Our Picks

One of the first steps when you're troubleshooting a warm temperature proble in both compartments of a refrigerator should always be to identify whether you're dealing with a problem in the sealed system or with a problem elsewhere in the unit.

In this webinar recording for the ages, the Samurai explains everything you need to know to run a successful service call, minimizing return trips and maximizing profits. 

There's a goal that any tech worth his salt should have when he heads into a service call: troubleshoot the machine until he has logically and definitively located the problem.

Most of the time this goal is achievable, as long as you have the documentation for the appliance you're working on. You can take measurements and compare them with the specifications from the manufacturer until you find what's not within specifications. This is called analytical troubleshooting and is, in fact, the only way to properly troubleshoot. If you don't know what a "good" measurement should look like, then how are you going to tell when one is "bad"?

To be clear: analytical troubleshooting is getting a number from an electrical measurement and comparing it to a number in the specifications. You can't compare something to nothing!

Techs as a community have developed some bits of jargon that serve as shorthand ways of describing specific technical situations. These phrases are useful for saving ourselves time and breath, but sometimes the exact definitions get blurry.  Even worse, sometimes the way that the phrase sounds gets confused for a description of the actual science/physics behind what's going on. Let's clear up a few of these terms.

You can't get around it -- you've got to understand at least the basics of thermodynamics to troubleshoot sealed system problems.

Tell me what's wrong with this picture:

VFD (Variable Frequency Drive) systems have been around long enough now that most of us know the procedure for troubleshooting them. You have three main tests that you perform:

A recent topic in the tech forums here at Appliantology illustrates perfectly a point I’ve made in the past that replacing components on electronic control boards, rather than replacing the whole board, is a bad idea both for the customer and for the technician.

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 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 thermistors. 
 

This dual fuel range was flashing an F30 error code. The tech sheet says this points to a problem with the RTD (temperature probe). A parts changing monkey reading only the error code description without looking at the schematic replaced the RTD only to have the exact same problem: F30 error code. Watch how a real technician uses both the tech sheet and the schematic to accurately diagnose the problem without guesswork. 

We troubleshot a GE Advantium Speedcooker for a no convection bake problem and determined that either the convective heating element or the TCO had failed open. We did all our troubleshooting from the control board without uninstalling the oven. Doing it this way allowed us to diagnose the problem with minimal disassembly. We half-split the problem between the control board and the heating circuit and fixed the problem on the second trip when we returned with the parts. 

You know that complicated-looking cycle sequence chart on the techsheet for these dishwashers that no one uses because they don't understand it? Yeah, that one. We explained how to use it in an Appliantology Tips and Tricks webinar. It really is a powerful troubleshooting aid that lets you check all the functions and loads in the machine in just a few minutes.


 

This webinar recording is one of dozens of other training events on niche technical topics like this that we do at Appliantology-- see the complete list here. If you would like full access to Appliantology which includes all of our original webinar recordings, then become a premium tech member today: https://appliantology.org/store/product/11-professional-appliantologist/

 

 

Appliantology is a powerful appliance repair tool, with lots of features that may not be obvious at first glance.  

If you understand just three things, I guarantee you can successfully troubleshoot ANY appliance electrical problem...

In this video, I demonstrate some very Non-PCM techniques for troubleshooting an inoperative evaporator fan problem in a Maytag (jazz board) refrigerator.

What we're talking about here is PCM stuff- finding visibly burned triacs or bulging capacitors on a board and replacing it. No troubleshooting, just monkey see monkey do. In their shortsightedness, many guys are spending time on this rather than learning how circuits work and how to troubleshoot. And they think that because they can change a bulging cap, they know electronics.   

After 8 months of appliance hell, I stumbled upon the Master Samurai Training Tech Academy. Within one month of applying the teachings through the courses I excelled as a real deal appliance diagtician. I went from being the laughing stock of the parts house to them asking me for advice. 

What's interesting about these two videos is that the repairs done on each is *electrically identical* but the *physical repair looked entirely different* between the two. And that's exactly what you should notice in these two videos.

Here's a quick tip for finding service manuals for Kenmore model numbers in the Downloads section here at Appliantology. 

The display on this GE wall oven will not come on. You've already verified a valid 120/240 power supply to the wall oven. 

1. What is your Load of Interest (LOI)?

2. Which component is your prime suspect? Why? 

We offer 4 different ways for professional appliance techs to participate in the Appliantology tech community. The features and benefits of each option are summarized in this table.

“I'm looking for some input or advice for entering the appliance repair trade.”

Everything appliance technicians need to know about triacs for appliance repair.

If you have been certified in the Fundamentals course at the Master Samurai Tech Academy you can get full tech access to our tech support site, Appliantology.org, with no annual fee. Yes, as in FREE.

At the end of each and every month, the member with the highest Kendo point score (the “Ichiban Kendo Master”) wins a $100 Amazon gift certificate! It's that simple. No gimmicks.Check it out...