Trying to keep up with technology today can be a full time job... for an army of people! For the everyday consumer, it can become completely overwhelming. We totally get that!
That's why we've decided to put this site together. We hope it may help a few people out.
You see, we're totally tech-heads, and we L-O-V-E reading about all the latest and greatest gadgets and gizmos and the different things you can do with them. And while doing that, we very often end up having problems with these things.
For many, this can be really devastating. All you want is to have your new toy WORK! For us, it's just another fun piece of the puzzle to continue to unwrap.
So, our goal here is to find and share some of the more "common" (though sometimes un-common) tech products, problems and... hopefully solutions, so that the rest of you can get on with your normal activities.
We imagine this site will continue to grow as we continue to find, play with, break and (hopefully) fix things as we are able. So if you don't find your solution here today... feel free to come back again soon to see if maybe we've added what you're looking for. Or, feel free to drop us a line or a comment here and we'll see if we can't tackle your issue directly as the topic of one of our posts.
Thanks for your time, and good luck and have fun!
That's why we've decided to put this site together. We hope it may help a few people out.
You see, we're totally tech-heads, and we L-O-V-E reading about all the latest and greatest gadgets and gizmos and the different things you can do with them. And while doing that, we very often end up having problems with these things.
For many, this can be really devastating. All you want is to have your new toy WORK! For us, it's just another fun piece of the puzzle to continue to unwrap.
So, our goal here is to find and share some of the more "common" (though sometimes un-common) tech products, problems and... hopefully solutions, so that the rest of you can get on with your normal activities.
We imagine this site will continue to grow as we continue to find, play with, break and (hopefully) fix things as we are able. So if you don't find your solution here today... feel free to come back again soon to see if maybe we've added what you're looking for. Or, feel free to drop us a line or a comment here and we'll see if we can't tackle your issue directly as the topic of one of our posts.
Thanks for your time, and good luck and have fun!
Circuit Troubles
When your dryer, vacuum cleaner, blender, or any other appliance suddenly won’t work, most people do one of two things. Either they throw it away and pay for a new one or they pay almost as much having someone spend fifteen minutes to an hour to fix it for them at the appliance repair Scottsdale shop.
There is a third option that has been forgotten by many. Fix it yourself. After all, most people didn’t learn about circuits in school, although maybe we should have. It’s extremely valuable information.
An appliance can look a little intimidating sitting there looking pretty in your kitchen or laundry room, but actually most are fairly simple machines made up of a collection of mechanical devices and circuits. The home appliances that we use every day are not magic boxes. They operate by basic rules. Understand those rules and, suddenly, what was a huge expense becomes an interesting puzzle. Understanding how a circuit works will give you the confidence needed to save more of your hard earned money and feel the satisfaction that comes with taking care of business.
An electric circuit is a path, or several interconnected paths, capable of carrying an electric current. Most circuits have four basic parts:
Wires act as the conductor, carrying electric current from the power source to the component. To provide and element of control, a switch of some sort is normally installed. And lastly, a safety device such as a fuse or breaker is used to protect against trouble.
There are three basic problems that can occur with an electrical circuit:
Simple. The key is to learning how to read the signs.
Shorted circuits, grounded circuits, or open circuits can all occur within the conducting wire, component, or a control device such as a switch, thermostat, or timer. Let’s take a look at this basic circuit, enclose it in a grounded cabinet, and use it to demonstrate the three most common types of circuit problems that can occur.
First, a shorted circuit.
A short circuit happens when two bare conductors come in contact with each other. The current no longer flows through the entire circuit. It is shunted from the hot conductor to the neutral conductor and bypasses the load.
When this occurs there is only a very small amount of resistance in the circuit. According to Ohms law, for a constant voltage, represented by “E”, when resistance is lowered, “R”, the flow of current, or amperage, goes up, represented by “I”. This increase in current flow can cause the wires to heat up and is the most common cause of electrical fires.
Because the circuit is properly protected, the fuse, or circuit breaker, reacts to this increase in current, or amperage, and blows or trips stopping the currents ability to flow. To correct a short, the damaged conductors, or component, must be located and repaired. Then the circuit breaker can be reset or the fuse replaced. That was easy!
So now let’s look at a grounded circuit.
It is a common safety practice to connect the cabinet of an appliance, or other major components, to a ground source. Electricity will always take the path of least resistance to ground. You do not want to be that path. So, this connection helps to protect the user from electrocution in the case of a short.
A grounded circuit happens when a hot wire comes into contact with a cabinet or a grounded part. When this happens, the circuit is again shunted to a neutral connection, in this case ground, the load is bypassed, the resistance decreased, the amperage increased, and you know the rest.
See, it’s pretty simple. We locate the problem, fix it, reset the breaker or replace the fuse, and bingo, you’re back in business.
Lastly, an open circuit.
An open circuit happens when a conductor, or component, breaks or burns out, opening the circuit and blocking electricity’s ability to flow. When this happens, resistance is increased so, according to Ohms law, current must decrease.
An open circuit is just like opening a control switch. No current is allowed to flow. This is the most common type of electrical problem associated with appliance repair. If any part within the circuit fails, the continuity, or electricity’s ability to flow, is broken, stopping the flow of current. Replacing the defective circuit component, or conductor, will get you going again.
At this point a few questions need to be asked:
There are a few things you can do right off the bat.
First, buy a volt meter if you don’t have one. A volt meter is a very inexpensive tool that will pay you back ten fold if you learn how to use it. For more information on this, and just appliance repair in general, feel free to visit our good friends who have supplied us with a ton of knowledge on appliances – the guys at Best Appliance Repair Scottsdale at www.appliancerepair-scottsdale.com.
There is a third option that has been forgotten by many. Fix it yourself. After all, most people didn’t learn about circuits in school, although maybe we should have. It’s extremely valuable information.
An appliance can look a little intimidating sitting there looking pretty in your kitchen or laundry room, but actually most are fairly simple machines made up of a collection of mechanical devices and circuits. The home appliances that we use every day are not magic boxes. They operate by basic rules. Understand those rules and, suddenly, what was a huge expense becomes an interesting puzzle. Understanding how a circuit works will give you the confidence needed to save more of your hard earned money and feel the satisfaction that comes with taking care of business.
An electric circuit is a path, or several interconnected paths, capable of carrying an electric current. Most circuits have four basic parts:
- a power source,
- conductors,
- a control device such as a timer or switch, and
- a component, such as a light bulb or motor, called the load which offers resistance to the circuit.
Wires act as the conductor, carrying electric current from the power source to the component. To provide and element of control, a switch of some sort is normally installed. And lastly, a safety device such as a fuse or breaker is used to protect against trouble.
There are three basic problems that can occur with an electrical circuit:
- a shorted circuit,
- a grounded circuit, or
- an open circuit.
Simple. The key is to learning how to read the signs.
Shorted circuits, grounded circuits, or open circuits can all occur within the conducting wire, component, or a control device such as a switch, thermostat, or timer. Let’s take a look at this basic circuit, enclose it in a grounded cabinet, and use it to demonstrate the three most common types of circuit problems that can occur.
First, a shorted circuit.
A short circuit happens when two bare conductors come in contact with each other. The current no longer flows through the entire circuit. It is shunted from the hot conductor to the neutral conductor and bypasses the load.
When this occurs there is only a very small amount of resistance in the circuit. According to Ohms law, for a constant voltage, represented by “E”, when resistance is lowered, “R”, the flow of current, or amperage, goes up, represented by “I”. This increase in current flow can cause the wires to heat up and is the most common cause of electrical fires.
Because the circuit is properly protected, the fuse, or circuit breaker, reacts to this increase in current, or amperage, and blows or trips stopping the currents ability to flow. To correct a short, the damaged conductors, or component, must be located and repaired. Then the circuit breaker can be reset or the fuse replaced. That was easy!
So now let’s look at a grounded circuit.
It is a common safety practice to connect the cabinet of an appliance, or other major components, to a ground source. Electricity will always take the path of least resistance to ground. You do not want to be that path. So, this connection helps to protect the user from electrocution in the case of a short.
A grounded circuit happens when a hot wire comes into contact with a cabinet or a grounded part. When this happens, the circuit is again shunted to a neutral connection, in this case ground, the load is bypassed, the resistance decreased, the amperage increased, and you know the rest.
See, it’s pretty simple. We locate the problem, fix it, reset the breaker or replace the fuse, and bingo, you’re back in business.
Lastly, an open circuit.
An open circuit happens when a conductor, or component, breaks or burns out, opening the circuit and blocking electricity’s ability to flow. When this happens, resistance is increased so, according to Ohms law, current must decrease.
An open circuit is just like opening a control switch. No current is allowed to flow. This is the most common type of electrical problem associated with appliance repair. If any part within the circuit fails, the continuity, or electricity’s ability to flow, is broken, stopping the flow of current. Replacing the defective circuit component, or conductor, will get you going again.
At this point a few questions need to be asked:
- How do I know which of the three types of problems I’m dealing with?
- Once I know what I’m dealing with, how do I locate it?
- Lastly, once I’ve found the problem, how do I fix it?
There are a few things you can do right off the bat.
First, buy a volt meter if you don’t have one. A volt meter is a very inexpensive tool that will pay you back ten fold if you learn how to use it. For more information on this, and just appliance repair in general, feel free to visit our good friends who have supplied us with a ton of knowledge on appliances – the guys at Best Appliance Repair Scottsdale at www.appliancerepair-scottsdale.com.
Replacing a Main Control Board on a Refrigerator
Getting your hands dirty with with some geeky at-home repair jobs can be a blast. We recently had to replace a main control board on our refrigerator and found the following information very helpful. Thanks to our buddies at Best Refrigerator Repair, Houston to have shared it with us.
You’ve decided to change the main control board on your refrigerator. It’s not too hard a job really, all you need is a quarter inch nut driver, pair of needle nose pliers; let me show you how it’s done.
Now that we’ve got the fridge pulled far enough ahead that we can get in behind it to work the first thing we need to do: disconnect the power cord. Make sure any water lines are not kinked; turn them off if you have to. Then we’re going to remove these nine quarter inch hex head screws that hold the cover on; the board is located in behind that.
Now that we have the access cover removed the next job will be to remove each of the individual wire harness connections before we attempt to remove the board.
You’ve decided to change the main control board on your refrigerator. It’s not too hard a job really, all you need is a quarter inch nut driver, pair of needle nose pliers; let me show you how it’s done.
Now that we’ve got the fridge pulled far enough ahead that we can get in behind it to work the first thing we need to do: disconnect the power cord. Make sure any water lines are not kinked; turn them off if you have to. Then we’re going to remove these nine quarter inch hex head screws that hold the cover on; the board is located in behind that.
Now that we have the access cover removed the next job will be to remove each of the individual wire harness connections before we attempt to remove the board.
Separate each individual plug, wiggle them out of there. Try not to pull on the wires themselves; we don’t want to damage the wire harness. They seem to be a little stiff, just use our needle nose pliers. You can leave this one on because it does come with the new board.
Now we have four little plastic tabs that hold the board in place, sometimes they will pull off easily but if you just depress the tab on them the board should slide right off. These are the four mounting tabs that the board sits on and you’ll see the little locking tab on the side of each one of them, that’s what we need to press.
Take our new board, complete with integral ground wire, line it up over the four mounting studs, press it into place, and press as close to each individual stud don’t want to crack the board.
Now we’re ready to reinstall the wire harnesses. Make sure that they seat firmly in their sockets. Locate the ground wire with the eyelet so that when we put the cover back on the screw will go through that ground to the chassis.
Now that we’ve got the board back in place, we’re ready to put the back cover on. Simply reinstall all the nine screws keeping in mind that we want to capture the eyelet on that green ground wire in the upper right hand corner. Make sure the harness is not jammed anywhere. Now that the back panel’s on we’re ready to push the refrigerator back in place making sure not to jam our water line and remember to plug it in.
If you found this helpful, you can check out a bunch of other great videos over on YouTube by these guys, PartSelect.
Now we have four little plastic tabs that hold the board in place, sometimes they will pull off easily but if you just depress the tab on them the board should slide right off. These are the four mounting tabs that the board sits on and you’ll see the little locking tab on the side of each one of them, that’s what we need to press.
Take our new board, complete with integral ground wire, line it up over the four mounting studs, press it into place, and press as close to each individual stud don’t want to crack the board.
Now we’re ready to reinstall the wire harnesses. Make sure that they seat firmly in their sockets. Locate the ground wire with the eyelet so that when we put the cover back on the screw will go through that ground to the chassis.
Now that we’ve got the board back in place, we’re ready to put the back cover on. Simply reinstall all the nine screws keeping in mind that we want to capture the eyelet on that green ground wire in the upper right hand corner. Make sure the harness is not jammed anywhere. Now that the back panel’s on we’re ready to push the refrigerator back in place making sure not to jam our water line and remember to plug it in.
If you found this helpful, you can check out a bunch of other great videos over on YouTube by these guys, PartSelect.