Author Archives: Samurai Appliance Repair Man

Manually Starting the Harvest Cycle in the Whirlpool-Built Modular Icemaker

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The Whirlpool-built modular icemaker is used in just about all refrigerators made today, regardless of brand. One notorious exception is the crappy IM6 icemakers used in GE-built refrigerators. Why they didn’t just go with the field-tested Whirlpool-built units is a seedy story of corporate sleaze and extortion now playing in a theater near you!

Any-freakin-way, one of the basic diagnostic things you’ll do on these Whirlpool-built modular icemakers is to manually start the harvest cycle. This is useful for finding out reasons why the icemaker isn’t working. For example, it may not start the harvest cycle at all: bad control module. Or you may find that water never comes in: could be a frozen fill tube, bad water inlet valve, bad water supply.

“O mighty Samurai,” you ax, with stars in your eyes, “how does a neophyte on the path of higher Appliantological wisdom accomplish this miracle of initiating the harvest cycle of which thou speakest?”

An astute question, my fine, young apprentice, and elegantly phrased. Behold the revelation of the mystery:

Manually Starting the Harvest Cycle in the Whirlpool-Built Modular Icemaker
(click for larger view)

To initiate the harvest cycle: use an insulated length of wire with about a half inch stripped off each end. Insert each end of the wire into the test points marked T and H, as shown above. You’ll see the icemaker rake arm begin to move. In just a few seconds– if you listen real close-like– you’ll hear a faint “click,” that means you can pull the jumper wire out and the harvest cycle will continue all by itself.

Ahh, Grasshoppah, can you snatch this pebble from my hand?

To learn more about your ice maker, or to order parts, click here.

How to Destroy the Pump in a Whirlpool Duet Sport Washer

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Looking for an easy way to destroy the pump in your Whirlpool Duet Sport washing machine? Piece of pie, tovarish! Just don’t empty your pockets before you put your pants in the laundry hamper.

Gookus in a Whirlpool Duet Sport Pump Trap

You’ll soon overload the pump’s gookus catcher and some of it is bound to get through and destroy the pump.

Groty Pump in a Whirlpool Duet Sport Washer

Persistence pays…

Whirlpool Duet Sport Washing Machine Drain Pump Assembly

… about $130 in this case. Yep, that’s what a new pump for this beast will run ya, Slick. And it even includes instamalation destructions, too, at no extra charge! Y’see, Hoss, here at Fixit-the-freak-now-dot-frikkin-com, we’re always scoping the deals for you ‘cuz it’s all about you.

Replacing the pump is easy enough… once you clear all the water. Since the pump ain’t working on account of all that metal detector fodder in your pockets, the tub will be full of water. Bail as much as you can. Then remove the kickplate– three screws on the very bottom, cheek to the floor, you’ll see ’em. See that big accordion-looking rubber thingy behind the pump? That’s the suction boot. You’ll need to remove that from the pump. It’s jobs like this where you discover why God gave man Shop Vacs. There’ll be residual water in the drum that’ll run out all over the place unless you suck it up with the Shop Vac as you ease the suction boot off the pump ever so gently. It’s a technique kind of a deal. After you do a few hundred of these, you’ll get to where you won’t even spill a drop… of blood or water.

To learn more about your washing machine, or to order parts, click here.

GE Top-Loading Washer Clicks and Chugs for a While Before Spinning

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Behold:

I’ve even seen this problem accompanied by dramatic, poltergeist-looking light dimming. Very cool!

The problem is the motor. In fact, this clicking and chugging problem was so common on this washer (example model number WBSE3120B) that GE put out a repair kit for it. The kit includes the motor and clutch (pre-assembled), wiring harness, capacitor, wire connecting goodies, and even a tri-lingual notification tag as a double-extra special bonus. Come git you one!

2 Speed motor & clutch kit for a GE washer

To learn more about your washing machine, or to order parts, click here.

What Brand of Kitchen and Laundry Appliances Would the Samurai Buy?

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John wrote:

I need to buy all new kitchen and laundry appliances. Which brand would you stick with (Samsung, LG, Whirlpool, Maytag). I am looking for a frenchdoor and all appliances should match…Stainless too.

Thanks,

John

Let us open our Appliantology hymnals to the Second Law of the Prophecy wherein it is written, “All appliances break.” With this wisdom firmly implanted in that muck betwixt our ears, we begin to see your question from a new perspective.

Like so many propagandized Ameedicans victimized by the slick marketing campaigns assaulting us in the corporate media organs, we see that you have placed aesthetics ahead of practical considerations, such as repairability. In other words, you have placed more importance on form over function, exactly as you have been programmed to do as a good little consumer.

But fear not, my mushy-headed grasshopper, for the Samurai is here to break the spell that the marketing wizards have placed you under. Lo, with his mighty katana, he shall cut asunder the chains of your programming and free you from the trap of mindless consumerism! Let us begin by re-phrasing your question in the way the Samurai would ax it, “Knowing that all modern appliance brands and models are mediocre at best and that all fall short of the glory of the Samurai, which piece of junk am I going to have the easiest time fixing?”

Ahh, Grasshoppah, now you’re beginning to pierce the veil and to do what we professional appliantologists call, “critical thinking.” Using this new, enlightened paradigm, which emphasizes function over form and recognizes the Second Law of the Prophecy, the question further reduces to, “Which appliance manufacturers make their service manuals and technical bulletins freely and readily available to professional appliantologists as well as Joe Do-it-yourselfer?” Eggzellent question, my querying grasshoppah, domo fer axin’!

Currently, there are only three brands which make their service information freely available: Whirlpool (which includes Kitchenaid, Roper, and Maytag brands), Frigidaire (which includes Electrolux brands), and Dacor (which includes, well, just Dacor). Emphasis on the word, “currently” because Whirlpool is considering restricting access to their technical information to professional appliantologists only– you can thank the over-abundance of lawyers and the bidness-killing tort system in Ameedica for that.

At the other end of the information spectrum are companies that are very restrictive with their technical service information and, for that reason, I would never even consider buying their stuff. The worst offenders in the infowar are Viking and GE. In the case of Viking, they’re not only tight-fisted with their service manuals, but their ranges are the shoddiest on the market. And you get to pay a premium price tag just to have the “Viking” badge in your kitchen. Viking is the poster boy of what I mean by placing form over function.

Awwite, armed with this sacred wisdom and enlightened perspective, gird up thy loins and go git ’em!

Two-Year Old GE Microwave: Melting Door and Burning Plastic Smell

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… and to make your joy complete, GE has discontinued this two-year old model! Can you say, “Uhh, guys, we better stop production on this pig-dog before we get our bee-hinds sued into oblivion.” Uh-huh, that’s what I thought you said. Anyway, this topic in the Samurai Appliance Repair Forums ‘splains what you need to fix it…

GE Microwave Melting Door and Burning Smell

To learn more about your microwave oven, or to order parts, click here.

Memory Lane: Older Whirlpool Stack Laundry Unit with Belt Drive Washer

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Had the opportunity to work on an antique the other day: a 30+ year old Whirlpool stack laundry unit with a belt drive washer. This old work horse was still chugging along, just needed a new lid switch. In terms of durability and reliability, you’ll not find anything even close to this machine these days. Just pray to the pot-bellied, bug-eyed Buddha that you never have to replace the belt on this old war pig!

While I was in there, I got some pictures of the innards. Come tiptoe thru the pulleys with me…

Basic View with Front Panel RemovedBasic View with Front Panel Removed

BTW, you can click the pics for the larger view with illuminating annotations.


Main Drive GutsMain Drive Guts


Closeup of BeltCloseup of Belt


T-BearingT-Bearing


PumpPump


Live Action Movie!
If you watch closely, you’ll see the legendary wigwag in action.


How to String the BeltHow to String the Belt


Schematic - Pasted Inside the PanelSchematic – Pasted Inside the Panel


To learn more about your washing machine, or to order parts, click here.

Older Whirlpool or Kitchenaid Dishwasher Won’t Wash

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Awwite, now listen up: this post applies to the older style Whirlpool / Kitchenaid dishwashers (yes, Kitchenaid is a Whirlpool brand– it’s supposedly Whirlpool’s higher end line) with the motor-pump assembly that looks like this. An example model number is kuds25shwh1. If the motor-pump assembly in your Whirlpool or Kitchenaid dishwasher looks like this, then you’re reading the wrong post; you need this one.

Here’s a typical problem description: the dishwasher will program to wash, it fills, the sensing light comes on, and then just sits there forever. If you hit reset, the motor comes on to pump out. But the motor never turns on to wash.

Since this dishwasher does not have a separate drain pump– it drains by reversing the direction of the motor– you may be seduced into thinking that there’s something wrong with the motor windings, like maybe one of them is burned out. You may even go plunk down some Federal Reserve Notes for a new motor-pump assembly, go through the hassle and pain to install it, and then eat your liver when you discover that, after all that, it didn’t fix the problem. Now perhaps you’re ready to listen to an old Samurai.

Let’s use that swirling muck betwixt our ears for something besides warehousing vaccine neurotoxins. For the motor to run, it needs a valid power supply, in this case, 120vac. So, if the motor isn’t running, your first question should be, “Is the motor getting voltage?”

To check this, you’ll need the wiring diagram (located behind the kickplates in a plastic pouch) and your voltage sensing light stick. When the dishwasher is in wash mode– and should be washing but ain’t– then put your light stick on the wires to the motor. No light, no voltage. Therefore the motor ain’t the problem; you got yourself a control problem.

You can get real anal retentive at this point and check the continuity of the wires going to the motor to make sure they’re all good. Or you can just heed the voice of experience telling you that the problem is almost always the control board (item 19). Easy job, just be sure to cut the breaker to the dishwasher before tearing the control panel apart. Conveniently, you can buy the control board ratcheer!

control board for a whirlpool dishwasher-- come git you one!

To learn more about your dishwasher, or to order parts, click here.

Electric Dryer – Dead on Arrival

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Went on another dryer service call the other day. Complaint on this one was that the dryer was completely dead, no lights, no beeps, no nuttin’. It was, as we master appliantologists say, dead on arrival.

Pop Quiz: What’s the first thing you check when you’re dealing with a dead appliance?


Answer: The power supply. In this case, make sure you have proper voltage at the wall outlet that the dryer plugs into. These pics show you the anatomy of both the three-wire and four-wire outlets. Click ’em for a larger view.

Anyway, did that, all good. So the dryer must be getting voltage, right? Ahh, grasshoppah, not necessarily. Like the yellow brick road, we must follow the pigtail into the back of the dryer, remove the little cover for the power strip and check power there. Only then can we say the dryer is getting voltage… or not. After I removed the power strip cover, my bloodshot eyeballs immediately grokked the problem. See if you can spot it in the picture below:

Burnt Connections on an Electric Dryer Power Strip

Did you find it? I knowed you could! Loose connections make heat… sometimes LOTS of heat. Be sure the nuts on those power strip studs are GOODNTIGHT!

In this case, so much of the pigtail wire was burnt up that I had to install a new one. You can, too. Piece of pie, tovarish– come git you one!

To learn more about your dryer, or to order parts, click here.

Whirlpool Duet Electric Dryer, Sensing Light Lit But No Go

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It was a crisp fall morning here in New Hampster when the call came in. Whirlpool Duet electric dryer, the sensing light comes on, control panel responds to the buttons, but it just won’t start running.

So, I set down my breakfast bottle of Tuckerman’s Pale Ale, saddled up the Samurai Repair Van and peeled out.

Upon arrival, I stood in front of the dryer with the customer and verified the complaint. Sho’nuff, the sensing light came on but the motor wouldn’t run when you pressed “Start.” You’d hear a click from the control board then nuttin’, honey.

Top Panel Removed

Since the Duet is one of them over-designed, electronified dryers, you gotsta at least get some eyeballs on the schematic diagram to get an idea of the possible suspects. Conveniently, the dryer comes with a decent tech sheet located just under the top panel. To take off the top panel, you need to pull the dryer out from the wall a few feet to remove three retaining screws in back. With the top panel off, you’ll see the tech sheet in a plastic pouch like ahso.

 

Now, this is what sets a Fermented Grand Master of Appliantology (FGMA), like yours so very freaking truly, apart from your average parts changing monkey (PCM). Where a PCM might just ASSume that the control board is bad– and he would be woefully, hideously wrong– a Master Appliantologist would meditate upon the deeper meaning of life as revealed in the schematic.

 

Whirlpool Duet Electric Dryer Schematic

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So I fired up a spliff, er, I mean, a stick of incense and focused my keen, Vulcan-like squinties upon the schematic whereupon I did perceive a thermal fuse in series with the motor. Being a certifiable black belt in the ancient martial art of Fixite Do, I realized that if the thermal fuse is open, well, motor no workee.

 

Thermal Fuse (left) and Thermistor (right)With the speed of an intoxicated electron and the precision of fuzzy logic, I removed the dryer’s kickplate and took off the blower cover so I could get my nimble fangers on that thermal fuse, located on the blower housing. I checked continuity with my meter and, shazayyam!, that bad boy was wide-azz open!

 

 

 

 

 

thermal fuse for a whirlpool duet dryer

I pulled a new thermal fuse off my van, slapped it in there and that dryer fired right up… after I plugged it back in and turned it on. Giddy up!

 

To learn more about your dryer, or to order parts, click here.

Applianetics: Beyond the Appliantology 3000 Microchip Implant

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The science of applianetics– the merger of humans with appliances– has expanded exponentially since announcing the Appliantology 3000 microchip implant four years ago. At long last, the dream of a comfortable and complete merger of man and appliance has been realized. Ladies and gentlemen, boyz and gurlz, and all genders in between, behold the current state of the art in applianetics:

Cash for Appliances

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Emboldened by the stunning success of their Cash for Clunkers program at screwing lower income folks, the geniuses at the Feral Gubmint have a new program: Cash for Appliances. They’re plugging it in just in time for October, which got designated by someone as National Kitchen & Bath Month.

Just as the Cash for Clunkers program was a bailout for the auto industry, the Cash for Appliances program is a bailout for appliance manufacturers. Domestic appliance manufacturers, like Whirlpool (Benton Harbor, MI) and Frigidaire (Martinez, GA), have gotten slammed during this engineered economic collapse of Ameedica.

But there’s a slight difference.

Unlike the Detroit auto makers, Whirlpool and Frigidaire actually make decent stuff. Both companies have an enlightened policy of making technical information on their products readily and freely available to professional appliance servicers.

I especially like Whirlpool appliances because, with a few exceptions, their products are decent quality and servicer-friendly. In the past, Frigidaire had a horrible reputation for being nightmares to work on; but they’ve made big improvements in this regard.

Happy shopping!