Can an electrician identify this component, please?

[Skylark]

My boat has a Vitrifrigo, Italian made fridge. The "bulb" lost some of its brightness so I removed the cover to investigate only to find a small circuit with 4 LEDs, per the pictures. Gently touching it, the glass component, ringed, broke ?

Hopefully, someone will be able to identify it such that I can buy a replacement and solder it in place. If it helps, I measured 7.2v across the broken terminals.

Many thanks

 

[tico]

looks like a 'reed switch' which, when the door is closed , is actuated by a magnet in the door seal to switch off the light.
google 'normally closed reed switch'

 

[Martin_J]

As Tico says.. It looks like a reed switch that is probably used to switch the LEDs on when you open the fridge door. It'll come close to a magnet I guess when the door is closed.

A cheap part so most of the cost will be in the postage unless you have an electronics shop nearby and it will need working out if it's normally closed or normally open (when not near the magnet) first.

 

[JumbleDuck]

As Tico says.. It looks like a reed switch that is probably used to switch the LEDs on when you open the fridge door. It'll come close to a magnet I guess when the door is closed.

A cheap part so most of the cost will be in the postage unless you have an electronics shop nearby and it will need working out if it's normally closed or normally open (when not near the magnet) first.

I expect it's normally closed, so closing the door breaks the circuit and puts the light out. Easy enough to check and either way this SPDT one from eBay should work fine: SPDT Reed Switch 0.5A 100VDC | eBay. £2.49 including postage.

 

[Mistroma]

Yes, that should do. I used to keep several on my last boat to fix the log impeller. I had the boat for 23 years and went through 3 as water would eventually seep in after several years no matter how well I potted it.

Watch out if you need to bend the terminals for any reason. I had to bend mine and broke the first one as the glass was very brittle (well there's a surprise ). I used to pinch the wire close to the switch and bend the part sticking out to avoid the problem.

Your board looks as if the wires are just soldered on but might be bent through a hole for ease of soldering. Just make certain to select the correct terminal or the light will be on with the door closed and go out when you open it. Not the most useful way to use it.

 

[JumbleDuck]

Your board looks as if the wires are just soldered on but might be bent through a hole for ease of soldering. Just make certain to select the correct terminal or the light will be on with the door closed and go out when you open it.

And he'll never know!

 

[Daydream believer]

And he'll never know!

He will, if he gets the mother in law to sit in the fridge in her fur coat
Or one of the kids,--Just remember to remove the ice cream first.

 

[William_H]

Yes a reed switch. Unfortunately by nature the leads are made of iron so very susceptible to rust. ol'will

 

[Skylark]

I expect it's normally closed, so closing the door breaks the circuit and puts the light out. Easy enough to check and either way this SPDT one from eBay should work fine: SPDT Reed Switch 0.5A 100VDC | eBay. £2.49 including postage.

An amazing response from all, many thanks.

I'm struggling to find a single pole, single throw, normally closed, glass reed switch (or any combination of these key words) from the likes of RS, CPC, Farnell and even ebay.

JD - "easy enough to check either way" - how, please?

Why will the 3-legged, single pole double throw one you linked "work fine".

........please remember that my electrical knowledge is very limited.

 

[capnsensible]

Don't bother. If you need to see into the fridge, use a torch. ?

 

[Paulg25]

It has normally open and normally contacts (end with 2 leads) . You just have to ignore the normally open one. Be careful when cutting and bending the leads as these things can be quite fragile.

 

[JumbleDuck]

I'm struggling to find a single pole, single throw, normally closed, glass reed switch (or any combination of these key words) from the likes of RS, CPC, Farnell and even ebay.

I find eBay the best place for one off components. Plenty of "reed switch" results, from 99p including postage, but all normally open. "reed switch normally closed" produces far fewer, starting at about a tenner for ten. Hence ... but wait...

JD - "easy enough to check either way" - how, please?

Remove the remains of the reed switch. If the light comes on you need normally open. If it doesn't, short across the two connections and if the light comes on you need normally closed. If it still doesn;t there is something else going on.

Why will the 3-legged, single pole double throw one you linked "work fine".

... and back to type. You can use a SPDT as either a normally open or a normally closed, so if you need to order before you have identified the type, both bases are covered. Also it's the cheapest normally closed (or usable as normally closed) I could find on eBay.

........please remember that my electrical knowledge is very limited.

Then there is no shame in getting someone else to do it. I'd be very happy to do it for you - just send it down and I'll get cracking. I'm away from 14th - 21st but there is plenty of time before then. I may even have a suitable reed switch in stock.

 

[Skylark]

Now aboard my boat for the first time since opening this thread. I bought a packet of 10 very small reed switches via Amazon and they looked a pretty good match to the remains of the one that I had brought home.

Thanks to the help and advice I received I managed to solder it in place without much difficulty and pleased to report that it all now works again. For amusement, I put my phone/video inside the fridge and closed the door. ?

The first sign of failure was that the lamp had become dim, it’s now nice and bright again with the new switch fitted.

Many thanks to all.

 

[VicS]

I thought there was a little man in the fridge who puts the light on
I puts the lightie on