Treadmill Maintenance: Control Board Replacement
A couple years ago, I wrote my first blog post in this treadmill maintenance series on how to replace the rear roller of my Smooth Fitness 5.25, which blew out a day before what was literally the end of my three-year warranty. It so happens that on Christmas Eve a couple months ago, my treadmill stopped working. After turning on the treadmill, everything seemed to power up normally, but the roller would not start turning.
The folks at Smooth Fitness told me that the symptoms pointed to the need for the control board to be replaced. I searched for other potential remedies to no avail, because at the cost of $280, roughly a quarter the original cost of the treadmill, this was a significant expenditure. But I also did not want to purchase a new treadmill unless absolutely necessary, so I made the order.
During the order taking process, it was mentioned that control boards were on back order until the end of January, partially due to a recent company reorganization that apparently involved new owners. Of course, I had no choice in the matter in terms of supplier, although running outdoors during Winter season in Chicago was not immediately appealing.
My inquiry as to whether a guide to replace the control board would be included with the shipment resulted in a response that it will only involve four screws, and if needed I could make a call to Smooth Fitness for assistance. I assure you that there are more than four screws just to remove the cover of the treadmill, and that there are actually three screws to hold the control board in place, so I do not know where the number of four originated.
Removing the cover will reveal the control board, situated in the right corner when facing the treadmill at its head. If you were on the treadmill belt in a position to run, the location would be in the upper left corner, but all the photos here were taken with maintenance in mind. After five years of usage, the inside of the treadmill was fairly clean, although it gathered some dust after waiting an additional month for the order to arrive.
The shipment included the actual control board with three screws and two connectors, and it was very heavy for such a small part, so I was not looking forward to ever needing to return it due to the probable high cost of shipping it back. As the folks at Smooth Fitness had communicated, no instructions came with the shipment, but after comparing the old control board attached to the treadmill with the new control board, it appeared as though the most critical task would be to keep track of cables connecting the treadmill and control board.
In a matter of minutes, the swap between the old and new control boards was completed, but after powering up the treadmill, it was apparent that something was wrong. The digital display did not populate correctly, and the treadmill belt ran without abandon, running at apparently the highest speed the treadmill is capable and not permitting speed adjustment via the treadmill dashboard.
I have joked in the past that engineering may have been my original undergraduate field of choice, but I had never been interested in mechanical engineering. Chemical engineering was the specialization I had chosen, and I later moved to software engineering as occupation, so moving parts was never my strong suit and I realized that it was probable I had done the work here incorrectly, but after a couple attempts with the same result, I shelved the effort for a couple weeks and endured an increasingly colder Winter season.
After finally having some time to repackage the control board for shipment back to Smooth Fitness, I thought I would try one more time. I might not be mechanical, but I am also a German who does not give up at anything very easily. One aspect about the new control board that bothered me was the two connectors that came with the shipment. First, there were two, and the control board only seemingly needed one, and second, why were these needed when I could just use the old one?
In comparing the control boards, I noticed that the original control board in the above photo was apparently missing a pin for where the single connector was to be put in place. At first, I had thought that I broke off a pin because original release of the connector was rather difficult and I had needed to apply some force to remove it. But this did not end up seeming likely.
In taking a second look at the new connectors, and comparing the original and new control boards, I quickly realized that the number of pins had decreased from six to five. After replacing the original control board connector and powering up, everything immediately started working correctly. The start up sounds that I had heard hundreds of times were all restored, the dashboard display populated correctly, and speed adjustment and inclining and declining all worked correctly.
The remainder of this post shows the location of the other connectors with which you need to keep track while swapping control boards, because some of the connection points on the control board are simply not used. The first photo below shows the placement of the main connector that has been discussed, which has a black cable, followed by photos which show single red and black cables side by side, and blue and white connectors that are separated by an unused connection point.
To make this process easier, especially because your control board might be different, I recommend first making note of all cables that connect the control board with the rest of the treadmill. Looking at the overhead photo of the control board above, this assessment is not very difficult to perform, because most of the cables that protrude from the treadmill in general are cables involved with disassembly and reassembly. A couple treadmill cables awkwardly extend over the control board, but are not directly connected to the control board itself.
Before you replace the treadmill cover again, you will probably want to screw on the new controll board to the treadmill, all of this work of course taking place while the treadmill is unplugged from an electrical outlet. While extensively testing to make sure everything was working, I noticed that the control board did not budge at all due to the tight quarters in which it is located, but fastening it back is probably a good idea. Just make sure you do so as one would do during any assembly involving screws or nuts and bolts. Partially tighten all of the three screws to make sure placement is correct before fully tightening all of them. Again, these are very tight quarters and the tolerance level is very low.
This post concludes in very much the same way as the first in this series. The end result of my control board replacement is that the entry level Smooth Fitness 5.25 that I purchased five years ago is operational and fully functional once again. One very positive aspect of the break down, back order wait, and trial and error process is that my fears of running during the heart of Winter season in Chicago have been alleviated for the first time in many years.
And remember, what is often true for car warranties is apparently true for treadmill warranties: issues tend to arise as soon as accompanying warranties end. And as was the case with my control board, which was no longer under warranty, break downs appear to take place like clockwork. The rear roller needed replacement two days before the end of my three-year warranty, and my control board needed replacement almost exactly five years after original purchase. As always, would love to hear about similar experiences from other treadmill owners.
Comments from original Typepad blog:
Jim: Erik thanks for your post.I also have a Smooth Fitness 5.25 treadmill and have had similar problems. My treadmill is 7 years old and I have replaced the motor control board twice and the rear roller twice. What I have learned is that I would never buy another Smooth Fitness Treadmill based on the poor repair record, poor quality of expensive Chinese parts that are only available from Smooth. And, you only receive a 30 day warranty on parts. As an alternative, I would buy a higher rated treadmill such as those made by ICON ( eg. Precor, Nordic Track) or Sole. They are readily available at competitive prices from local stores such as Sears and often include free delivery & set-up and a small fee to remove your old treadmill. Parts are also more readily available and often at a lower price than Smooth. Two specific things that I learned about the Smooth machine is it needs frequent spraying of the belt with silicone to reduce resistance. Resistance causes the motor control board to blow a fuse and burn out and the replacement cost is high. I just replaced the rear roller for a second time and learned that the problem is that the bearings fail, make a lot of noise, slow down the belt and add more resistance that can contribute to the motor control board burning out. Rather than paying Smooth $100 for a replacement roller that arrives looking used with rust on the end, I would suggest only replacing the bearings at a much lower cost and probably a high quality.
Monday, April 1, 2013 at 9:34 AM
Jan v Stiphout: Hi Jim, thanks for your useful information. I assume that in the mean time you possess a better quality treadmill. I happened to open my neighbor's Smooth 5.25 treadmill recently. It worked fine for a couple of years (except a broken elevation motor gear sleeve) but last month probably the 110V machine was accidentally connected to 220V (in the Netherlands the supply voltage is 220V). The problem most likely points to the Control Board.
Many parts are indeed poor quality. The Control Board contains also a not described component which makes it not easy to repair at Board level.
Would you please give an advice on how to obtain a defective Control Board so that swapping components might be possible? (I hope you kept your defective boards on shelf). Thanks in advance for your help.
Sunday, October 26, 2014 at 5:59 AM
Gary Magsano: Hi, thanks for your post. I think i have the same issue with my 5.25 smooth treadmill. Did you try connecting the black and red wires from the motor to a cordless drill battery and confirmed that the motor is working?
How much ia a new control board? Thanks
Friday, May 17, 2013 at 6:47 PM
Aishah Qadir: Hello Erik I have the same problem with my FX25, when I contacted Smooth fitness they said the motor sensors board also. I contacted Kevin Clay and he gave me soom phone number to have my machine diagnosis and installation if need. The cost to have someone come out was 99.00 diagnosis and 189.00-198.00 for installation, they will take off the diagnosis cost if I have installation. I paid enought for the treadmill and then for me to start to have problems five years later. My warrenty runs out in April 2014. Your explaination I think I can do this myself and save cost. Hey, it don't work now I can't make it worse. Question about the lubricant, is there any other option than the Smooth Fitness. Also since I'm still under warrenty should I order an replacement roller. Is there anything that is covered under warrenty that I should order, just in case. Thank you for your posting, I was looking on line and couldn't find anything but a friend found this for me. I have an appointment with Atlanta Fitness for 1/7/2014 should I at least get the diagnosis and install myself?
Tuesday, December 31, 2013 at 4:11 PM
Erik Gfesser: Yes, you should be able to replace the control board by yourself, but if you are wary whether the control board is really the problem, the diagnosis cost you stated is reasonable. I would personally not pay that much for installation, given the cost of the control board itself. Just be patient while you disassemble your treadmill and install. Regarding the maintenance kit that I mentioned in my first post, I do not think that there is anything special about the lubricant, but if you purchase a substitute, be sure what you are buying. If you order any parts while under warranty, I do not recommend falsifying the condition of your treadmill.
Friday, January 3, 2014 at 12:34 AM
Aishah Qadir: Thank you for the information. I had it diagnosis and I needed a walking belt, ( I was surprise after a broken toe, knee and ankle injury I didn,t use much for two years), drive belt, drive motor assemby and rear roller. Is this usual for the wear and tear of threadmills. I also had the experience about the manuel not explaining or tell you everything. There was a part in the motor that also needed to be lubricated yearly.
Tuesday, January 7, 2014 at 5:46 PM
Dexter Legaspi: I stumbled on this page while looking for information about solutions on Smooth Fitness Treadmill that just suddenly stopped working. I have a similar model which has been a champ for roughly 10 years now (although the incline stopped working about a year ago)...In my case, the unit would power on, but the motor would not run. What I ended up trying is to replace the fuse on the control board (15Amp..you can buy 5 for less than $1.50 at the Home Depot)...and it starts working again...if I could squeeze in a year or two with thing, I say it paid for itself many times over (I use it almost daily).
Tuesday, May 20, 2014 at 4:49 PM
George: Erik, I have a blown board. Do you have the name/numbers of where I can get a replacement? thanks
Wednesday, October 22, 2014 at 3:16 PM
Erik Gfesser: The Smooth Fitness service/parts hotline at the following URL is what you need to call: http://www.smoothfitness.com/support/customer-service.htm - When ordering, be sure to inquire as to how long it will take for Smooth Fitness to ship the part to you. It so happens that about 2 weeks ago, I phoned the company again for the first time since the time period of this blog post, because the replacement control board that I installed had apparently decided to stop working. As with the first time almost 2 years ago, the service/parts hotline once again told me that control boards were on back order, giving me the impression that these parts are made-to-order. After waiting over a week to hear back from them and hearing nothing, I decided to shop for a new treadmill. Besides the expected multi-month wait involved during a season where temperature tends to drop, purchasing another control board at the dollar amount indicated in my blog post was not very appealing to me, since it would have brought the out-of-pocket parts total to about $700 for a $1000 treadmill. I ended up ordering a new Precor TRM 211 treadmill today, and will probably write a blog post about the experience.
Saturday, October 25, 2014 at 9:25 PM
Jan v Stiphout: Hi Erik, noticing that you spent a lot of effort in getting your smooth 5.25 repaired and maintained I wish you more luck with the Precor machine. Newly I also dismantled the smooth 5.25 of my neighbor. He lived some years in the US and bought there this treadmill in 2007. Three years ago he transported the treadmill back to the Netherlands. After re-installing he connected the treadmill to a 220V to 110V transformer and that worked OK for some years until 1 month ago. Most likely someone reconnected the machine plug to the 220V outlet of the transformer. Now as soon as the machine is powered on the earth leakage circuit breaker in his house installation is activated. Removing the cover where the Control Board is located did not result in a specific smell there. I am trying to find out now which component is defective but that is not easy without having a circuit diagram. The Smooth company is not willing to provide me with information. But they are willing to send a replacement board (costs about 400 USD). My question now is how to obtain a circuit diagram of the Control Board in order to get a clue of how the hardware is built up. I would also be very happy if there is somewhere a defective Control Board available so that I might swap at component level. Not all components are available at the local market. Thanks in advance for your advice.
Sunday, October 26, 2014 at 5:25 AM
Franz Bohn: Erik, do you know how I can get a schematic of the 5.2 motor control board? I have hit a dead end. Thanks
Tuesday, November 1, 2016 at 5:01 PM
Erik Gfesser: Franz, unfortunately I do not know how to get a control board schematic. Since I ordered my replacement from Smooth Fitness a few years ago, you might want to try contacting them to get a copy, but I would not be surprised if they charged a nominal fee for it.
Saturday, November 5, 2016 at 6:55 PM