Samurai Appliance Repair Man's Blog

Brother Durham offers these sage and comforting words of appliantological wisdom for dealing with door closing and sealing problems in Amana refrigerators. Let us attend:

After working on countless fridges with door closing problems in my refurbished store as well as outside repairs, I usually can get them to close without having to buy new door closers or hinges...
Amanas have been the most problematic of them all but there are several things you can try before buying new parts....

this is stream of consciousness so not in any particular order...do the easiest ones first

1) make sure the doors are aligned ....adjust the top hinges so the doors do not touch when closing....you have to find the proper angle

2) Soften the gasket with a steamer or hot water to make it pliable...don't forget to check the very bottom of the fridge

3) try adding a bit of food grade oil/grease on the right hand side of the fridge where the fridge gasket "rides" against it. There have been some discussion about the oil's effect on plastic gaskets....I have never experienced this problem....it may degrade the plastic after many many years.

4) make sure that any light switch that is pressed by the door when closing is at a proper angle to the door and does not stick

5) Adjust the fridge feet or wheels so that there is a slight incline on the fridge to enable gravity to assist in closing. This is proper for older non bottom freezer fridges.

6) Sometimes doors can get bent and many manuals advise slightly bending them back in alignment so that the top and bottom gasket hits the fridge at the same time.

7) adding a washer to the bottom hinge pin can slightly raise the fridge door and make closing easier

8) make sure there are no shelves out of place. Some fridge manual advise that certain door racks not be placed to where it hits food or drawers inside the fridge cabinet

9) The sneakiest one of them all and has caused be much consternation in the past is this: there is a metal piece attached to the door near the bottom hinge. It is there for cosmetic purposes to hide the hinge. Sometimes they get bent and causes the door not to close as easily as it should. You can remove it or bend it out of the way if you find that it hits the bottom of the fridge.

10) Make sure your gaskets and area where the gaskets seal on the fridge are clean and dirt free.

If none of the above works, you may need to get another door closer for the bottom hinge.

Source: Amana refridgerator door problem

Refrigerator warming up and you can't think straight enough to figure out what's wrong because you're in a pure, blind panic? Well, you just unbunch them panties and sing along with the Samurai in his Warm Refrigerator Troubleshooting Flowchart and you'll have the problem figured out before you can say, "pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis."

Brother nickfixit shares these observations from the field on what may well be the cause for the infamous cracked drum problem with LG dryers. Something to watch for...

I noticed something on a LG dryer the other day. It was stacked, so I ordered parts and scheduled it with a helper. We took it down and tore it apart to install new rollers, belt, and pulley, The left side roller on the front bulkhead was totally destroyed. I replaced it with the shaft/pulley assembly and just the rollers on the other 3, cleaned and lubed of course. We put it together and tested it. It had a pretty solid drum seam thump when running.

We took it back apart and I found the drum did not touch the right front roller at all, maybe 3/8" or more gap. When I checked the panel I noticed there are 2 holes in the area of that rollers shaft location. The dryer was kinda toasted inside so there was a clear mark where the shaft was mounted, so we are certain the new shaft was in the same location the factory had used. I move the shaft to the other hole and the dryer ran smooth and quiet.

I wonder how often the factory uses the wrong hole, and this might be causing the cracked drums. In the wrong position, that roller does nothing, and the left hand roller bears all the weight in the front. The excess load on a single point working on that seam could be causing the cracking, at least in some cases.

Nick

Source: Cracked drums on LG dryers

This is a tricky one and can bite you in the rumpus if you don't know about this quiet little Whirlpool Service Pointer on this problem that Brother Chat_in_FL snagged and posted for us:

Service Pointer
W10398386

Serial Numbers: F032 to F105

Customer Concern:
Dishwasher stops approximately 10 minutes into the cycle, “cancel drains” and goes directly to standby mode (off).

Cause:
Testing has determined that cycle stopping may result from a software error that can cause a false error code that cancels the cycle. Techs will see a 6-1 error code recorded in service diagnostics. This issue is very sporadic, and is affected by the location of the household and region of the country. Other conditions that may also cause this “cancel drain” cycle are: siphoning through the drain hose, severe sudsing, and debris in the sump.

Correction:
If the customer experiences a “cancel drain” issue, first check the following:
1. Make sure the dishwasher is installed according to installation instructions provided with the unit.
2. Check for water siphoning out through the drain hose. Ensure that the drain hose end termination point is above the water level in the tub. The drain loop attached to the side of the tub is not sufficient to prevent siphoning.
3. Check for severe sudsing or a malfunctioning Rinse Aid dispenser.
4. Check for locked rotor in wash pump.
5. Check for and remove debris in the bottom of the sump/chopper area.
6. Check for water supply and proper water level in the dishwasher.
7. If all the above checks are OK, then the control will need to be replaced with one that has the upgraded software designed to handle any additional power variation. See chart below for part numbers. Testing has determined that cycle stopping may result from a software error that can cause a false error code that cancels the cycle. Techs will see a 6-1 error code recorded in service diagnostics. This issue is very sporadic, and is affected by the location of the household and region of the country. Other conditions that may also cause this “cancel drain” cycle are: siphoning through the drain hose, severe sudsing, and debris in the sump.

Replace with Part Number
W10380685

Revised control board: http://www.repaircli...0380685/1938381



Source: Kitchenaid Dishwasher KUDS30IXBL0 runs partway thru cycle then cancels & drains

Brother PDuff calls the dance steps on this little ditty:

Remove bottom access panel and check main control for any lit leds. Lit led is specific to affected component. Access Component/Relay/Triac test as follows:

From power up press Sanitize and Delay Start
"Et" should be displayed (engineering test)
Press Rinse Only
"rt" should be displayed indicating component test mode. Press the following buttons to toggle on/off each component:

Auto Sense-washer motor
Heavy-water valve
Normal-drain motor
Quick-drain valve
Rinse Only-Clean light led
Hi Temp-all leds on control housing
Sanitize-fan state
Air Dry-dispenser

When checking heater, always fill tub with water.

Source: Frigidaire D/W EIDW6105GB1