Honestly, I was about to order a whole new control board for this ice maker. Turned out the water inlet valve was just partially clogged with sediment, not fully dead. I took it apart, cleaned the screen with a toothbrush, and it's been making ice perfect for 5 days straight now. Has anyone else had a partial clog act like a bad board like that?
I swear every Samsung fridge I touch has the ice maker fail right around the 24 month mark. The auger motor strips out because the plastic gears can't handle the torque. Anyone got a fix besides replacing the whole assembly every time?
Last month I had a Samsung dryer that kept shutting off after 15 minutes. I usually just bypass the thermal fuse to test it and move on, but this time I replaced it with a genuine Samsung part from a supply house in Columbus. The customer called me 2 weeks later saying the problem came back, turns out the vent was completely clogged 12 feet in. If I would have just bypassed it again that thing could have been a fire hazard. Anyone else run into vent issues that the thermal fuse was actually warning you about?
I had a call last Tuesday for a KitchenAid that was stopping mid cycle and throwing an F8E4 code. Looked it up in my manual, checked everything water related, still couldn't figure it out. Then I stumbled across a forum post mentioning that code can actually mean the turbidity sensor is dirty, not just a water fill issue. Popped the sump cover off and found it caked with hard water scale from some house in Phoenix that never softened their water. Cleaned it with some CLR and the thing ran perfect. Anyone else ever had a code that turned out to mean something totally different than the manual says?
Been using it for 8 months and it drifts by 0.3 ounces every time I set a recovery tank on it, which really messes up my charges on mini splits. Has anyone else had luck with cheaper scales holding calibration or is it worth just coughing up for a Fieldpiece?.
Got a call last week for a dryer that wouldn't heat. Checked the thermal fuse, the heating element, even the cycling thermostat. Spent two hours chasing my tail. Finally noticed a tiny crack in the wire going to the high limit thermostat. Replaced it for five bucks and it fired right up. Felt like an idiot. Anyone else spend way too long on something simple?
I always thought those dedicated compressor testers were a waste of money. I just used my multimeter to check windings and called it good. But last month I had a fridge that kept tripping the breaker and I couldn't figure out why. My multimeter showed everything fine, but a buddy let me borrow his tester. It caught a partial short to ground that my meter totally missed. I was wrong about skipping that tool. Anyone else have a tool they ignored for years?
I keep seeing posts where people swap a compressor or add refrigerant without even looking at the coils. Last month I had a customer in Phoenix say their fridge was running nonstop for 2 days. Pulled the bottom grille and the coils were basically a dust blanket. Hit them with my pressure washer on low, fridge cycled normal in 10 minutes. Charged $75 for the trip and they were happy. Why do so many guys just jump to the expensive fixes first without checking the basics? Anyone else run into this?
Picked up this Fluke knockoff from Amazon with good reviews. First real test on a compressor run capacitor, it said 45 microfarads which looked fine. Replaced the part anyway cause the unit was six years old and still wasn't cooling. Well the original cap was actually 25. Wasted two hours and a return trip. Has anyone else had a cheap meter mess up a diagnosis like that?
Ngl I've been checking continuity on dryer thermostats by touching the leads directly to the terminals, but a old timer on a job site pointed out I should be testing with the part still in the circuit to get accurate readings. Turns out I replaced three perfectly good thermostats last month because I thought they were open. Has anyone else had a basic tool habit flip their troubleshooting upside down?
I was stuck on a dead refrigerator board last Tuesday in Austin when this retired HVAC guy walked in and pointed at a resistor like it was obvious. He said "the voltage drop tells you everything" and walked away. Has anyone else had a random pro cut through the noise like that?
Last week I cleared a dryer vent in a house near Austin, TX, and three days later the homeowner called me back saying it was clogged again. I went out there and found new lint buildup already starting, even though I used a brush and vacuum the first time. Turns out their outdoor flap was jammed half open, letting humid air push lint right back in. Has anyone else run into this kind of sneaky re-clog issue?
I was at a job last Tuesday, a Whirlpool dryer not heating. Checked the vent, checked the elements, even checked the gas valve. After 45 minutes I popped the thermal fuse with my multimeter and got zero continuity. Swapped it for a $8 part and the thing fired right up. Has anyone else had a thermal fuse cause way more confusion than it should?
Last week I replaced a main control board on a Whirlpool fridge because the compressor wasn't starting. I was so sure it was the board since it was throwing a specific error code. Turned out the wiring harness had a loose pin that I overlooked during my first check. Cost me $90 for the board and three hours of my afternoon. Anyone else thrown money at a part only to find it was a simple connection issue?
I bought a no-name multimeter off Amazon for $20 thinking I was saving money. It kept giving me weird readings on a fridge compressor, and I spent 3 hours chasing a problem that wasn't there. A Fluke from the supply house cost me $150, but I would have saved that time and headache if I just bought it first. Anyone else get burned by cheap test gear?
Just got back from a job in Plano where the tenant said the fridge was freezing everything solid. I found the thermistor reading 12k ohms at room temp when it should have been around 8k... that's a 30% drift. Do y'all replace the thermistor first or just go straight for the control board on these older models?
I was doing a standard install on a new electric range in Boise last month and found the outlet box had a loose neutral. The last guy just pushed the wire in and didn't tighten the screw. Took me 5 minutes to fix but if I had just plugged it in it could have started a fire. Why are so many techs skipping this step? Has anyone else found loose connections in new builds?
Was picking up a replacement compressor for a Samsung fridge yesterday and this guy probably 70 years old starts talking to me about how he never uses the OEM ones anymore. He told me "these new compressors are built to fail after 5 years, just grab a universal one and save $150." Honestly I always thought OEM was the only way to go but I tried it on a job this morning and it fired right up, no issues. Any of you guys had luck swapping to universal compressors for refrigerators?
Spent 3 hours chasing a no-start on a Whirlpool dryer yesterday, swapped the board, and it still didn't work, only to find a bulging cap on the new board that showed correct capacitance on my meter.
So I had this customer call me about a Maytag dryer that was making this weird thumping sound for like 3 months. I went out there twice and checked the drum rollers, the belt, even the blower wheel. Nothing felt loose. Then I was sitting in my truck eating lunch and I overheard this other repair guy talking about how sometimes the rear drum support slides out of alignment on older models. I went back and looked closer and sure enough the little plastic glides were worn down just enough to let the drum wobble. Took me 15 minutes to put new ones in and the noise was gone. Customer was thrilled and I felt dumb for not catching it sooner lol. Has anyone else had a simple fix that took way too long to figure out because you were looking at the wrong part?
I was fixing a dryer for this guy who manages 12 units over in Oak Park. He mentioned he replaces belts every 8 months like clockwork because tenants just jam them full. Said he buys the cheapest belts he can find since they fail anyway. Made me realize I've been recommending mid tier belts to homeowners when maybe the cheap ones make more sense for rentals. Any of you guys use different parts for rental properties vs single family homes?
Been repairing fridges for about 8 years now, and I keep seeing guys online swear by checking start winding resistance to the hundredth of an ohm. In my experience, that method has let me down more often than not. I had a Whirlpool side-by-side last month where the meter said the compressor was fine, but the damn thing wouldn't kick on no matter what. I ended up swapping in a 3-in-1 start kit on a hunch, and it fired right up. That same thing happened maybe 5 times in the last 2 years where the numbers looked perfect but the compressor was still bad. I think we spend too much time chasing exact readings when a simple amperage draw test or seeing if it hums tells you more. Has anyone else had better luck just trusting the old-school methods over the digital stuff?
I had a Whirlpool side-by-side that was pooling water under the crisper drawers, so I swapped the drain pan and defrost heater in under 45 minutes. Put it all back together and it still leaked, then after rechecking everything for another 2 hours I noticed the water line connection had a tiny pinhole that was spraying up behind the unit. Has anyone else had a fridge leak that was coming from a totally unexpected spot like that?
A customer in Fort Worth insisted his unit stopped his dishwasher from spotting, so I tested the water hardness before and after a month. The numbers didn't budge, but the glasses were actually clearer, so maybe it's doing something to the minerals? Has anyone else run into a job where the fix made no sense but still seemed to work?