Any treadmill gurus out there?

[Lynn]

Have a PaceMaster Pro Gold VR treadmill. Circuit board (motor control board; NOT the upper console board) needs to be repaired. I see several places advertising that kind of work. Would rather not send it to someone just based on advertising. Anyone with real world experience? Who to use?

Thanks in advance.

[Lynn]

Don't know if this will help anyone, but I posted this over at the Garage Journal as well as here. Someone recommended Treadmill Doctors. Here is my response.

I tried Treadmill Doctor. They don't offer that repair. They do have a "rescue" kit that they offer. It includes a new control board and a new console. You have to abandon your old console and just glue (or otherwise affix) the new console over your old one. I really like my PaceMaster console set up, and it automatically links to my heart monitor. Also, this set up costs more than I pad for the treadmill (used). I ended up sending the board to UPFIX. They believe they can repair it for less than $180. Will report back when I get it back.

[Lynn]

They thought they could repair it for less than $180. Received a message that it was not repairable. Did not say what the issue was. I had the option of letting them recycle or send it back to me. I opted to have it sent back. Return shipping was $46, which seems a bit high. But, to be fair, they may have charged some bench time for the attempt.
Found a used on on Ebay. Same model number. Looks much cleaner than the one I took out. I believe my treadmill sat in a garage for quite a while before I purchased it used. Showing some light surface corrosion. Seller has agreed to take it back if it does not work.

I suspect these control boards have a common part that is the weak link, and if that particular part fails, they can fix it. Otherwise, they just don't look. Back when we had an in ground pool, there was a large control panel that cost about $1,000 to purchase. Turned out there was one part that routinely failed. I bought a box of 5 for less than $10. Replaced it twice and it worked each time. When we sold the house, I showed the new owner where that board was and showed him the little baggie taped inside with three extra parts. Don't even remember what it was called. Just two connectors that had to be de soldered and then soldered back in.

[Lynn]

Well, it took a while, but I have a working treadmill. The ebay seller accidently sent the wrong part. Very apologetic. I sent it back, and he reimbursed me shipping. Sent the new board. Installed it last night and it works. Only takes about 5 min to swap out. So, I may pull it back out and compare the two boards with a multimeter to see if I can ID the problem. In the meantime, I have a working treadmill.

[396 SS/RS]

It could be something as simple as a cold solder joint or a bad capacitor or resistor. You mentioned corrosion so may toast,

FWIW, I bought a Samsung flat panel when they first came out so it was expensive. Two months out of warranty when powering it on it would click but not come on. I called Samsung and they said sorry, it's two months out of warranty period. I took it to a local TV repair shop and was told the power supply was probably bad. He quoted me $450 to replace it. I decided against it. With nothing to lose I pulled the power supply and found two bad capacitors so ordered new ones from Mouser Electronics for a couple of dollars. I replaced the cap's and it worked fine until the screen finally gave out years later. I always wondered if the repair shop would have only replaced the bad capacitors for a couple bucks and charge me the $450 for a new power supply.