Understanding the wiring diagram of this Danby air conditioner DAC080EB6WDB

[seaquest46]

Model Number

DAC080EB6WDB

Brand

Danby

Age

Less than 1 year

HI community,

I'm a newbie in air conditioners and I want to understand what I do before starting to modify my air conditioner. I need some clarification on some components and diagram connector name and abbreviation.

My goal is to change the computer system in this cooler to replace it with manual components to control the fan speed and the temperature manually (with 2 dimmers per example)

My first miss understand the wiring colour standard.

My knowledge:

Colours	Definition
Black	Main Hotline
Red	Secondary HotLine ???
Yellow	Motor Speed signal ???
Blue	Not lights for sure ????
Green Yellow	Ground
White	Return

Questions

The Capacitor
The Capacitor is a 240VAC but the main circuit is a 120VAC.
It's a CBB65-8H (or SH) S2 P2 and it has a little diagram: (and I've tried to find the Spec sheet on google, without success)

FAN(1) ------
|------ C (3)
HERM(2) ----

What is the meaning of HERM? and C is for Common 120VAC?
FAN stands for the FAN capacitor (15uF) I guess 120 VAC

The Motor
It's a YKTS-60-4-56L with 5 wires
Yellow (M) Normally the yellow is to set the speed of the FAN. There is the case here?
White (L)
Red (H) +120VAC (HOT)
Blue ????
Black ????

The compressor
The wires are Blue, Red and Black. No White? Blue is the White?


Thank you for your answers, really.

 

[Dan O.]

Motor wires:

Black - capacitor
Red - speed
Yellow - speed
Blue - common
White - speed

What is the meaning of HERM?

"Herm" stands for "hermetic", in this case indicating the hermetic compressor. The capacitor is connected to both the fan motor and the compressor. Look into PSC motors for an understanding.

LINK >

What is a PSC motor | ASPINA

A permanent split capacitor (PSC) motor is a type of single-phase AC motor; more specifically, a type of split-phase induction motor in which the capacitor is permanently connected (as opposed to only being connected when starting).

us.aspina-group.com

The Capacitor is a 240VAC

It is rated for a maximum of 240 VAC.

with 2 dimmers per example

What example?

BTW You can't use a light dimmer on either the motor or the compressor.

before starting to modify my air conditioner.

Why don't you tell us why you're attempting to do this and maybe we can tell you the best way to go about it??


Dan O.

 

[seaquest46]

Hi Dan O,

First, thank you so much for your answer. Why I was not told what my goal is, it was just to avoid some bad comments like: "Go buy a new appliance."

So my goal is to cool down a little room inside my garage, near 5 degC, to store meals during the hunting season. The idea is not to let this appliance run all time, it's only a few weeks per year. The room is little as 20x12 and this air conditioner was taking dust in my garage. That's why I got this idea. My first thought was to try to tweak the PTC by changing the resistor factor of the ambient air sensor (CN3), by adding a 100kOhm resistor in serial or something like this, but without having the sensor model, it's hard to tweak. So I've decided to understand how work the air conditioner to figure out the best approach and/or, at the end, replace the Danby controller with my own Arduino microcontroller if it's better. My comprehension is it's just a couple of relays driven in the appropriate sequence when the environment requires to be cooler or if the air conditioner starts to freeze, etc...

If my comprehension is wrong, please let me know.

Thank you for the link on the PSC motors but this raises more questions, if I may.

1. The PSC requires a capacitor on the secondary winding. Does the secondary winding is used only at the startup sequence of the motor or it's used all time?
2. The motor speed is a simple 120VAC put on the appropriate wire (RED, YELLOW, WHITE) with a simple selector switch?
   1. In this Danby circuit, the speed is driven by the uC enabling/disabling the appropriate speed relay
   2. If I put 120VAC signal on more than one speed wire, will I have an intermediate speed? Based on the wiring diagram my comprehension is: No!

With respect to the wires color:

1. I understand that the BLUE wire is the circuit COMMON, not the 120AC Neutral WHITE Wire but the 120VAC HOT wire. Does my comprehension correct?
   1. If yes, the capacitor is powered by the BLUE signal, the BLACK wires (FAN and COMPRESSOR) are used only when the device is triggered to start
      1. SPEED for the FAN
      2. RED 120AC signal for the COMPRESSOR
   2. For the COMPRESSOR and the FAN, the NEUTRAL is the GND directly
2. For the compressor
   1. Why the RED (C) wire is protected by a fuse? I mean, if my comprehension is correct, the C connector is 120VAC powered when it need to start so it's a simple signal but it could drain more AMP than expected on the C?
   2. The R(M) connector is to COMMON (BLUE)
   3. The S connector is to BLACK coming from the capacitor.
   4. What C, R(M) and S means for a compressor?

Again, thank you so much for your comments and help to let me understand this appliance.

Best regards,

Martin.

 

[seaquest46]

===== UPDATE =====

1. I understand that the BLUE wire is the circuit COMMON, not the 120AC Neutral WHITE Wire but the 120VAC HOT wire. Does my comprehension correct?
   1. If yes, the capacitor is powered by the BLUE signal, the BLACK wires (FAN and COMPRESSOR) are used only when the device is triggered to start

This is not true. The COM = WHITE 120VAC wire. By dismounting the circuit board and test with my multimeter, The BLUE and WHITE and connected together. So on the diagram P7, P8 and P9 are linked together. What's giving the 120VAC to the capacitor? I think my lack of knowledge is on the AC circuit.

 

[Dan O.]

So my goal is to cool down a little room inside my garage, near 5 degC, to store meals during the hunting season. The idea is not to let this appliance run all time, it's only a few weeks per year.

Can you not turn it off when not used or connect it to an external outlet controller (timer, external controller)? There appears to be WIFI connectivity as well. Can it not be used?

Does the secondary winding is used only at the startup sequence of the motor or it's used all time?

The compressor start winding is always in the circuit. How much it is "used" by the motor for operation I don't know.

If I put 120VAC signal on more than one speed wire, will I have an intermediate speed?

I have no idea but doubt it very much.

Why the RED (C) wire is protected by a fuse?

It is not a fuse but overload protector to protect the compressor from excessive amperage draw and from overheating.

What C, R(M) and S means for a compressor?

Common, Run (Main), Start.

So on the diagram P7, P8 and P9 are linked together.

P7 switches to P9 when in cooling mode. I have no idea what P8 does.


I/m sorry but you're on your own if you're trying to redesign the control system. g/l

Dan O.

 

[seaquest46]

So if I put 120VAC on the RED wire, the COMPRESSOR will start to freeze. Is that correct?

Can you not turn it off when not used or connect it to an external outlet controller (timer, external controller)? There appears to be WIFI connectivity as well. Can it not be used?

The proposed WiFi on the diagram isn't present in this model. But you give me some ideas

P7 switches to P9 when in cooling mode. I have no idea what P8 does

P8 isn't connected on my board so I forget it, but I don'T see any relays between P7 and P9 so what do you mean by "switching to"?

If I put 120VAC signal on more than one speed wire, will I have an intermediate speed?

I have no idea but doubt it very much.

Your doubt is confirmed . Good call

The compressor start winding is always in the circuit

So this mean that if I put 120VAC on the RED wire, the COMPRESSOR will start and it make sense with the COMMON Definition of

I/m sorry but you're on your own if you're trying to redesign the control system. g/l

No I don't try to redesign all the stuff. It's new to me and I really like to understand instead of just replacing parts with the same parts. I love understanding and all of the stuffs making this running.

 

[Dan O.]

So if I put 120VAC on the RED wire, the COMPRESSOR will start to freeze. Is that correct?

The compressor needs all the wires connected to it now, to run. The overload could be bypassed and its wire connected directly to the compressor but that would accomplish nothing and could be a safety issue.

I don'T see any relays between P7 and P9 so what do you mean by "switching to"?

I don't even see the electronic control so you're way ahead of me. I am also not an electronics technician so I couldn't comment about any of the electronic control's functioning besides what's illustrated by the wiring diagram.

Follow the power from the start and trace a complete circuit. You'll see that the white (neutral) is connected to P7 so it must switch to any other component needing power. That is common sense. EVERY component needing power will need the neutral switched from that point. How that is done is immaterial to me. I am not an electronics engineer nor do I have a schematic for the board.


Dan O.

 

[seaquest46]

The compressor needs all the wires connected to it now, to run.

I agree and this is my main concern because all the wires (BLUE, BLACK and RED) are connected in that way and accordingly to the schematic:

Common is RED, connected to the Start relays (Temperature sensor driven by a relay NO)
Run (Main) is BLUE connected to the Capacitor COM (Always connected)
Start is BLACK connected to the Capacitor HERM (Always connected)

I will replace the Danby start relay driven by the microcontroller with a simple refrigerator temperature sensor.
My understanding is the temperature sensor contains everything to drive its own internal relay. I don't know how the compressor will detect if it's overrun or "over freezing" and this will be a part of a next question

The overload could be bypassed and its wire connected directly to the compressor but that would accomplish nothing and could be a safety issue.

I definitely don't want to skip any safety rules. It's not the time to break or explode something and thank you for the safety reminder.

Follow the power from the start and trace a complete circuit. You'll see that the white (neutral) is connected to P7 so it must switch to any other component needing power.

P7 is the WHITE wire coming from the NEMA 15 socket from the wall. On the board, validated by a multimeter, P7 and P9 are on the same rail, except they are separated by a PTC to protect the circuit in case of overheating. If the circuit overheat, P7 and P9 will be disconnected (open circuit) if the PTC becomes too hot. So in this model, WHITE = BLUE = COMMON, not the HOT LINE.

That is common sense. EVERY component needing power will need the neutral switched from that point. How that is done is immaterial to me. I am not an electronics engineer nor do I have a schematic for the board.

I definitely can share anything with you. To be transparent I'm a computer Eng so I definitely understand how work this air conditioner electronic board. BUT, my knowledge is about the AC circuits (in general) and how to work with a compressor. YOU ARE at miles in front of me and my fear is to break something. A capacitor could be very dangerous if damaged or incorrectly powered. The one in the appliance scared me because I don't understand it. It seems to be 2 capacitors in one and it's an AC capacitor, my leakage of knowledge. A COMPRESSOR, it's a brand new bug for me, I never touched this in my last 30 years.

The AC protection circuit is quite simple and it's not too huge to realize. Basically, all the protection are designed to short the AC and the power plug of this unit is a GFI so it will be triggered each time.

Questions:
How does a COMPRESSOR will prevent .... no ..... HowTo protect a compressor from an icing state? Does the compressor is self-protected?
What is the temperature that an AC Fan Motor could reach in an "air conditioner"? Normally does the motors implement an auto cut-off or safety mechanism to prevent burning?

Dan O. you're awesome and ..................... thank you, very much, for your time and knowledge.

Appending some additionnals pics

 

[Dan O.]

It seems to be 2 capacitors in one

Exactly, one for the FAN, one for the HERM component with a common in between.

 

[Dan O.]

HowTo protect a compressor from an icing state?

The thermostat (aka control system) turns the compressor on and off dependent on the temperature it senses, usually air temperature.

What is the temperature that an AC Fan Motor could reach in an "air conditioner"?

I have to idea. I've never had the need to measure it.

Normally does the motors implement an auto cut-off or safety mechanism to prevent burning?

Most motors have an internal overload protector. It may be indicated on a wiring schematic on the motor itself.

Dan O.

 

[seaquest46]

Hi Dan O.

I received my parts from Amazon and I will proceed to create the wiring and the AC protection Circuit. I will post the result on the forum in one week. Canadian Holiday so we leave with the family.

Talk you soon

Cheers,