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Our Picks

Top content from across the community, hand-picked by us.

How to troubleshoot AC motor problems using amps

Son of Samurai posted a blog entry in Appliance Repair Tech Tips, Wednesday at 03:05 AM

More than any other AC load, motors are all about amps.

What do I mean by that? When you have a motor that is misbehaving, the best, most informative electrical test you can do by far is amps. And one of the worst mistakes you could make is to just rely on ohms when testing a motor.

0 replies

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Samurai Appliance Repair Man, Wednesday at 10:33 AM

Learn the Surprising Complexities of this Dryer Push-to-Start Switch Circuit

Son of Samurai posted a blog entry in Appliance Repair Tech Tips, April 9

We had an interesting discussion at our most recent Live Dojo workshop! This dryer only runs when the push-to-start button is held down -- a relatively simple problem, but troubleshooting it requires us to understand the entire motor circuit and how it works on startup.

2 replies

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Samurai Appliance Repair Man, Wednesday at 10:29 AM

Easy way to check out an inverter compressor

Son of Samurai posted a blog entry in Appliance Repair Tech Tips, April 2

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?

4 replies

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Samurai Appliance Repair Man, April 2

Why Bother With Ohm's Law?

Son of Samurai posted a blog entry in Appliance Repair Tech Tips, March 11

We make a big hoopla here at Appliantology and Master Samurai Tech about Ohm's law: the set of simple formulas that describe the relationship between four key principles of electricity: volts, amps, ohms, and watts.

8 replies

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Samurai Appliance Repair Man, March 25

Bosch Dryer Tripped TCO

Koi Guy posted a blog entry in Koi Guy's Amazing Compendium of Timeless Appliantological Wisdom, February 14

Went to a call for a Bosch electric dryer not heating. I did the standard checks, including checking the air flow at the outlet on the house. It was ‘pretty good’ using my calibrated hand. I disassembled heater assembly, expecting a tripped TCO (thermal cut out), and surely enough it was tripped. So we had an overheating at some point.

5 replies

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Samurai Appliance Repair Man, February 17

Appliantology as the Ultimate Searchable Reference Tool for Appliance Repair

Son of Samurai posted a blog entry in Appliance Repair Tech Tips, February 5

One of the best things we can do to sharpen our skills as techs is to learn from other techs' experiences. There are a number of ways to do that, but the way that's both most convenient and lets you learn from the greatest variety of techs is searching the tech help forums here at Appliantology.

0 replies

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Samurai Appliance Repair Man, February 15

Maytag Electric Dryer Motor Stops Running After Start Switch is Released

Samurai Appliance Repair Man posted a blog entry in Samurai Appliance Repair Man's Blog, January 22

[Video] In this recent Live Dojo appliance troubleshooting workshop, we workshopped a problem with a Maytag dryer where it would start but stop running as soon as the start button was released.

0 replies

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Samurai Appliance Repair Man, February 2

Untangle This Tricky Water Valve Problem with the Troubleshooting Ten-Step Tango

Son of Samurai posted a blog entry in Appliance Repair Tech Tips, January 15

Here's the setup: you're working on an LG refrigerator, and the customer says that they're not getting water out of the dispenser. They also say that they can get ice out of the dispenser just fine.

6 replies

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Samurai Appliance Repair Man, January 16

Avoid These 4 Mistakes When Troubleshooting a Dead Appliance

Son of Samurai posted a blog entry in Appliance Repair Tech Tips, December 13, 2024

In this video, we're going to explore a real service call and analyze the troubleshooting techniques the tech used and figure out how he can structure his call better next time. You'll have to watch it to find out exactly how the call went down, and what the problem turned out to be, but let's go through the four mistakes that were made in the initial troubleshoot...

1 reply

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Samurai Appliance Repair Man, December 15, 2024

Don't Let This Frigidaire Oven Booby Trap Get You

Son of Samurai posted a blog entry in Appliance Repair Tech Tips, December 13, 2024

Frigidaire has left a booby trap in the form of an RTD with unique specs in some of their ovens. What's more, this difference isn't even properly reflected in some of their tech sheets. They've got incorrect specs!

4 replies

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Samurai Appliance Repair Man, December 15, 2024

Wire Piercing Probes in Action - Locating breaks in Whirlpool SxS Lower Hinge Wiring

Rhubarb Tau posted a blog entry in Rhubarb Tau's Sloggy Vlog Blog Bog, July 7, 2024

I made a video the other day on a callback for broken lower hinge wiring on a Kitchenaid SxS. Earlier in the week I had spliced all of the breaks I could find, found two wires with multiple breaks along their length, some concealed inside unbroken insulation, advised the customer that it was a temporary fix, and was relieved when the icemaker finally passed its harvest test.

6 replies

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Samurai Appliance Repair Man, December 12, 2024

WPL Direct Drive “burning smell”

Koi Guy posted a blog entry in Koi Guy's Amazing Compendium of Timeless Appliantological Wisdom, November 27, 2024

Every now and then I’ll run across this. The complaint is the customer smells burning- possibly rubber or electrical. The machine works fine.

5 replies

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Samurai Appliance Repair Man, December 12, 2024

Using Schematics and Wiring Diagrams to Figure out Why the Lights Won't Turn Off on this GE Wall Oven

Son of Samurai posted a blog entry in Appliance Repair Tech Tips, October 2, 2024

At one of our recent Live Dojo workshops, a tech shared an interesting problem he had encountered.

10 replies

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Samurai Appliance Repair Man, October 10, 2024

R600a starter kit

Koi Guy posted a blog entry in Koi Guy's Amazing Compendium of Timeless Appliantological Wisdom, April 20, 2024

About a year ago I was ready to start learning R600a systems. Watched all the vids and decided I was ready to buy.

26 replies

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Samurai Appliance Repair Man, May 7, 2024

[Free Full Video] Learn the Secrets of Whirlpool's Hybrid Heat Pump Dryer...

Son of Samurai posted a blog entry in Appliance Repair Tech Tips, April 18, 2024

How does a dryer dry without a vent? Why is there a sealed system in this dryer, just like what you would find in a refrigerator? How well does this model dry clothes compared to a conventional dryer?

0 replies

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Samurai Appliance Repair Man, May 7, 2024

How to Decipher Schematics like a Pro!

Samurai Appliance Repair Man posted a blog entry in Samurai Appliance Repair Man's Blog, April 3, 2024

In this journey to Total Appliance Enlightenment™ in a Live Dojo workshop, we worked on a real-world problem on a Kitchenaid refrigerator posted at Appliantology. We were interested in how the defrost timer motor gets Line and Neutral in both defrost and run modes. Turns out that doing so required that we also understand the rest of the circuit, including the dumbed "PC board". But how? That's what we show you!

1 reply

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Samurai Appliance Repair Man, April 3, 2024

WPL Ceiling Mount IM hack

Koi Guy posted a blog entry in Koi Guy's Amazing Compendium of Timeless Appliantological Wisdom, February 23, 2024

I’ve seen lots of the WPL build units with the ice maker in the ceiling that get a condition where the fill tube freezes up. I’ve been working on a hack for this and I think I have it dialed in.

13 replies

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Samurai Appliance Repair Man, March 9, 2024

WPL dryer timer- intermittent heat

Koi Guy posted a blog entry in Koi Guy's Amazing Compendium of Timeless Appliantological Wisdom, February 8, 2024

As you’ve probably seen, the new Whirlpool dryer timers have not been very robust and are prone to several failures. These failures include: no heat, intermittent heat, not advancing the cycle, and not ending the cycle. Here's what I found on a recent service call.

13 replies

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Samurai Appliance Repair Man, March 9, 2024

Microwave Madness and Meter Category Demystification Double Feature

Son of Samurai posted a blog entry in Appliance Repair Tech Tips, January 10, 2024

This microwave will run with the door open -- lucky for the customer, it also doesn't heat. But why is the turntable able to run with the door open? What do you do when a circuit doesn't work at all the way it's supposed to?

0 replies

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Samurai Appliance Repair Man, January 22, 2024

Read Timer Charts with Certainty Using the Timer Chart Cha-Cha

Son of Samurai posted a blog entry in Appliance Repair Tech Tips, December 30, 2023

Timer charts may be for old-skool appliances with mechanical timers, but there are still plenty of old-skool appliances knocking around, so reading timer charts remains a vital troubleshooting skill.

0 replies

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Samurai Appliance Repair Man, January 22, 2024

How to Troubleshoot Control Boards with Confidence

Son of Samurai posted a blog entry in Appliance Repair Tech Tips, December 11, 2023

When a control board doesn't seem to behave the way it's supposed to, does that mean it's always time to replace the board? How do you avoid the dreaded callbacks on service calls where you replaced the board because you had no idea what else to replace? Is there a way to reliably troubleshoot computer-controlled appliances and avoid guesswork when it comes to the control board?

0 replies

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Samurai Appliance Repair Man, January 22, 2024

Functional Understanding of Circuits: the Key to Reading Unclear Schematics

Son of Samurai posted a blog entry in Appliance Repair Tech Tips, November 30, 2023

Got a fun exercise for you today: let's use our electrical and schematic know-how to figure out how a circuit works in a schematic that leaves out a lot of useful labelling.

9 replies

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Samurai Appliance Repair Man, December 1, 2023

[Video] Demystifying Strip Circuits and Confusing DC Terminology

Son of Samurai posted a blog entry in Appliance Repair Tech Tips, October 6, 2023

What are strip circuits and how do you read them? What purpose do they serve in troubleshooting? Are they better than normal schematics, worse, or just different?

0 replies

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Samurai Appliance Repair Man, December 1, 2023

[Video] How to Never Get Tripped Up By DC Terminology in Schematics Again

Son of Samurai posted a blog entry in Appliance Repair Tech Tips, September 19, 2023

DC power in appliances works the same way no matter the manufacturer, but everyone has their own way they like to talk about it. And if you're not up on the lingo, you'll be left mystified by DC circuits in schematics.

0 replies

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Samurai Appliance Repair Man, December 1, 2023

Quick Tips on How to Troubleshoot Relays, Triacs, and Diodes

Son of Samurai posted a blog entry in Appliance Repair Tech Tips, November 16, 2023

When it comes to switches in appliances, it's hard to think of one more ubiquitous than the relay. It can be used with and without a control board, and it allows a small voltage to control a much larger voltage. But what exactly does that mean, and how do they do that? And what about triacs, the relay's solid-state cousin?

0 replies

Picked By

Samurai Appliance Repair Man, December 1, 2023