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Statistics |
| Unique Visitors: 51 |
| Total Unique Visitors: 3689923 |
| Visitors Out: 11093 |
| Total Visitors Out: 38193 |
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| Whirlpool Dryer won't stay Runnning |
| 2011-04-14 02:01:00 |
Model #LE5800XSW3, this electric dryer would start for the customer when the button was pressed but it would stop as soon as the button was released. She did notice if the button was held down, the dryer would continue to run, but again would stop as soon as the button was let go. With the aid a heavy book, she was able to finis the laundry, but this didn't seem like a long term solution to the problem. Wanting to prevent any further damage, she gave me a call to come out and have a look.
Various electrical components are used to get the dryers motor started and then to keep it running during a cycle. Those with electronic controls will often just close a set of electrical contacts on a control board when the start button is pressed, while others using mechanical timers will have push-to-start buttons to get things going. Whichever method is used, the purpose is to provide a current path for electricity to flow to the m...
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| Frigidaire Dishwasher Leaking |
| 2011-04-07 02:01:05 |
Model #PLD2855RFC1, this dishwasher started leaking small amounts of water while in use. The customer noted the problem was anywhere from no water to enough that a towel was needed to clean up the mess but really wanted to have it repaired to save the hardwood floors.
Unlike many commercial dishwashers, household dishwashers do not seal shut when the door is closed, but use seals and gaskets at appropriate locations to keep the water inside the tub. Many people will notice the side seals that are used to keep the water from leaking out the side, but most are not aware of the seal or seals at the bottom of the door. These seals, because they are mounted to the door, need to be flexible enough to bend when the door is opened, but rigid enough to hold back the water surge from the wash pump. If either of the door seals were to begin leaking, the common symptom noticed would be water dripping from the bottom corners of the door panel. Figuring which of the two seals is leaking is just...
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| Whirlpool Washer not Washing |
| 2011-04-06 15:18:22 |
Model #LA9500XTN1, when a wash load was started, this unit would fill, agitate, then drain, but the customer noticed the clothes seemed very wet at the end of the cycle. Sounding like a mechanical problem preventing the unit from spinning the clothes, I removed the cabinet and jumped in to have a look around.
The direct drive Whirlpool washers are very nice to work on because of the fairly straight forward design, and when they do break, they tend to give some fairly consistent symptoms. But because each symptom will get me looking at different areas of the washer, I will always attempt to confirm the failure just to save me some time and aggravation. Once I began a wash cycle, and verified the fill, the motor took off running, but while watching the operation I noticed there was no agitator movement. If the agitator doesn't move, and the basket won't spin, that is a sure sign of a broken motor coupler.
One of the more common failure of the direct drive series is a broken motor ...
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| Frigidaire Dryer not Starting |
| 2011-03-26 12:10:05 |
Model #AGQ7000ES1, this unit would not start when the button was pressed, but instead would only make a humming sound. They tried a smaller load but that didn't make any difference. Looking for a solution other than visiting a Laundromat, they gave me a call.
The electric motors used in dryers rely on a start winding along with the motors normal run winding to get the motor started with a heavy load of clothes. Once the motor gets up to speed, the start winding is no longer needed and is removed from the electrical circuit by the action of the centrifugal switch opening. This switch is attached to the motor and can be heard as a snap or click when the motor starts or stops. Once started, the motor will continue to run using only the run winding until the unit is once again stopped causing the centrifugal switch to close. With the switch closed, it returns the start winding to the circuit and is ready to start the motor again.
The trouble shooting steps for a bad start winding is a ...
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| Kitchenaid Refrigerator not making Ice |
| 2010-12-21 10:43:46 |
Model #KSRS27ILSS01, this side by side refrigerator had worked fine for years, but just recently it stopped making ice. Ice makers not producing ice can usually be reduced down to a few simple causes, and once you know what to look for and where to look, the repair can usually be made easily and in a short period of time. After I started my trouble shooting routine, the reason for the failure become obvious, but the cause took a bit more investigation.
Ice makers have become very commonplace in refrigerators these days, and if you are someone that enjoys the convenience of having ice available simply by pressing a button, it can be rather frustrating when the unit stops functioning. Most ice makers are automated in their operation and require only a source of electricity, a water supply, and cold air in order to produce ice. If the ice maker looses any single item, or it fails itself, the ice production will decrease or stop altogether. By checking each item, we can usually determine...
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| Whirlpool Dryer no Display |
| 2010-12-09 11:09:41 |
Model #GEW9250PW0, the customers dryer recently was subjected to some adverse power conditions after a prolonged outage in their neighborhood. After the power came back on, all the electronic devices in the home seemed to be fine, with the exception of the dryer. The display and indicator lights were no longer illuminated and pressing the buttons on the panel didn't make any difference. At least the washer was still working.
Power surges and brown outs, where a temporary low voltage condition exists, can not only be annoying, but result in significant damage to not only your appliances, but any other electronic device in your home. These electronics which contain microprocessors require very specific voltages in order to properly perform their duties along with noise free connections to the electrical wiring in your home. This noise can come from anything plugged into an outlet and is the reason most semiconductor based electronics and appliances have some method to filter noise fro...
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| Maytag Dishwasher no Display |
| 2010-04-03 06:53:36 |
Model #MDB7601AWW, this tall tub dishwasher was still operational and the customer could select the cycles using the buttons on top of the door, but the display showing the time remaining was no longer working. The start button next to the display worked too, but the delay start button was doing nothing. The display would show what appeared to be random lines, but nothing that resembled numbers.
Most dishwashers are not to difficult to diagnose an electrical problem, simply because there really aren't that many parts involved. When a dishwasher is operating, water enters the tub through a fill valve, the wash motor will pump the water spraying it around the tub, a dispenser will open at the appropriate time of the cycle, a drain pump turns on to drain the soiled water and the heating element will turn on to aid in drying. Those are the key components of most any dishwasher so when looking around for a problem, its usually going to be associated with one of them.
Because this dishwas...
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| Frigidaire Refrigerator not Cooling |
| 2010-04-03 06:53:03 |
Model #FRT18L4JW5, this top mount, freezer on top, refrigerator was only four months old when the customer noticed the unit seemed to intermittently cool. Sometimes they would arrive home to warm food inside, then after playing with the temperature controls, it would start cooling again. With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, the customer was hoping for a refrigerator that would keep things cold.
When I arrived at the home, the unit seemed to be cooling just fine as indicated by the frozen Cool Whip in the freezer, but fortunately when I contacted the customer the night before, he had mentioned he was an HVAC technician which means we were able to speak the same language. After doing some of his own checks, he determined the mechanical cold control was no longer working properly giving me reason to have one handy when I arrived.
The cold controls on these units are a simple mechanical switch which opens and closes a set of electrical contacts depending on the temperature inside the ...
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| Frigidaire Washer Basket not Moving |
| 2010-04-03 06:52:08 |
Model #ATF7000FS0, this front load washer was in the middle of a wash cycle when the customer noticed an odd sound the came from the laundry room upstairs. The sound was brief, but the noise of the normally spinning washer changed quickly to a sound of silence. After a brief conversation with the customer over the phone, it sounded to me like the belt had come off the pulley. So making sure I had a replacement, I headed on out to take a look for myself.
Given the description from the customer that he had heard a noise just prior to it no longer working, along with the familiar sound of the motor running, I was sure I was on the right track. It is not a very common type of failure to have a belt fall off of a front load washer so it is important to not only repair the problem, but see if the reason for the failure presents itself.
With the back removed from the washer, I found the belt lying in the base and clearly no longer in one piece. Everything looked good, but there were some ...
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| Kitchenaid Oven not holding Temperature |
| 2010-04-03 06:51:45 |
Model #KEBC278KBS0, the bottom oven of this double wall oven setup was working just fine, but the upper oven appeared to not be holding temperature. The customer noticed this while baking cookies that still weren't done when the timer signaled the end of the cycle. The inside temperature was noticeably cooler than expected and the only way to get the remaining batches done was to start the cycle over again.
Ovens work by a simple process of turning on elements until the selected temperature is reached, then turn them off until a minimum temperature has been reached, and then start the cycle over again. Depending on the control mechanism used in the oven, this process is either carried out by a mechanical thermostat or and electronic board along with a temperature sensing probe in the oven cavity. Either way, everything is done by one of these devices.
This particular oven not only has bake and broil elements, but also a convection element used during convection cooking. The bake ele...
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