We have been rebuilding Whirlpool Duet CCU (central control units) for GHW series for many years.  We have unfortunately experienced the effects of many do-it-yourselfers that have fallen victim to home remedies that are scattered throughout forums on the internet.  Opening the housing of a CCU to find the terminals covered in Vaseline isn't exactly what our technicians hope for each time they begin a repair of a control board.  Even worse is finding the terminals thickened with extra solder.  The purpose of this post is to help dispel the most popular myths that do nothing to eliminate the Whirlpool duet F11 and FDL errors that are common to the Whirlpool Duet and Kenmore Elite washing machines.  Many people have claimed success with these methods only to chime back in weeks or months later to say that the ugly F11 or FDL error has reared its head again. 

Myth #1: Coating the contacts on the edge of the CCU with Vaseline will fix the F11 error.

Yes, Vaseline (or petroleum jelly) is considered a dielectric grease, but the source of the F11 error is not poor connections with the terminals of the CCU.  If we had a dollar for every CCU that has entered our repair department with Vaseline on it...

Myth #2: Tinning (or adding solder to) the contacts on the edge of the CCU will fix the F11 error.

Adding a mound of solder to an already flat contact will NOT create a better connection.  This would be logical only if the plugs of the wiring harness were stretched and not grasping the edge of the board tightly anymore.  If you have gone to the extent of removing the plugs from the module, then you should already know that the connections are not contributing to the errors.  (Reference Myth #1)

When we receive CCUs that have tinned contacts, we always remove the additional solder to clean up the connections.  A flat connection will always make better contact than a rounded connection when it is an interference fit.  Unfortunately, that extra solder on the circuit board has likely stretched out the connecting terminals in the plugs of the wiring harness, so each of those connections will then need to be bent back towards each other with a small pick or screwdriver.  Please, for our sake and yours, do not add solder to the terminals of the CCU.

Myth #3: Swapping or replacing the relays will fix the Whirlpool duet F11 or FDL error. 

There are hundreds of posts on forums that say that replacing the relays fixed these errors.  If you read further down these forums, most of the posters chime back in that the error eventually returns.  At one time, there was even a seller on eBay that sold the Omron relays as a "do-it-yourself" repair kit for these boards.  That seller is no longer offering these relays as a fix...

Myth #4: The F11 error is always caused by the CCU. 

While the CCU is the most common cause of the F11 error, the motor control unit (MCU) can also cause the error. The good news is that we can exchange MCUs and repair your CCU.  We also have a video to help you troubleshoot your machine to determine which module is the cause of the error.  

We would love to have the opportunity of serving you with the repair and upgrade of your CCU or MCU for your Whirlpool Duet GHW series machine or Kenmore Elite washing machine.  We service all control boards in an electrostatic free environment with IPC certified technicians.  If that sounds fancy, its because it should!  Circuit Board Medics takes great pride in the circuit boards that we service and we ensure that all work is held to the highest J-standard quality standards.  If you have any questions regarding our service, please contact us at 800-547-2049 or drop us a note through our website so that we can learn more about how we can serve you.