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Samurai Appliance Repair Man's Blog

A blog by Samurai Appliance Repair Man

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About this blog

Pearls of appliance repair wisdom from the Appliantology Forums

Entries in this blog

 

Samurai's Big Three Troubleshooting Secrets

It's tough for appliance techs today. Our biggest competition is from cheap replacement machines. The proliferation of pricey electronic boards in appliances means that if you can't quickly do a slam-dunk diagnosis, you are at risk of losing customers and your profitability. Meanwhile, electrical troubleshooting is largely a lost science. What exactly have we lost? The Old Skool troubleshooting techniques that us old timers learned way back. And guess what: these same Old Skool troubleshoot
Samurai Appliance Repair Man

Samurai Appliance Repair Man

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Non-PCM Repair on a Jazz Board Refrigerator

This is a newish Maytag jazz board refrigerator presenting with a warm FF and cold FZ. This was not your typical defrost failure. The failure here was the evaporator fan was not running. I troubleshot the problem without disassembling the freezer-- did it all from the jazz board.  Even though this is a modern, computer-controlled refrigerator, what you're about to see are actually old skool troubleshooting techniques that have been largely lost in the appliance repair trade today: r
 

Field repairs on electronic control boards: the new PCM frontier

I used to do board level repairs on state of the art computer controlled radar systems where there was real troubleshooting involved with signal generators, digital probes, oscilloscopes, and a fully stocked bench. Yes, you had to understand how electronics circuits work and how to read electronic schematics. I did this all day long for several years in the Navy and with Delta Air Lines. And by the way, almost all the electronic failures in these units were completely invisible— you had to find
 

Samsung Dryer Troubleshooting and Electric Circuits Review

Many techs have trouble interpreting a schematic diagram and understanding how to use it for troubleshooting. In this webinar, held on March 29, 2019, we used a Samsung electric dryer and a GE double oven as case studies to review electric circuit principles and troubleshooting. Some of the topics we talked about: Neutral sensing in Samsung dryers: what that means, what it does, and how it affects troubleshooting Series and parallel circuits and how to identify them on a real-worl
 

No-parts field repairs on two dryers with failed timers

I had two service calls recently on two different dryers with the same problem: the motor wouldn't run.  These are two different dryers: one an old skool Whirlpool-built unit with the lint filter on the top panel and the other a Maytag Neptune-style dryer. Different disassembly, wiring, and schematics, and completely different timers. But in both cases, the problem was the same--a burnt contact in the timer (failed open so would not close). In the two videos below, I show you how
 

Twas the night before Christmas and the oven control board was repaired…

It was a cold December day when the call came in. Just a few days before Christmas. Gas oven no bake and loads of family coming to visit from out of town. The customer was desperate, hoping for a Christmas miracle. Things were looking grim when it turned out NOT to be the igniter, but the control board. Not only was the board not available for several weeks, but it didn't even make sense to spend that kind of money on this older, POS range. And yet, there was no time to get a replacement range i
 

Tech Memberships at Appliantology

We offer 4 different ways for professional appliance techs to participate in the Appliantology tech community. Three of the memberships are premium, and one is limited. The features and benefits of each option are summarized in the table below: Click the links below for details: 1. Professional Appliantologist: the easy, instant premium membership for less than $4 per week. 2. Fellow Appliantologist: this free premium membership is earned by being an active participant in th
Samurai Appliance Repair Man

Samurai Appliance Repair Man

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Finding service manuals for Kenmore model numbers in the Downloads section of Appliantology

Here's a quick tip for finding service manuals for Kenmore model numbers in the Downloads section here at Appliantology.  Let's say you have a Kenmore model number like 796.31512210. The site search doesn't play nice with special characters like the "." in the model number. Easy workaround: Use the search wild card character, "*" to replace the model number prefix including the "." like ahso: *31512210 Copy and paste that search term into the search bar at the top of the
 

Secrets of the Ten-Step Tango™ Troubleshooting Method Revealed!

I've been working with appliance techs online for over 20 years. One of the biggest changes I've seen in the tech community during that time is a steady decline in competence in troubleshooting electrical circuits. It's to the point today that many techs don't even know what real troubleshooting is or looks like. A common misunderstanding is that pattern recognition and parts changing are what constitute "troubleshooting."  Real troubleshooting starts with a succinct problem statement that an
 

MST Radio Episode 28 - The Biz of Selling New Appliances

Special guest, Justin Duby, with Just-in Time Appliance Repair in Grantspass, OR ( @applianceman97 here at Appliantology) joins us to talk about his experience selling new appliances and offer tips and advice for anyone thinking of adding this to their appliance service business. Also, at the end of the show, we give an update on the developing Facebook data-selling debacle that's unfolding. More info on this in my previous blog post.   You can subscribe and listen to th
 

The Facebook Zuck n' Jive

Unless you’ve been living under a washing machine all this time, you’ve undoubtedly heard the kerfuffle where Facebook was recently caught selling the personal information of over 50 million people to a marketing firm. I'm not surprised-- saw this coming a long time ago. So did Facebook Dear Leader and CEO, Mark "The Zuck" Zuckerberg. Here's an exchange between The Zuck and a friend shortly after founding Facebook: [Source: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-03-25/dumb-f-ks-jul
 

Appliantology March 2018 Peer Group Meeting

Fantastic Peer Group meeting last night! We had 5 presentations (including mine) and I want to thank the other presenters for doing such a fantastic job! We had almost 20 techs in attendance who stayed the full two hours. Good presentations, good discussion, good times!  Here's a listing of the presentations and presenters: Network marketing for your business, @Ed V New AHAM Guidance for Safe Servicing Appliances with Flammable Refrigerants, @KaveMan Dealing with Custo
 

MST Radio Episode 27: Online Appliance Repair Schools- the good, the bad, and the scams

In this special international episode, the Samurai is in Fiji at Samurai International Headquarters, while Mrs. Samurai is in the Team Samurai New Hampshire pavilion. Although halfway around the globe from each other, Team Samurai comes together through the miracle of the Internet to deliver you this timely and crucial information in this episode of Master Samurai Tech Radio. We compare and contrast three online training options with the Master Samurai Tech Academy.     
 

A Day in the Life: A Tale of Two Refrigerator Service Calls

In this first video, we troubleshoot a warm beer compartment (fresh food) in a Frigidaire Gallery french door bottom mount refrigerator. The video illustrates the importance of following a cardinal rule of troubleshooting: Fix the obvious problem first.  In this case, the customer simply reported that the FF compartment was warm but the freezer compartment was good. We verified these temperatures upon arrival. But then the customer points out that the lights in the FF compartment were stuck
 

MST Radio Episode 25: Sears tech attacks customer

Samurai Appliance Repair Man and Mrs. Samurai suss out various angles and facets in a sensational recent news story where a Sears contractor tech attacked a customer. Lots of interesting lessons from this story for both customers and in-home service professionals.  Link to the news story: http://denver.cbslocal.com/2018/02/19/repairman-arrested-homeowner-attack/    
Samurai Appliance Repair Man

Samurai Appliance Repair Man

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Troubleshooting a Gas Dryer No Heat Problem

In this appliance repair extravaganza, Samurai Appliance Repair Man shows you how to think like a real technician using the schematic as your troubleshooting strategy map and track down the cause for a no heat problem in a gas dryer. Learn appliance repair online at the Master Samurai Tech Academy Get tech support at Appliantology.org  
Samurai Appliance Repair Man

Samurai Appliance Repair Man

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Free Tech Membership at Appliantology

I’m going to explain how you can get a free tech membership here at Appliantology, the premiere online tech support community.  Hot on the heels of two, free tech memberships here at Appliantology that we announced recently-- the Master Samurai Tech Alumni and Senior Appliantology Fellow programs-- today we're rolling out yet another free tech membership program! This membership gives verified techs free access to most of the tech-only forums and downloading privileges from the Appliance Re
Samurai Appliance Repair Man

Samurai Appliance Repair Man

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The Senior Appliantology Fellowship Program

Hot on the heels of the Master Samurai Tech Alumni program that we just announced, we're launching yet another way that professional techs can earn a free, full-tech membership here at Appliantology.  You may have seen some of the brethren here at Appliantology whose member group is "Senior Appliantology Fellow," such as Brothers @john63, @Budget Appliance Repair, @AccApp, @sh2sh2 and others. These are a select few members who have a long history with Appliantology and have been prolific po
Samurai Appliance Repair Man

Samurai Appliance Repair Man

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Troubleshooting a Samsung Gas Range E OE Error Code with Rats Nest and Yapping Little Dogs

In this glimpse into the glamour life of an appliance tech, we troubleshoot an E-OE error code on a Samsung gas range with the added twist of rat infestation and yapping little dogs. It's winter in New Hampshire and rodents will seek out warm places but this place was a literal rats nest. The smell of rodent piss was gagging us (me and @Son of Samurai) as soon as we walked in the door. It would have been stronger if it was actually warm inside the kitchen but it was probably only about 45F which
Samurai Appliance Repair Man

Samurai Appliance Repair Man

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Master Samurai Tech Radio Episode 23 - ASTI 2018 Wrap up and More!

In this epic episode: - Wrap up of the 2018 Annual Service Training Institute (ASTI) held in St. Petersburg, FL - Technical and business training at the ASTI - Travel tips to avoid getting sick - Fun facts to know and tell about how social media manipulates you and gives you brain damage   You can subscribe to the podcast and just listen to the audio portion here.
 

Master Samurai Tech Radio Episode 22: How big is the Samurai's ego?

In this special episode, we explore the question of size of the Samurai's ego. Turns out that it's so massive that we needed a whole episode devoted to it. Yes, size does matter!  Also:  - Upcoming ASTI in St. Petersburg - Tech training challenges - Three stumbling blocks to becoming a better tech - What makes Appliantology so great?  - MST Alumnus program   Subscribe to the podcast here.  
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