Dishwasher Float Switch

Our Western Appliance Repair technicians run into a lot of unusual appliance service calls.  Here in this picture you will see a small mushroom looking object in the lower right side of the picture.  This device is float switch sensor, also called an overflow sensor.

Most dishwashers will fill with water for a programmed duration.  This duration is not failsafe though.  Many homes have higher water pressure as compared to others.  Higher pressure will lead to more water in the tub. How do the designers compensate for this?  Use a float sensor. In homes with high water pressure the float sensor will shut off the water before the programmed duration is completed if the water rises to a specified point.  If the dishwasher has low water pressure then the programmed water fill duration will shut off the inlet valve when duration is complete.

This floating piece of plastic has a shaft on the bottom of it which triggers a shutoff switch if water gets too high.  Sometimes these float sensors will get stuck in the “up” position and won’t allow water to enter the dishwasher at all.

Frigidaire Dryer Heater

This is what a heater element looks like in a Frigidaire dryer stack unit.  When I say stacked I mean a dryer that is stacked on top of the washer.  In this instance the dryer is actually part of the unit, but I still call it a stack.  Anyway, this heater element has seen better days.  It’s very burned towards the very top of the pan which suggests there may be an air restriction in the system.  When air is restricted the heater element will burn hotter and in this type of heater, the heat usually burns hotter towards the top.

As you can see, the coils near the top of the “pan” are broken.  I was unsure of it was broken because of excessive heat but I found out later that the customer had tried to take this apart with the power ON.  Yes, there were sparks and flames I was toldJ.  So, this may have been the cause of the breaks however, the original problem was a dryer without heat.

Well, in a nutshell, the dryer heater element was bad and we had this repaired in no time.  This stack unit cost about 1300.00 new so a two hundred dollar repair was well worth the money.

Rich

Western Appliance Repair of Meridian Idaho
Meridian Idaho 83642

Oven Repair in Meridian - Mouse in the house

Mouse in the House

Field mice can reach on appliances once they have entered a home.  I’ve seen a lot of damage over the years by these pesky critters.

Mice will chew a hole in the back access panel of a refrigerator and make themselves a nest.   Eventually some of them take a wrong turn and run right into a spinning fan blade. The mouse body gets wedged between the fan blade and the sheet-metal housing.  This will stop the fan completely and the refrigerator compressor overheats.  I had two of these repair calls in Meridian  Idaho in  one week.  Unbelievable!

In this picture it shows what a mouse can do when it gets into the insulation of a stove.  The mouse droppings will get warmed up when a homeowner turns on the stove and cause a very wretched smell.  The smell may be eliminated once the affected insulation can be removed and/or cleaned.  Many home-owners decide to buy new appliances.

Oven heating element failure

One big reason for premature failure of a oven bake or broil element is contamination of oils or greasy residue that can accumulate on the red-hot heating coils.  Types of contamination is grease that splatters or drips from cooking food such as fried chicken.  When the grease gets hot during  the bake or broil process, it can become unstable and drip on the element thus creating a hot spot that burns hotter then the rest of the element and weakens the insulation of the element material. If the grease spot is real bad or if this happens repeatedly it can cause a rupture and a small explosion.  Most customers describe this event as a flash fire in the oven or a arc-welding type of event.  Many times the 240V circuit breaker will trip and will need to be reset.
If this happens to you, disconnect power to your appliance and call a repairman.  If you would like to attempt the appliance repair yourself then turn off all power to the appliance before doing anything.  Inspect the element carefully using a flashlight.  If the element is similar looking the the picture above then replace the element.

Rich
Appliance Repair in Meridian Idaho

Maytag Neptune Washing Machine Problem

This is a picture of a very reliable and top-end front-load Maytag Neptune washing machine.  This washer, once the cycle is started, will not lock the door when it is suppose to.  When the door is locked the front panel light should illuminate.  In this case it is not happening.  The first thing we want to look for on this board is the R11 resistor on the front of the main control board.  Remove the screws from the back panel and gently remove the access panel.  The main control board will be attached to the back panel.  You will have easy access.  Inspect the front of this board very carefully and look for any burn marks.  Sometimes the burned components will give off a bad smell.  If you find that the board is burned, the board will need to be replace.  Please note: the wax motor, which controls the door lock, will also need to be replaced at the same time.
Western Appliance Repair
208-599-1086

Don't run a oven self-clean before Holiday

Folks, it's very common for people want a clean oven for holiday meals especially when you have visitors.  My advice- don't run a self-clean.  Clean the oven with a good quality spray cleaner instead.  If a malfunction occurs in the oven controls or thermostats during a self-clean you may be without a oven until help arrives after the Holiday. These problems are not uncommon since the stress on the oven and components are great when the oven reaches 900F .  If you really need to do a self-clean, my advice is to wait until after the holiday.  Happy Thanksgiving folks!    208-599-1086.  http://www.appliancerepairmeridian.com. 

Dishwasher dispenser indicates problem

When we see this kind is soap buildup it suggests a problem with water circulation.  A healthy dishwasher will wash away any residual detergent and leave the dispenser clean after each wash.

Dishwasher dispenser bad

Detergent is dispensed during the main wash cycle.  It cannot be added manually because the detergent will be flushed out after the initial prewash.

Ice and water leaks on freezer floor

Damaged Dryer Drums

Bad bad bad.  This dryer drum has definitely seen better days.  What started out as a new LG dryer drum, shipped straight from the manufacturer, has turned into to a taco shaped mess.  UPS did a good job at destroying this however, it wasn't all their fault.  The box that it was shipped in was thin and did not have any support.  Considering how paper thin these new dryer drums are, you would think that the appliance-maker would provide decent packing and support.  I guess not!  This is what I get.

I may not provide replacement drums for my Meridian and Boise customers anymore.  The damage rate on these drums, as received, are about 70 percent.  That's right, seventy percent are damaged.  I usually have to go through paperwork and refunds to make sure everyone is happy and it leaves the customer without a repaired dryer.  It's become a big pain in the !@#ss.  Oh well!

Rich
Western Appliance Repair
208-599-1086

Washer lid switch problems

The first picture shows a lid actuator pin for a direct-drive washer.  The second picture shows where the pin makes contact with the washer switch.  When the lid is closed, a switch contact is enabled and the timer now sends a voltage signal to the washer' s drive motor to start the spin and drain cycles.

I find broken switches in many of these washers in the Meridian Idaho area.  

A common symptom is that the washer won't spin the clothes out and leaves them wet.

As with most other washer problems in Meridian, we can fix this too.  208-599-1086

Broken Dishwasher Heater

I had replaced this dishwasher heater about 4 months ago and it broke in half again.  This is very unusual for this to happen since the typical lifetime of these heaters are years.  Our Kenmore dishwasher, made by Whirlpool, has lasted 17 years and it is still running without any problems.   This makes me wonder if melted plastic or something that could have dropped down on it during the heat cycle, could have caused it.  Hmm...

Lint buildup in dryer

Folks, get your dryer vent cleaned regularly.  You don't want your dryer to look like this.

Refrigerator evaporator

This is a Maytag dryer with a clogged defrost drain, in meridian.  Once the obstruction is removed from the drain and the ice removed, it will work great for years.

Water damage

This is the damage which can occur due to a leaky refrigerator.  In this instance the ice maker supply valve had a pinhole in it.  Every time the customer used the water dispenser the valve would spray water on the floor.  The damage to the hardwood was extensive.

Water freezing in freezer

When water accumulates in the defrost tray, it causes excess humidity in the refrigerator air.  This will eventually deposit around the air ducts like we see in this picture.

Dishwasher turn on by itself

This Whirlpool dishwasher would run all night.  We ended up replacing the control panel to fix the problem.  When intermittent connections occur in the command bus, the control board can do weird things.  Another great fix from Western Appliance.  208-599-1086

New appliance repair tech for Western

We have a new appliance Guru here at Western.  Because of our extreme dedication to our customer needs, we found it necessary to expand without sacrificing quality.

Door Spring Replacement for KitchenAid Dishwashers

Dryer Dead?

When your dryer appears to have died and there is no response from the controls, chances are that the thermal fuse has blown.  Most of the time it is located on the blower housing. 208-599-1086