now.
Because of the rather ridiculous shipping cost for these very small and very light weighing parcels het is useless to order just a single component. And I noticed that where it previously said free shipping it turned out being rather expensive. With shipping cost being higher than the item prices ordered!
* 5 x 27R 5W voor EUR 4,61 + EUR 2,00 (where it said attractive shipping costs)
* 100pcs 1W Zener diode DO-41 5V1 voor € 1,23 + 0,86 shipping Product properties: 1N4733A 5V1. (Getting the original BZX85C 5V1 1300mW zenerdiode was apparently not possible).
* 10pcs/lot 1N5359B IN5359B 24V 5W Zener diode voltage regulator tube line new original at € 1,28 X1 + 0,86 shipping.
* 75Pcs 3W Carbon Film Resistors 27 ohm ~ 750 ohm 5% Assorted Kit Resistance 15 Values*5pcs
for € 3,23 X1 + 2,12 shipping. Product properties: 27R to 750R
Because I am not certain what wattage the 27 Ohm resistor was I ordered both the 3W and 5W resistors. In case they are too big I have to order 1 or 2 Watt resistors.
Bill of total costs: 6,61 + 2,09 + 2,14 + 5,35 = 16,19 Euro.
The cost of the needed components will be about 1.6283 Euro. The repair won’t exactly be profitable since I ordered at least tenfold the amount of this repair on components. And of course time and other cost are neither calculated here yet. But because of the high shipping cost I still rather buy more parts for future repairs.
I’m confident that this Braun Carestyle 3 Steamgenerator/Iron will work in a week or 3-4 for a long time. Because both zeners short circuited there was no overvoltage on the 5V and the 24V power lines of the controller board. And the over-current interrupted the current through the 27 ohm series resistor until the entire device was deactivated completely. Without blowing up other components on the controller board. Also because none of the capacitors were defect. They all checked out fine! I found the controller board sold on eBay for $29 US dollar but after this repair there is no need to buy a new board.
Although Braun could have used better safer 1N4007 diodes (1000V MAX and 700V RMS) for D1,D4 and D5 they all still were just 1N4004 (400V MAX and 280V RMS) diodes. Which was no problem here so they were cost effective. The resistance measured on the Iron heater was about 75,9 Ohm. The resistance of the Boiler heater was about 34,3 Ohm. Be aware!: These water pumps can’t be measured with a digital meter because it simply shows a very high resistance. I therefore tested the water pump with a in series placed light bulb for safety straight on the 230VAC and it worked splendidly! The resistance of the EV unit (also called Elettrovalvola bobina ferro caldaia CareStyle 3 5 7 IS30 IS50 IS70 IS71) measured about 2,26 KOhm.
For the Iron and the EV this would represent about 23 Watt for the EV, and about 669 Watt for the Iron out the formula (230V^2)/R. And out the Boiler resistance of 34,3 Ohm follows a Power dissipation of about 1542 Watt. Which in total matches the given 2200-2400 Watt on the label.
The EV [board connection F7] is controlled by triac T2. And the Water pump is controlled by Triac T1 [Board connection F6]. Board connection F5 is the Therm connection. Of course also both Triacs tested fine with my Peak Atlas DCA75 semiconductor tester!
And to make sure the AMP connectors are placed firmly back on the board I also squeeze the amp connectors a bit with a pair of pliers so that they don’t show to much freedom. Because when they were pulled off from the board connections they lost a bit of their grip.
Enfin, I am quite sure this will be a helpful service manual for fixing any electronic defect in the Braun Carestyle 3 steamgenerator/Iron !
Albert van Bemmelen, Weert, The Netherlands.
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Note: You can read his previous repair article in the below link:
https://jestineyong.com/how-to-pinpoint-cause-of-mainboard-problems/
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Robert Calk Jr.
July 30, 2019 at 3:29 pm
Good job, Albert! I always order extra components when I place an order if they are not very expensive.
Albert van Bemmelen
July 30, 2019 at 3:50 pm
I wonder if the rising Shipping costs have anything to do with Trump's China policy? Because in the past most shipping was free and it has become rather expensive nowadays.
About this repair...I still wonder why these devices without any safety transformer, where the phase line of the power can be very deadly and only the Earth yellow/green connection to the power plug is the very important safety protection here!, these devices are designed with even waterpipes and steam generators inside using just simpel cheap X2 capacitor power circuits. Like the Bed heater Blankets that also do not use any safety transformer but still are directly connected to the 120/230 VAC phase lines. And those Blankets also can get wet at nights! If you see my point.
Robert Calk Jr.
July 31, 2019 at 10:50 am
Hopefully President Trump and China will get a good trade agreement soon. It doesn't seem to cost too much more for components right now. Maybe they don't charge extra for components that they already had in stock, I don't know.
We don't need electric blankets much here in Texas. It doesn't get as cold as a lot of places.
I try to stay away from transformer-less devices. I would definitely want to use some high quality X/Y capacitors!
beh
July 30, 2019 at 7:53 pm
ALBERT congratulations. I know how much time and efforts you sacrifice to rescue this machine .one of the reasons is the manufacturers are not producing these machines for repair they just thinking for more sell . for me is interesting if you tell me what the BRUN service center has told the owner of this iron.the price of postage from china to my country also is terrible and does not worth it to order anything because some times the cost of postage of parts and the insurance is exceeding the price of the machine under repair, and recently in getting more expensive . so far so good I hope this machine returns to life again ..
beh
July 30, 2019 at 7:56 pm
Albert
You look more handsome in your new photo.
regards
beh
Parasuraman S
July 30, 2019 at 10:21 pm
Marvelous! Very exhaustive explanation, with step to step details! It is indeed a complicated device to work with! But in front of well experienced professionals like you, complication will melt like ice! As mentioned by you, let us do hope that the 'steam engine' will 'phut phut' againwithout causing any more electrical 'phut phut' (LOL)
Albert van Bemmelen
July 31, 2019 at 12:24 pm
Thank you Parasuraman for your always positive and well meant comment! The only worry I still have is that the replacement 5V1 zener I ordered is only 1 Watt where the original zener likely was higher being 1.3Watt. But ordering the exact same BZX85C 5V1 was not possible through the usual channels being Aliexpress and eBay. I will have to check its power dissipation to see if the standard 1 Watt zener is enough to run the Board's circuit with controller U1.
Albert van Bemmelen
July 31, 2019 at 1:15 pm
To make sure the Braun repair won't fail on the wrong 5V1 1 Watt zener, I just ordered the 1.3Watt BZX85C 5V1 zeners through Distrelec. I had to order 50 of them which was no problem but with 7,50 Euro shipping cost and 21% BTW (Dutch VAT) it did cost another 12,81 Euro. So this repair will be a bit more expensive than I hoped for, although only 3 small parts needed to be replaced. But everything for safety!
Albert van Bemmelen
July 30, 2019 at 10:27 pm
Thanks Beh, I better throw away my old photo then (LOL).
I have no idea what the service-center would have told the owner to do with his defect Braun Steamgenerator, or if they have been in contact with Braun at all. I neither do know the owner of the device because I only know the person who brought it to me. But probably their warranty period has expired which makes it an expensive repair if they have to send in the defect machine to the Braun service. I always only ask for compensation for the money I needed to spend to fix the device.
beh
July 31, 2019 at 8:50 am
ALBERT
two more questions :
you did not tell what was the problem of this steam iron? no, heat?no steam? or/dead completely?
why you do not find these three parts in your country these must be found in AMSTERDAM no need to order from china!
Albert van Bemmelen
July 31, 2019 at 2:52 pm
The device was completely dead as I wrote in the article Beh! The over-current had interrupted the current through the 27 ohm series resistor until the entire device was deactivated completely, and was the 'death as a doornail' condition I got it in.
Amsterdam is far from my home (about 165 KM) and there are not so many shops left we can order from at reasonable prices. Most known shops are gone because people do no longer wish their old consumer-electronics fixed, or because ordering from China is slow but often cheaper. There is one small shop in my hometown Weert but I mostly order from China because they likely do the same, and mostly do not have the parts I need right away either. There however are online shops like Distrelec in my country that sell at reasonable prices but with the unavoidable shipping costs. But they do deliver the next day and are extremely fast!
Justice
July 31, 2019 at 9:15 pm
Yes Albert this was complex high level theory but very interesting to follow your lead. Thank you Albert, please keep posting such educative articles.
Albert van Bemmelen
July 31, 2019 at 10:43 pm
No problem Justice. I'm glad you liked the repair and found it educational!
beh
July 31, 2019 at 9:37 pm
this is true I searched on the web to find an electronics part supplier in your country but I could not find any and yes the only way is to order from china... ...
Albert van Bemmelen
July 31, 2019 at 10:55 pm
We do have Mouser and Farnell, plus Digikey.nl and others but they start asking orders from 50 Euro up before they accept them. And they are not free shipping either. Or they ship free but charge import fees plus VAT costs later on like when ordered from the Dutch seller in my country but after which items are shipped from their USA company. And we have Conrad and Reichelt that have their HQ's in Germany with Dutch subsidiary companies. Meaning that prices of items mostly are higher here than they would cost in Germany.
Maurice
August 1, 2019 at 3:53 am
Ik almost never Pay shippingcost when order in China and i live in the Netherlands to. Ok, now i live temperelly in Brugge belgium and send the packages to an dutch postbox because the belgium post somethime does difficult about China packages.
But i never order at alliexpres, only at eBay
Albert van Bemmelen
August 1, 2019 at 2:02 pm
I also buy on eBay Maurice, but mostly on older electronic items that are not sold on Aliexpress. eBay ordered parts are often quicker delivered too but in most cases also more expensive. Especially compared to Aliexpress!
Paying shipping costs now was unavoidable because the parts needed were only sold with those costs. And when those costs are not shown the free shipping is mostly because they were already added to the item prices.
Maurice
August 1, 2019 at 4:37 am
I live in the Netherlands and there are still fysics shops who sell electronic parts 😉
They are a lot fewer and lot of shops are stopping bit they still exist. And of course a lot of online shops. You don't have to shop in China. But not everything is avaibl, expensive or the shipping costs are high.
Albert van Bemmelen
August 1, 2019 at 2:25 pm
It likely is that lesser people enjoy electronics as a hobby like in the old days when almost everyone was enjoying building radios or fixing them. I only know two of my older friends who enjoy electronics engineering, but my older friend Jan is in his eighties and has kind of departed with his old hobby now. And nowadays other specialized electronics engineering is booming business like programming Android tablets, Raspberry Pi's or programming new circuits in FPGA chips with VHDL or Verilog. And learning new trades is always harder. But that is the way of the Engineer. We have to keep up with every new technique to stay in business.
tf
August 1, 2019 at 5:13 am
How did you figure out the part numbers on the zener diodes?
Albert van Bemmelen
August 1, 2019 at 1:48 pm
That was easy tf. Just solder out the components and type the numbers marked on the components in on Google like the BZX85C5V1 and the datasheet pops up. Downloadable as PDF or HTML datasheet.
Important detail will be the maximum power dissipation that is here 1.3W where normally zeners are sold in 0.5W or 1W types which can't be used in our repair. And the 5.1V zenervoltage of course already was given in the component code.
And the 1N5359B will be the given 5Watt! 24V zener diode. That bigger diode already was a hint that its power dissipation had to be much larger.
Tf
August 5, 2019 at 8:26 pm
Thank you!
Miloud lamarine
June 6, 2023 at 8:06 pm
Same problem with my Braun CareStyle iron is 2044
I found a malfunction in diode d2 I couldn't identify it
Can you help
Albert van Bemmelen
August 11, 2024 at 3:07 pm
Sorry that I didn't see your question sooner Miloud because we normally never read our older articles.
But to answer yours you just have to read the marking on your diode to know what replacement component you need. I do not know anything about your Carestyle 2044, so only you can determine D2 from its datasheet on Google by reading its marking.
Yogesh Panchal
August 1, 2019 at 11:21 pm
Albert,
Now a days many shops related to electronics spars are shutting down
In our country also most of them are converted to Mobile phone Accessories shops.
Good effort for repair.
Albert van Bemmelen
August 2, 2019 at 7:20 pm
These Mobile shops we also have plenty in my country too Yogesh. They often also handle parcel collects from for instance GLS and others (courier services). But they exist mainly because Mobile phones are quite expensive as also the Sim card provider contracts they sell. (;)
albert van bemmelen
August 14, 2019 at 9:51 pm
Addendum: After about 3 weeks of waiting on the components, especially the 24V 5 Watt zenerdiode, the Braun Carestyle 3 Iron indeed works again splendidly.
Because I was unsure what wattage the 27 Ohm resistor was I had ordered 1,2,3 and 5 Watt resistors, and it must have been a 3 Watt resistor. It was about the correct same size and so I used it to finish this repair.
Xavier Gasso
September 7, 2021 at 5:38 pm
Very interesting and thorough troubleshooting. I'm trying to resolve an issue with my CareStyle 5, quite similar to the 3, which is driving me nuts. What i'm experencing is that the EV is latched to on, and steam is always being released whenever the boiler reaches warm-up temperature. I replaced the microswitch, EV valve (thought was locked on, or leaking) and even the full board (T2 triac posible failure) but none has worked. The EV latches properely when the power is removed from it. Any leads on what to look next would be appreciated.
Xavier Gasso Puchal
September 8, 2021 at 3:22 pm
Just when you ask for help... you resolve the issue! In my case the LED was causing a short as if the microswith was pressed, causing the EV to be engaged all the time. Issue resolved.
Arek
March 1, 2022 at 5:33 am
What is J2 sensor I wonder?
Albert van Bemmelen
August 11, 2024 at 3:13 pm
It measures the boiler temp Arek. But if you ask what it was as component I can not tell you anymore since I already gave the device back working long ago!