Model #TPS24BPCEBS, this side by side refrigerator started leaking some time ago for the customer each time the dispenser was used or the ice maker cycled. There was no obvious leak to the customer as water would simply appear in a pool from under the front grill. Thinking there must be a connection problem the customer contacted a plumber to repair the leak but once the refrigerator was removed from the cabinet, the leak looked to be coming from somewhere underneath.



Water leaks can be difficult things to look for because depending on the frequency and source of the leak, the reason doesn't always present itself without some investigation. Generally a large enough leak isn't to hard to locate, but if the water is the result of many small drips added together, well it's time to get out the paper towels and start checking everything in the water system.

The leak on this refrigerator wasn't as difficult to locate as it was to repair. After pulling the refrigerator from the cabinet and doing some checking of the obvious connections, the large growing puddle seeping from under the right side had me thinking there must be something big. Everything around the water valve seemed to be as expected and the dust showed no evidence of being disturbed, but it was obvious water was coming from somewhere. Then I finally found it.

Connected to the water valve is each of the water components. The water comes in from the house connection, then up to the water filter. From there it travels back to the water valve again to be distributed to either the ice maker or the water dispenser. Due to the proximity to the compressor that generates plenty of heat, the water lines are enclosed in insulating sleeves to help prolong their lives. It was inside one of these sleeves that I found the break.

The damaged line was one going to the water tank inside the fresh food section. Being a clean break, I first tried a repair with a coupler only to have the next section of tubing break in much the same way. It seems the water line was become very brittle from the years of heating and cooling. So I replaced the water tank and its associated tubing, along with some of the other more common 1/4" water lines just to be safe.

Once back in the cabinet, the water dispenser worked again, and this time the floor stayed dry.

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Model #ARTC8600LL, this free standing range was displaying an F1 error message along with the expected, but rather annoying continuous beeping sound. The surface burners all worked fine, but as long as the range was plugged in, the error and beeping would continue making it difficult to do anything.



The F1 error message is one of the few almost universal error codes. What I mean by this is the code and its reason for occurring is the same for just about every make and model range, or oven out there. And the failure is simple, the ERC or electronic range control has either detected a problem with the keypad, or the ERC itself has simply failed. To be sure which one is pertinent to a specific make or model, it is a good idea to check the appropriate documentation, but in general, the ERC and the touch pad are a good place to begin.

On this range, the error could be with the panel or the ERC and the process to determine which one is at fault is usually as simple as unplugging the user interface panel from the ERC. If the error message goes away, the problem is with the touch panel. If the error comes right back, then the ERC is the one to causing the problem.

I installed the new ERC board into the back guard of the range and connected the ribbon cable and power cables to their appropriate connectors. With the range plugged back into the outlet, the ERC display illuminated but this time without the error message.

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Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas!!

Model #PLMV169DCD, this over the range microwave was newly installed in the home and had yet to work. The display, lights and fans seemed to work as expected, but when a heating cycle was started, everything would go dark. This occurred several times, each time the circuit break had to be reset, but the last time the customer tried it, the oven remained dark.



Generally speaking if one of house circuit breakers trips, it's going to be due to a short circuit or some other form of excessive current draw. Each breaker has a rating that is its maximum before it will trip and open the circuit. This is a safety measure to prevent fires and electrocution due to a short or even when someone tries to put to much of a load on one one outlet. So if a breaker trips, reset it. If it trips again, it is time to go looking for the failure.

The breaker in this home would reset and the last time the microwave didn't come back to life. Given the description from the customer, I had a good idea of where the problem was going to be found. As I said above, the breaker will trip when a short is created in a circuit and in a microwave, there is one created on purpose for the sake of safety.

Each microwave oven will use 3 or 4 interlock switches mounted together to make up the door latching system. These switches and their operation are designed to prevent the microwave oven from operating with the door open. One of them, called the monitor, is designed to create a short circuit inside the microwave when the door is closed. This short poses no problem as long as the other switches are closed and the start button is not pressed. But if someone were to bypass the other switches and attempt to start the oven, the monitor switch would short the circuit and trip the breaker and/or blow the ovens internal line fuse.

Given the customers description, I headed straight for the monitor switch, figuring this was the problem and found it was loose in its mount. This allowed the switch to move out of position when the door was closed resulting in the short circuit never opening properly. When the start button was pressed, the short quickly caused the circuit breaker to trip. Because this was a new microwave, the internal fuse was still in good shape at least for a few times, but the last time the breaker was recent was also the last time for the fuse to pass current.

I reinstalled the monitor switch into the mount and installed a new line fuse onto the filter board. With everything clear, I started a heating cycle and everything worked just the way it should.

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I don't have much to say about this other than it's about time. I know most people pay little attention to the energy label when purchasing a new appliance because they are making their selection based on how it looks and what it does. But if you are interested in the energy conservation side of things and want to make an educated decision, the existing tags can be rather misleading and in some cases outright false. My reasoning for saying such things isn't because the manufacturers are trying to scam anyone, but it has more to do with what isn't being said. Many new appliances are very energy efficient when being used in a specific way, such as a dishwasher that gives the option of turning off the heated dry. That is great, but most people don't like to dry off their dishes as they empty the dishwasher. So does the energy savings still hold true if the customer chooses to use the heated dry feature? Or what happens when the energy usage sample is taken in a controlled condition with such things as a refrigerators ice maker turned off? The ice maker itself isn't a big energy hog, but making ice every hour for years can add up and I am not always sure if that information makes it onto these labels. All I can say is I hope something good comes out of this government intervention for the benefit of the consumer. But still, it is important to be educated about what you are buying and ask the right questions. - Me

Article -
Those yellow labels on appliances that declare how much power they'll use and show you how much you'll save because of their energy efficiency may not be as truthful as you think.

Because of that doubt, the U.S. Department of Energy said last week it's giving appliance makers 30 days to provide more accurate information on their products' energy use. And it promised to take a tougher stance to enforce energy-efficiency standards.

Read the full story at freep.com