wha wha wha wha the washer is broke

[29palms]

The ever dreaded phone call I want to hear at work. The washing machine is broke. It doesn't drain or spin. Water just sits there. But no fear. Don't I always fix things that break in my home? Isn't it I that tore apart a vacum cleaner and soldered in a wire for a broken switch? Aren't I that fixed my 13 year old dryer most recently and virtually overhauled it? Like new? Aren't I the one that fixed my ac unit on condensor broke fan motor by changing out for a new one, after researching the parts and ordering the required parts? As with everything else? Aren't I the one that fixed a broken head light and front grille after the wife took out a refrigerator in the middle of the road dropped by a truck? Aren't me the one that changed out a leaking hot water heater tank by changing out a new pressure regulator valve and splicing in a new drain line? The same guy....ME that unclogged drain lines from my ac unit in the attic? I don't even want to get into other projects and car fixes I've done, or tables and entertainment centers and cabinets I've put together utilizing my wood shop skills and mechanical skills.

But thanks to amazon.......they have my washing machine switch. After a thorough analysis on my washing machine, and checking out the pump for clogs or damage, I determine that the problem is with the lid switch. If the switch quits functioning, it won't spin the machine and drain the water. Took the switch off and checked it out and it feels broken, not doing the clicking noise thing, so I didn't even bother to take a multimeter to it.


Ok, so what does this have to do with the price of tea in China? Nothing. Just saves me money from having to buy a new washing machine. More money saved is more money I can use to go somewhere with. Later gator.

[spongebue]

My wife has been kind of annoying lately when things break down. No matter how simple the issue, she ALWAYS brings up replacement as well as repair. "Your computer has been restarting at random? Maybe you should get a new one..." - I can't keep track of how many times I've had to remind her that computers (at least desktops) are EXTREMELY repairable. Or our garage door recently broke. Can't remember if a replacement was brought up then (probably) but a $15 gear set fixed that up just fine. That other one had the main drive gear turn into plastic powder. Thankfully that one is up and running again.

[29palms]

UPDATE. Got the switch at amazon. To my surprise, it came quite fast but it wasn't even protected as flimsy as the switch is. Luckily, it was intact and in good working order. Got the new hot water cold water hose with new gaskets. Had to pull the machine apart, slide the cabinet out to install new switch. Bottom line, ops check is good, washer spinning, draining good, washer working fine, cloth being washed. Total repair bill. 7.99 for the hoses and 2.99 for the switch. 13 year old washer still going good.

[29palms]

My wife has been kind of annoying lately when things break down. No matter how simple the issue, she ALWAYS brings up replacement as well as repair. "Your computer has been restarting at random? Maybe you should get a new one..." - I can't keep track of how many times I've had to remind her that computers (at least desktops) are EXTREMELY repairable. Or our garage door recently broke. Can't remember if a replacement was brought up then (probably) but a $15 gear set fixed that up just fine. That other one had the main drive gear turn into plastic powder. Thankfully that one is up and running again.

In this world of disposable things, everyone thinks that upgrading or buying a new something because it breaks down is the only alternative. I understand that not everybody is mechanically inclined or have tools to do things with. By the time you call a repairman to do the job, it makes it not economically feasable when you can take that repair bill money and slap it down on a new washing machine. But I'll be damed if I will pay money for a repair guy or buy a new washer over a lid switch. The hardest thing about this job was accessabillity like most things. The water hoses I decided to change out because they looked like in due time, they will spring a leak. They looked pretty bad when I took them off. Gasket shot and ready to leak at any time.

[spongebue]

Absolutely. My dad was very mechanical. Was a car mechanic before I was born, and would repair cars all my life (with very few specialized exceptions). I think that TVs are one thing that have gotten really disposable that used to be almost always repaired, and he's been buying broken TVs off craigslist, replacing some capacitors on the motherboard (the issue 99% of the time, few dollars in parts) and voila - new tv. Thankfully, I've picked up from my father in that regard, not my father-in-law.

[29palms]

I have a projection TV that took a dump a couple of years ago. Make a long story short, it lost some color, so it looks semi-black and white. I tried messing with it, but then opted for a more modern smart tv and use the projection tv in my man cave. Works good, got the antennae hooked up to it, basically watch DIGITAL TV and have caught some great football games with the big screen. So the color is somewhat compromised, but I didn't see any reason to deep six the projection tv when I can still watch TV, only not in its best color. But its clear and crisp enough for a man cave tv. That tv is a bit over my head. Could be alot of things wrong with that causing the red color to go out.

[MRSDS1DONNA]

Washers and dryers are a lot easier to fix than a TV. I've taken mine apart completely, pulled up the schematic and fixed them without calling anyone. I've found that plenty of things are fixable if you try.

[spongebue]

Not only that, but (somewhat contradicting what I said earlier) newer LCD tvs are a lot easier for a common person to repair. Once you get past the main power supply (which I don't think goes bad as often, and can be replaced as a unit fairly reasonably) things are very low-power. Tube tvs, on the other hand, store HUGE electric charges, even when unplugged. If you don't properly discharge it, and touch the wrong point, you can be killed.

[29palms]

Washers and dryers are a lot easier to fix than a TV. I've taken mine apart completely, pulled up the schematic and fixed them without calling anyone. I've found that plenty of things are fixable if you try.

You can read a schematic? Me too. I learned it in A&P school. Where did you learn about capacitors,resistence, impedance, voltage drop, PNP,NPN, diodes, soldering, rectifiers, transformers,fuses, and crimping? What is your position in the airlines?

[29palms]

Not only that, but (somewhat contradicting what I said earlier) newer LCD tvs are a lot easier for a common person to repair. Once you get past the main power supply (which I don't think goes bad as often, and can be replaced as a unit fairly reasonably) things are very low-power. Tube tvs, on the other hand, store HUGE electric charges, even when unplugged. If you don't properly discharge it, and touch the wrong point, you can be killed.

Problem I've run into things like LCD tv's is WHERE DO YOU GET THE REPAIR MANUAL and where do you get spare parts? A repair manual like aircraft manuals tells you FAULT ISOLATION procedures such as TV RECEPTION NOT WORKING. NO SIGNAL. Then you have a flow chart like steps to help you fix it. And I'm not talking about the owners manual with stupid steps like, to make sure that the tv is plugged in. Or like the antenna is connected. I've been told that repair manuals for tv's are not sold to anyone aside tv shops. If you have the right manuals/schematics/troubleshooting guides, that may be enough for a trained technician with semi-technical training. But you still have to have certain skills like soldering, and understanding how a fuse, resistor multimeter works along with certain hand skills like taking a tv apart. Not to mention tooling or even test equipment. Removing and replacing parts is easy. Finding out what is wrong with it (troubleshooting) is the hard part, or even gaining access to a suspect part. Be aware of those that say they can fix TV's by watching youtube videos and have zero formal electronics training. (Or any kind of technical training.)