In our latest troubleshooting workshop, we start with a seemingly simple problem -- overly long dry times -- and walk through all the surprising pitfalls that you could be ensnared by. Topics include:
Correctly measuring dryer vent airflow
Differentiating between real diagnostic tests and fluffy sales features
Identifying dummy troubleshooting directions and errors in manuals
Learning why you should always use amps rather than ohms for troubleshooting AC loads
Inverter compressors can run really smoothly and quietly these days -- so quietly that it can be hard to tell if they're running at all, let alone if they're running properly. So if our ears and hands can't tell us what's up, what do we do to test these compressors?
Time to apply our brains and our meters: we're going to use the schematic and some simple electrical measurements with our ammeter and our multimeter to know if the compressor is running.
Step 1 is to use the schematic to
In our latest workshop webinar, we cultivated the much-desired skill of troubleshooting appliances with multiple control boards. Topics included:
Using the schematic to form your troubleshooting strategy
Identifying inputs and outputs
Making meaningful measurements and understanding what their results mean
...and much more!
Want to learn this stuff for yourself? The full webinar recording is available right now to premium tech members of Appliantology. Click b
In this video, we give a comprehensive answer to this question: "Why is it that high ambient temps cause high side and low side pressures to rise?"
This simple question about one specific sealed system problem scenario is a great opportunity to take a deeper dive into how sealed systems work, how they're affected by their environment, and how an issue in one area of a sealed system has ramifications for every other area.
Topics covered include:
The temperature/pressure relation
There are many standard items a CSR should collect from the customer (name, address, contact information, type of appliance, etc.), but I'd like to focus on the key features of a good service ticket that may be overlooked by some. If you make sure to follow these tips, you'll set your techs up for the easiest prediagnosis and best service calls possible.
1. Collect a valid model number
A model number is essential for a tech's prediangosis. Without it, he cannot get the correct in
Manufacturers do sometimes help us techs out -- Samsung has been putting on training sessions pretty regularly both for their own models, and for Dacor-branded models as well (Samsung acquired Dacor a few years back, for those who don't know). While a lot of how we troubleshoot is by understanding the principles that are common to all appliances, you always need a bit of info specific to the appliance you're working on. In particular, information about the exact implementation of the technology
We talk a lot here at Appliantology about always consulting the schematic as the first step of your troubleshooting. But how exactly do you do that?
That's where the Troubleshooting Ten Step Tango comes in! Watch the clip below where the Samurai demonstrates how to use this reliable, universally applicable troubleshooting framework to troubleshoot a real-world refrigerator scenario.
Want to watch the full webinar recording and learn how to use the schematic and the Ten Step T
We had a great webinar this past Sunday all about troubleshooting a Thermador wall oven with a cooling fan that wouldn't run. Lots of vital tech know-how covered in this one, like how to structure your troubleshooting flow, identify loads and switches on schematics, and perform useful and meaningful tests that will lead you to the correct solution.
In this short excerpt from the recording of that webinar, we talk about using the schematic to identify EEPs for your testing -- no unnecessary
Special guest presenter Mark Williams will show you how easy it is to diagnose temperature problems in the newer electronically-controlled refrigerators and how to do it right the first time.
We'll show you examples from Samsung, LG, GE, Whirlpool, and Electrolux. You'll see that they all work the same way.
You'll also see how to accurately test thermistors from the computer control board and you’ll learn the difference between resistance and voltage drop when it comes to testing the
How do you use a schematic to analyze a circuit, and how do you then apply that knowledge to a real-world troubleshoot?
That's the question we answer in this Schematic Workshop webinar! We start off by working through the most interesting parts of this dryer circuit, and then we move on to several more schematic exercises. You can watch an excerpt of the full webinar below:
Want to see the rest of the troubleshoot? Click below to watch the full recording and step up your trou
In this short, easily-digestible technical workshop, we dive into some of the wacky things that can happen when a sloppy tech miswires a dryer terminal block. In fact, this dryer looks like it shouldn't be able to run -- the neutral wire isn't even connected! And yet it does run. How, you ask? That's exactly what you'll need to watch and find out.
This and our dozens of other technical training webinar recordings are only viewable by premium tech members at Appliantology.
Topics covere
Knowing how to properly use a schematic for your troubleshooting is key to saving money and time. In this short presentation, the Samurai shows performing circuit analysis to identify the most useful, but also the most convenient tests to quickly zero in on the problem. Topics covered include:
- reading schematic diagrams
- strategic selection of your reference voltage
- doing live testing (appliance plugged in and running) vs. Ohms testing
- using a loading meter to test AC line vol
Why are microwaves so picky about the way they do their door switches? Are two different interlock switches really necessary? And what does the monitor switch even do, anyway? All these questions and more answered in this short instructional presentation.
Big props to Brother @Vance R for his explanation of these switches in this topic, which inspired us to make this video.
Topics covered include:
Schematic analysis of interlock switch circuits
Identifying if the schemat
Long gone are the days when we techs had any excuse to be scared by names like LG or Samsung. Through information tools like Appliantology, we have access to all the technical docs we need to service these models. And anyone who has spent time examining the schematics and service manuals for Samsung appliances knows that there's nothing weird or proprietary going on here -- maybe a bit of Korenglish here and there, but how electricity works and the fundamental technology used in all appliances i
Want to really put your technical know-how to the test? Well, have we got the webinar for you!
This one covers a whole potpourri of circuit puzzles and troubleshooting scenarios, including:
Some pop quizzes about series and parallel circuits
Diodes, how they work, and the surprisingly tricky situations that can arise because of them
Loads in series, how they work, and what they look like in a real refrigerator schematic
A real world troubleshooting scenario invo
If a dryer's motor isn't running, and you hear a strange humming noise coming from the start switch, what does that mean for the switch? And if you want to test that switch, what's the best way to do that?
These are questions that we answer right here in this short excerpt from one of our many in-depth technical training webinar recordings. Give it a watch and learn the answers for yourself...
Want to watch the full webinar recording? Click below -- viewable only by premium m
Electricity and circuits are at the core of what we do as techs. You've got to have a solid understanding of these in order to do any meaningful troubleshooting. So that's exactly what we cover in this excerpt from one of our many technical training webinar recordings. Give it a watch and build yourself a solid foundation!
This video is an excerpt from a longer Master Samurai Tech webinar and is free for anyone to watch. In the full webinar, we covered topics such as:
Neut
Reading timer charts may just seem like an old-skool skill for a bygone era of appliances, but there are still plenty of these old workhorses around that need troubleshooting. Plus, analyzing these circuits teaches you a lot of schematic mojo that is useful in all areas of appliance repair.
In our latest Live Dojo workshop, we worked through how to read this timer chart and schematic in harmony with each other. You can't understand the schematic without the timer chart, and vice versa. Topi
Say you're working on the cooktop of a Frigidaire gas range, and after chasing some wires, you find that this component is in the circuit, right after the power comes in from the outlet:
The label calls it a "signal transformer", but what is the point of this device, exactly? Well, as with most circuit mysteries, the schematic will give us some more insight...
How odd -- a transformer that, seemingly, doesn't do anything. You have 120 VAC going to the primary, and 120 VAC c
Some circuits have a bit more going on than they seem at first glance, and this Whirlpool washer has one such circuit. Watch the excerpt below to learn how to unravel this tangled mess of lines and apply it to your troubleshooting.
Want to watch the full webinar recording where we go through the entire schematic analysis, covering tracing everything out and covering topics like triacs, shunts, and series loads? Click below -- viewable only by premium members.
How do you troubleshoot a dryer that heats all the time, even when a cycle isn't running? That's exactly the scenario that a tech here in the Appliantology forums ran into, and even after replacing the timer multiple times, the problem persisted. Let's get to the bottom of this.
Here's the schematic, with the heater circled in green.
Something important to note about this dryer: it's an old-school dryer with a mechanical timer. No electronics in sight here!
What we need to f
Ever wondered how L1 and L2 in a 240 VAC circuit have a voltage difference of 240 VAC? Or what people mean when they say that L1 and L2 are 180 degrees out of phase? And what exactly do we mean when we say "voltage difference" anyway?
We cover all these topics in this short 6-minute excerpt from one of our many in-depth technical webinar recordings. If you've ever been mystified by the inner workings of standard, split-phase household power, look no further! Give this a watch and be enlight
In this recording from a recent live technical training webinar, we walked through the whole thought flow for troubleshooting this Samsung dryer that always runs when the door is closed. There's no guesswork or monkey-jabbing here -- strictly analytical and accurate diagnostic techniques that bring us ever closer to the solution.
Here's a short excerpt to show you what we're on about:
Want to troubleshoot like a real tech? Click the video below to see how. Viewable only by pr
In this excerpt from one of the many technical training webinar recordings available to our members, we cover two tricky areas that have tripped up many a tech: deciphering an unclear schematic, and decoding a convoluted customer problem description. Both of these are essential skills for any tech, since if you mess up either of these steps, the entire rest of your troubleshooting will be thrown out of whack.
The troubleshooting framework that we're using in this video is our patented Ten-S
Here's a weird one for you: how does this dryer run with the neutral wire of the pigtail completely disconnected? To find out, watch this short, 7-minute excerpt from one of our many full-length technical training webinar recordings.
In this video, you'll learn the answer to questions like:
What is the difference between 3 and 4 wire dryer cords?
Why should neutral and ground be separated?
Why is the dryer able to run without neutral connected?
Give it a watch a
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