My fridge died in July and I fixed it with a $12 part

I was in my kitchen in Phoenix when the compressor just stopped. It was 110 outside and I could hear my milk getting warm. Called a repair guy and he quoted me $350 just to look at it. So I watched a YouTube video and found out it was a bad start relay, $12 on Amazon. Swapped it out in 10 minutes and it's been running fine for 3 months now. Has anyone else tried fixing their appliances instead of calling someone?

3 comments

3 Comments

rowanr8813d ago

Nah man, I gotta push back on this. You got lucky with a $12 fix but most people don't have the time or patience to watch a YouTube video and guess what's wrong. My buddy tried fixing his dryer from a video and ended up shorting the whole thing out. Cost him twice what a repair guy would've charged. Sometimes paying someone who knows what they're doing is worth it, especially when it's something more complicated than a relay.

kelly_rivera13d ago

Whoa wait hold up. You actually shorted out a dryer trying to fix it from a video? That's wild. I feel like most of those tutorials are pretty straightforward if you just take it step by step and don't rush it. But I guess if you're not careful with the wiring or forget to unplug it, yeah that could get ugly fast. Still, $12 vs $350 is a crazy difference, but I get that it's not for everyone.

charlesschmidt13d ago

Flip it around - I'd argue those $350 repair guys are the reason people end up shorting their dryers. They make basic fixes look like rocket science so you'll pay them. That relay is literally a $2 part with four spade connectors. If you can hook up a car battery you can swap one. The real problem is nobody teaches basic electrical safety anymore, like keeping one hand in your pocket when testing live circuits.