In this post, we are talking about devices that are plugged in the mains… with 110V or 220V.
Those devices run in your house. If you want to experiment with electronics and soldering, I would suggest to start with other more appropriate projects.Make sure to take proper security measures to avoid injuring yourself and/or using a dangerous device. If you are not sure about what you are doing, better skip on that one and pick a project with voltages below 12V.
Back in 2016, many (like 3 out of the 5 I got) of my Everspring Wall plugs started missbehaving.
Some were dimmers, some where on/off plugs and they started blinking at a rate of 1 to 2 Hz depending on the device.
I tried a few things including reset, exclusion, etc…
I started investigating and excluded any issue related to the devices’ config any anything related to alarms, etc… The issue was in the electronic.
Back then, I was rather disappointed at Everspring. The issue is not isolated and it would be rather simple for Everspring to provide guidance and maybe even repair kits but instead they nicely ignore customers’ requests. I was out of the garanty after 4 years but I would still have appreciated some “support” from the manufacturer.
I am not even sure if that should be called a “repair” or an upgrade. I think those products are poorly designed and the components are doomed to fail shortly after the customers get them.
What is the issue / tldr ?
Capacitors do not have an infiinte life…
More on the issue
If you have a soldering iron, it can be worth swapping caps when your electronic dies.
Caps, especially the big ones, and that depends on many specs, usually should last 5 to 7 years. If they work after that, good for you, enjoy. To that day, I revived countless of devices due to caps and replacement caps usually cost close to nothing. No you do NOT need to trash an entire device when it no longer turns on, buzzes or blinks…
So let’s swap caps
Those usually look like:
if you find a cap looking like the next one, congrats, you have likely found the issue, it should be rather easy to fix.
Back in 2016, I decided to swap the caps. I got some replacements for a few cents and swapped all those “black” caps. I also swapped the relay… no success.
The only “annoyance” of those plugs are their screws. They make it hard to open the devices. Which would be totally fine if those devices would work…
You do need such a star and it needs to have the center hole.
I got this set from Proxxon a few years back and you will likely be shocked by the price… but this set saved me so many times, I would buy it again, with even less hesitation than back then.
So not only the devices are not robust but Everspring makes it hard for users to repair them.
We can talk about security, sure…
If you open the plug, make a few photos and or pay attention to what goes where…
If you unscrew a part from the left of the device, store it on the left… You may thank me later 
I packed all into a box… for later.
Over the next months, a few more devices joined the box. ALL of them were Everspring devices…
2024…
My other zwave plugs still all work fine after 12 years… but those Everspring “died” one after the other. I measured the ESR of some that miraculously still work and this is frightening… To the point where I am not even sure how those can still operate.
A “few” years later and armed with a bit more knowledge and gears, I decided to revisit the topic.
On the upper left corner, next to the Antenna, we can see a black cap and next to it, the big red/brown thingy is also a capacitor… and I had missed that one. It is a Film or Foil Capacitor.
This is another type of cap, without entering into the details, this one is “friendlier” since you cannot plug it wrong (unlike the others).
Finding replacement for those Film Capacitor was not simple and I found some in my favorite “Bakery” (Mouser…).
The one I got was much bigger though. Did Everspring get a cheapo that is smaller and just unappropriate ? I could not find the same specs and the same size… It may be chinese magic…
Original on the left, replacement on the right:
NOTE: we find the same cap in the dimmers and on/off wall plugs or the brand.
Since 2016, I acquired another useful tool: An ESR meter.
I got this ESR Meter.
Pricewise, it is all but cheap. As far as the feel is concerned, it feels very cheap 
but this device works and helped me several times already…
ESR meters are handy since you can test capacitors “in circuit”, ie without desoldering anything.
So you can test your caps first and already get good hints before grabbing the soldering iron.
I won’t go into the details but if you test a Cap “in circuit”, make sure the cap is discharged… caps are like batteries, some are big and discharge very (like very…) quick. That can spark nicely…
Again, if unsure, do not proceed and/or ask a friend for help.
ESR meters measure a value in Ohm (Ω). A good value is a low value but what “low” means depends on the caps.
I tested a good and a bad dimmer (AD142-2):
- bad: 4.50Ω
- good: 2.83Ω
Measuring ESR may not be always conclusive but that seems to be a good path already…
I ordered a repair set including those caps. When they arrived, I measured their ESR:
- 2.88 Ω
- 2.87 Ω
- 2.79 Ω
- 3.04 Ω
- 3.09 Ω
- 2.86 Ω
- 2.82 Ω
- 2.83 Ω
- 3.04 Ω
- 3.08 Ω
Luckily, the oversize of the new caps is not an issue. You will have to prepare the “legs”.
Be gentle when moving the legs to not damage the brittle material protecting the cap.
We want to go from:
to:
Reminder: the orientation/polarity does NOT matter for those caps. There is no “plus” or “minus”.
(My ruler is in millimeters…)
The hardest part of soldering… is not soldering… but probably desoldering.
This is were you will need to take your time. If you damage the pads or traces, such a repair goes from easy to … no longer that fun…
We want to go from:
to:
The best tip I can provide here is to not try to melt the old solder that is in place.
It is probably old and will be annoying (ie not melting…). The solution is NOT to increase the temperature of your soldering iron. If your device can do it… refrain from the option…
Take some soldering tin and add some more. It sounds counter intruitive but our soldering is more friendly than whatever we can find in those devices. So the idea is to mix old and new and enjoy the fresh properties of our new tin.
A drop of flux can also help to get started although flux has its place mostly when soldering. You should get to the point where the tin melts almost instantly when you touch with your soldering iron.
I am using a total cheapo… yet still working fine, soldering pump which helps sucking up that melted solder.
If some solder remains, do not just try to melt and suck again, add some solder again anc suck it out. After a few rounds, if will look clean. You may need to heat the legs a bit to break the last drop of solder and free the old cap.
Make sure dispose of this old cap… you do not want to ever think it could be a good idea to use it.
Dispose of it !
Here are a few pics to install the new cap:
Notice how bending the legs helps keep this big guy in place.
Now add a small drop of flux, solder those legs back, cut, clean with isopropyl alcohol.
You are almost done.
When closing the device, make sure you did not leave ANY foreign parts (such as cut legs…) on the PCB. Reinstall all the screws.
Beware the legs of the plugs appear to be attached using 2 different plates. One has a thread, one does not.
If you followed my previous advice, you have those already on the right or left, on the side they belong to
Another cringe for Everspring… here is what is supposed to be screw… securing the contacts to the mains…
Yes it is supposed to be a screw. I am not sure how it got to that state but this is not made to last… My guess is that it is a brass screw going into a steel part with no thread… the kind of assembly that works once…
I hope this post helps you selecting the right products when you buy something… and if you, like me, already got some of those… at least you can fix them.
I have repaired succesfully 3 devices:
- 2x on/off
- 1x dimmer
and I have a dimmer that will probably need the same treatment at some point.
In this post, we are talking about devices that are plugged in the mains… with 110V or 220V.
Those devices run in your house. If you want to experiment with electronics and soldering, I would suggest to start with other more appropriate projects.Make sure to take proper security measures to avoid injuring yourself and/or using a dangerous device. If you are not sure about what you are doing, better skip on that one and pick a project with voltages below 12V.
Disclaimer: This post contains referral links. Not that I ever made anything from those but they make it easier to share and you can find the exact products I use in case you need suggestions.