Appliantology is a big place, and there's valuable technical info constantly being posted in the forums and the blogs. But techs are busy folks, and we know that you don't always have the time to read through everything that's going on at the site. That's why I want to direct you to your new favorite page at Appliantology: Samurai's Picks.
Accessible at any time from the main menu bar, Samurai's Picks is the go-to place where you can find content from the site that's hand-curated by u
In this short, informative video, the Samurai walks through the steps of the patented Timer Chart Cha-Cha -- a system for reading and applying timer charts to schematics so that you can make sense of what's going on in the circuit. In just 2 minutes, you'll learn the steps of the Cha-Cha which empower you to troubleshoot timer-controlled circuits with ease.
Want to see the Timer Chart Cha-Cha in action and watch how it improves the troubleshooting process? Click here to watch the full webin
Have you ever been robbed of a quick troubleshoot by ghost voltage? How about by an open neutral? Sounds like you need to start using a loading meter for ALL of your AC voltage measurements. Watch the video below to learn why, and find out some things you didn't know about circuits and electrical measurements along the way.
Want to see the full troubleshoot of this dryer, showcasing multiple ingenious voltage test locations that ensure for a fast and accurate diagnosis? Click here to watch
Is there a reason to distinguish ground from neutral when it comes to electrical testing? If you need a reference for a voltage measurement, doesn't ground work just as well as neutral?
Not at all! Ground and neutral are supposed to be two separate things in an AC circuit, and so they can't be used interchangeably. In this short webinar excerpt, the Samurai breaks down what the difference is and why you should only ever use neutral in your AC voltage measurements.
The full version of t
We've all changed countless ignitors in gas ovens, and any tech worth his salt knows that the definitive way to detect a failed ignitor is with a current measurement. But why does low current through the ignitor cause ignition to fail? Where does that current spec come from?
In this short excerpt from one of our many technical webinars, the Samurai explains the mechanism behind how these gas valves work. Not only will it give you a clear idea of the technology behind these common parts, but
Two of the most common circuit protection devices we'll see on outlets or circuit breakers are AFCIs and GFCIs. But what exactly are these devices, what do they do, and what are the differences between them?
The Samurai answers these questions in this short excerpt from one of the hugely enriching webinar recordings available here at Appliantology. Want to watch the full webinar and learn the whole scoop on these protection devices? Get access to it and 50+ hours of on-demand recordings by
There's more than one way for a 3-way valve sealed system to be configured, and if you want to troubleshoot these machines right, you've gotta know the difference.
In the full webinar recording, the Samurai runs through 3-way valve operation and dual evaporator systems in detail, using Samsung technical documentation for reference. It's not one you're gonna want to miss!
Click here to watch the full webinar -- only available to premium members!
Whether a control board in an appliance is simple or sophisticated, there's one trick it has to pull off: switching high AC voltage using low control voltage. They pull this off by using relays or triacs, devices that all of us are at least passingly familiar with.
But how do these very common control components work, exactly? And how is troubleshooting a relay different from troubleshooting a triac? That's what we'll look at today.
Relays: The older and simpler of these two devices, r
Every split-phase motor needs a start device, and split-phase compressors are no exception. There are a variety of start devices out there for compressors, and it's vital for your troubleshooting that you understand how they work. In this short excerpt from a longer webinar recording, the Samurai steps through the differences between relays and PTCs, laying the groundwork for differentiating between these devices in the field.
If you want to learn more about the technology used in modern re
In this excerpt from one of our many in-depth technical webinars, the Samurai breaks down in just a few minutes what causes ghost voltage. He'll show in simple terms what the term "capacitive coupling means, as well as how to do your voltage measurements correctly so that you'll never be fooled by an open neutral again.
Want to watch the full version of this webinar, along with 50+ additional hours of practical technical education? Click here to become a premium tech member today.
Our online appliance repair training site, MasterSamuraiTech.com, will have a few hours of downtime tonight (Monday, October 26, 2020) starting at 11pm eastern time as we install our brand spanking new website.
We will post any important updates right here at my blog.
If you are a current student, here's a quick overview of what you will experience once the new site is up and running.
UPDATE: The new site is up and running! Check it out for yourself.
Brother Scott-afl ran into some unexpected trouble when trying to extend the defrost cycle on a Samsung RF28HFEDBSR/AA refrigerator. In his words:
Two puzzling things here:
First, why the difference in the error code reporting? It's a minor point, but that E/C difference seems odd.
Second, why is the procedure for extending the defrost not working, despite multiple attempts at following the instructions in the manual?
Both of these discrepancies boiled down to one thing: po
As control boards, and especially multiple-board configurations, become more and more prevalent in appliances today, we need to keep our troubleshooting skills sharp and adapt. So what troubleshooting strategies should you apply when you're dealing with a computer board?
The good news is that you don't need to be a computer geek to work with boards. You just need a troubleshooting strategy for dealing with them, and you need to understand how they operate on a basic level. That's what the S
Bimetals show up all over the appliance world in all kinds of applications. Resistive Temperature Devices (RTDs) are widely used in ovens and ranges and are commonly called "oven temperature sensors." Both are devices that respond to temperature, but beyond that, they work completely differently and serve different purposes. Watch this short excerpt from one of our many technical education webinar recordings to learn all about these devices!
The full webinar covers all the common
Here's your problem statement: in this GE dryer, the timer doesn't advance in auto-dry. How do you approach this like a real tech, without making guesses and monkey-jabs?
In this excerpt from a longer webinar, the Samurai shows using the timer chart and the schematic in conjunction to form a foolproof troubleshooting plan. Give it a watch!
Want to watch the full recording? Click below -- viewable only by premium tech members.
Here's the problem scenario:
The customer's refrigerator has stopped running. You take a look at the start device, and it's completely burnt out -- enough so that you can see that the plastic housing has melted. You swap it out for a new start device and...
Still nothing. In fact, a quick voltage measurement shows that the control board isn't sending voltage to the compressor. Now the board needs to be replaced, too.
So what happened here? Did the start device just short out and t
A tech is troubleshooting the power supply for a Maytag dishwasher control board, and he finds some interesting readings. Using a LoZ meter, he reports finding 120 volts at the outlet and at the control board. But strangely, he also has 48 volts on neutral. What gives?
In our latest webinar, we unpacked all the electrical know-how and troubleshooting mojo that goes into properly diagnosing a problem like this. To figure out what went wrong in this troubleshoot, you have to answer the follow
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
Merry Christmas from Team Samurai! Here's wishing you a joyous and peaceful holiday with all of your friends and family. And after that, lots and lots of kicking appliance bootay in the new year.
Need help with your very, very last minute gift shopping? This might help you out. (Weren't appliance ads just the best back in the day?)
There's a very common configuration of valves that are used in refrigerators with ice makers and dispensers -- so common that every tech should be very familiar with how it works and what terms are used to refer to it. You can't troubleshoot what you don't understand!
We'll use a GE refrigerator as our example, but this same system is used across almost all refrigerators with water supplies. Here's a snippet from a GE manual:
All this is saying is that you have three valves in th
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
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 covered not one, but two different workshop topics in our last webinar, and I now present to you the second one!
In this workshop about a dishwasher with a starting-and-stopping motor, we covered topics like:
How to nail this problem using a single test
Analyzing the wash motor circuit to understand how it works
Identifying how the board senses circuit current
...and more!
Click below to watch the full recording -- available only to premium tech member
Sometimes, manufacturers don't write out schematics as clearly as they should. In cases like this Frigidaire cooktop, the way that the relays for the simmer function are drawn is downright obtuse.
In our latest workshop webinar, we broke down the function of this circuit and really understand how it works, bringing our electrical and technical know-how to bear to make logical deductions about the circuit.
Did you miss the original webinar and want to watch this webinar recording? Click
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
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