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Samurai Appliance Repair Man's Blog

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Pearls of appliance repair wisdom from the Appliantology Forums

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Entries in this blog

A Backdoor Test for the Mode Shifter in the Whirlpool VM Washers

These new Whirlpool vertical modular (VM) top-loading washers are pretty easy to troubleshoot, mostly because they practically troubleshoot themselves with fault/error code combinations that you can read in diagnostic mode. The mode shifter has turned out to be one of the common-fail parts on this washer and it's regular rolling inventory for me. Although the fault/error codes will point specifically to the mode shifter if there's a problem with it, there may be situations where you want to t

Double-extra Special Secret Tip for Troubleshooting a GE Refrigerator that's DOA

If you're working on a GE refrigerator that's dead in the water and you've checked for a good 120vac power supply right up to the J11 connector on the muthaboard, then try this troubleshooting tip from Brother BryanS: The muthaboard diagram below shows the location of the J2 connector of which Brother BryanS speaks: You can see a bigger version of the muthaboard diagram here. If it the refrigerator starts running with the J2 connector unplugged, you should replace BOTH the affected fan motor

Resetting a GE Hydrowave Top-Loading Washer

If you have a newer model GE top-loading washer (GE's Hydrowave line of washers) and it inexplicably stops working, won't run at all, the problem may be as simple as needing to reset the control board. Very easy to do and no tools are required: To learn more about your washer or to order parts, click here. Source: GE Hydrawave Washer Motor Reset

Samurai Appliance Repair Man

Samurai Appliance Repair Man

Appliantology is Changing with the Times

It's a great time to be a Professional Appliantologist at Appliantology! A lot has changed at Appliantology.org over the years! We've gone from being a site that focused on helping DIYers to a site focused on supporting the professional tech community. In the past, one of the ways this site supported and funded itself was through parts sales to DIYers. But today, parts sales to DIYers isn't nearly as big a source of funding for this site as it once was. Part of this change was a result of increa

Troubleshooting a Maytag Bravo electric dryer with no heat

When troubleshooting electrical problems with appliance, like no-heat complaints in dryers, you absotootly gotta have the wiring diagram / tech sheet that comes packaged with the appliance. The manufacturers cleverly hide these inside the appliance to keep owners from finding them and losing them. I love when I go out on a job and need the tech sheet but it's been removed from the appliance. The customer then informs that they took it and filed it so it wouldn't "get lost" but they can't find

A Unique Approach for Responding to Negative Yelp Reviews

Recently, someone posted a bogus, malicious review about our appliance service business on Yelp. We had never worked for the reviewer nor had a service call that went anything like what he described. We think it may have been posted by a competitor. But this doesn't stop Yelp from posting it or allowing it to remain. There are two ways to deal with such reviews on Yelp, both of which are focused on perception damage control and so are written with the potential customer in mind. But they are ver

GE Refrigerator Appliantology: Dampers and Thermistors

This is the next in a series of posts I’m doing about the technology used in GE refrigerators. Understanding the basics of how these refrigerators work will give you a lot of troubleshooting insight when you’re trying to track down a problem. For the previous post in this series on controlling and operating the fan motors in GE refrigerators, see this page. This post gives useful tips and Fun Facts to Know and Tell for diagnosing the Damper Door and Thermistors. Damper Door The Damper Assembly h

Samurai Appliance Repair Man

Samurai Appliance Repair Man

Repairing a Samsung Quatro Refrigerator

Join Samurai Appliance Repair Man on a repair safari into Refrigerator Land. In this scintillating video, I narrate a series of photos I took during a service call I did on a Samsung Quatro refrigerator. These are unusual refrigerators because they have four evaporators (hence the marketing name "Quatro"). In this service call, I fixed problems with two of the compartments-- fortunately, both on the same side!

KitchenAid refrigerator KSSS36DAW05 - icemaker fill tube keeps freezing up

Common causes for this problem are an incontinent water inlet valve or low water supply pressure (such as from being hooked up to an RO filter) which doesn't have enough pressure to seal the valve. Another common cause, and the easiest to fix, is to replace the plastic water fill tube in the back of the icemaker with the new aluminum one: Source: KitchenAid refrigerator KSSS36DAW05 - icemaker fill tube keeps freezing up

Troubleshooting and Repairing a Bosch Gas Range Surface Burner

No schematics on this one! I know that'll be a relief for some of you. Honestly, it was a nice break for me, too. I love these easy jobs where you can troubleshoot using only your eyeballs and fix it with something as simple as a paper clip.  In this short little video, I show you how to troubleshoot a problem with a surface burner on Bosch gas range. The burner was not lighting correctly and would sometimes flare up.  All gas range surface burners operate using the same principles so

Samurai Appliance Repair Man

Samurai Appliance Repair Man

Refrigerator Checklist - Spring 2013

Spring 2013 is finally here! When I think about spring, I think, "Oh, goodie: Refrigerator Season!" Why do I get excited and squeal like a little piglet in a donut shop about Refrigerator Season? Because I know my phone is about to explode with a whole lotta high-dolla warm refrigerator repair calls. Here are five simple things you can do to your refrigerator right now to keep your beer tooth-crackin' cold right on through the up-coming summer heat wave. 1. Clean your refrigerator condenser s

How to Troubleshoot Any Appliance

I've heard a lot of appliance techs complain that the reason they can't fix more appliances on service calls is because they don't get enough training from their company or from the manufacturers. I'm here to tell you that you can get all the appliance training in the world and still be nothing more than a trained monkey unless you have one crucial skill: Troubleshooting. Troubleshooting is the higher mental function that separates the real technicians from the parts changing monkeys. A technici

How to Find the Right Parts for Your Appliances and Where to Buy Them

If you're looking for an appliance part, use the Appliantology parts search box at the top and bottom of every page on this web site. All parts ordered through the links and search boxes at this site come with a one year return policy, even on electrical parts and circuit boards. Here's the story of someone searching for a part who was right here at Appliantology and could have quickly found what she needed by using the parts search box. Heads up to the wise! Dear Mari, O dear, dear Mari, The so

Maytag Performa washer thrust bearing re-assembly order

If you ever have to replace the thrust bearing, basket drive hub, or snubber in one of these Maytag Performa top-loading washers, you may get the washers and spacers that comprise the thrust bearing out of order. Brother fairbank56 has put together this nifty roadmap showing the proper sequence for re-assembling the thrust bearing. If you boogar up or lose these parts, you can buy the replacement kit here: http://www.repairclinic.com/PartDetail/Basket-Drive-Hub-Kit/12002213/1042142

Sub-Zero Wolf Factory Training

I had the pleasure of attending Sub-Zero Wolf (SZW) factory training last week in Madison, WI. Flew in on Monday, training was Tuesday thru Thursday, and then flew out on Friday. The class consisted of 15 techs from around the country but also included a tech from Puerto Rico and another from Barbados. The techs included a few students from Master Samurai Tech and some Appliantology members.   This session was all Wolf products: gas and induction cooktops, gas and dual fuel ranges, vent hoo
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