Your recent repair? 2013 - 2020

[M Paquette]

Warrantee repair of a built-in "GE Appliances" microwave oven. My efforts were confined to scheduling the free repair and drinking coffee while the young fellow tried not to get bit by the magnetron power supply.

The controller board wasn't cycling the magnetron power relay. He declared it 'fixed' when the relay started cycling after he'd reset the board (literally; as in remove and re-insert).

I'm not putting the spare microwave (from my radio room/office) away just yet.


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[meierlde]

In both cases of my variable-speed pumps, it's the electronics that failed. Note that they are two different brands. Perhaps some parts are not used according to their ratings. I think the manufacturers have not gained experience in field failures of their products. They will learn the hard way, and the weaker ones may drop out of the market in the years ahead.

Interestingly I had a variable speed air handler blower stop working, (It also handles a delay in startup for a heatpump). The service person said that the mfg is having a lot of problems with blower motors ( He said they replaced about 1 a week). If you look at the circuit diagram, much of the smarts is now embedded in the blower motor instead of on a circuit board.)

Note that the unit was just 3.5 years old so under warranty.

 

[naggz]

Got home from vacation to find our jetted tub not working.

I got worried, as there is no access panel to the motor, so it would require tile work to fix, but then I checked the tub's GFCI in the basement, and it wouldn't reset (and it had a slight burnt smell).

I hate doing electrical work - too scared usually, but for $25 for a new GFCI receptacle & another $25 for a non-contact voltage tester (which I've wanted for a while anyway, just needed an excuse to buy it), I figured it's worth a try before calling an electrician. It's working nicely now - no electrician (or tile layer) needed.

 

[Sunset]

That is imaginable. When I drove to the junkyard the other day it was without a window. in my t-shirt. Didn't run the AC though.

Oh yeah,
Well the other day I bought ice cream, put it in the trunk of the car and 5 hours later remembered it was in the trunk.
Brought it in the house to soften up for desert

 

[zinger1457]

Got home from vacation to find our jetted tub not working.

I got worried, as there is no access panel to the motor, so it would require tile work to fix, but then I checked the tub's GFCI in the basement, and it wouldn't reset (and it had a slight burnt smell).

I hate doing electrical work - too scared usually, but for $25 for a new GFCI receptacle & another $25 for a non-contact voltage tester (which I've wanted for a while anyway, just needed an excuse to buy it), I figured it's worth a try before calling an electrician. It's working nicely now - no electrician (or tile layer) needed.

I would recommend that you check your local building codes, in most places you do need to have an access panel for a jetted tub with a motor. It's not only a good idea for maintenance issues but could become an issue if you were to sell your house. It's also usually spelled out as a requirement from the tub manufacturer for warranty issues. I have two access panels to my jetted tub from the adjacent wall in the walk-in closet.

 

[DFA]

Replaced CPU and Chassis fans in my computer, one making noise and the other stopped working all together.

 

[Tailgate]

cord on Dyson vacuum.. $60, + $10 for the loaner

 

[sailor]

cord on Dyson vacuum.. $60, + $10 for the loaner

Ugh - that's an expensive cord.
The cords typically break near the vac and I just shorten them a little without any cash outlay.
But in one case I replaced a vac cord with a 25 ft extension cord, 25ft 16/3 cord is less than $10 at Home Depot.

 

[Sunset]

Ugh - that's an expensive cord.
The cords typically break near the vac and I just shorten them a little without any cash outlay.
But in one case I replaced a vac cord with a 25 ft extension cord, 25ft 16/3 cord is less than $10 at Home Depot.

Good idea

 

[GravitySucks]

I replaced the screen on this Nexus 7. Thank you YouTube!
Can't believe how tiny the screws are in this thing. That paired with my Fred Flintstone fingers made the reassemble tough.

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[John Galt III]

Finally got the stuck, dripping, Moen cartridge out of my kitchen sink faucet. Somehow found the right Rube Goldberg combination of available lying around the garage *tools*, assembled them, applied some pressure and out popped the old Moen! And to think, I almost spent $15 on a *Moen cartridge puller* tool. Life is good.

 

[Nunthewiser]

Changed the drivers side CV axle on Mom's nearly new 95 Plymouth Acclaim. I decided just to re-boot the inside CV (that's all it needed), but nobody does that anymore. But, with her car only having 60K miles, I decided to keep what she had.

It was a struggle as I didn't bring the right tools with me, but I got it done.

As soon as I pulled it out of the garage to test it, I see a fuel leak. So, back in again for more punishment.

 

[cooch96]

Had the lawn mower fixed. Had water and gunk in the carburetor. $83 for full service.

 

[robertf57]

Replaced the disposal. The thing was leaking and we are showing the place for potential sale. I had never installed one before, and I didn't have time to fix it myself. $360. Now that I've looked on the net, I should have waited a few day because it appears to be a very simple job. Oh well... Live and learn!

 

[Texas Proud]

Replaced the disposal. The thing was leaking and we are showing the place for potential sale. I had never installed one before, and I didn't have time to fix it myself. $360. Now that I've looked on the net, I should have waited a few day because it appears to be a very simple job. Oh well... Live and learn!

It is a pretty simple job as long as you can get to it easily and nothing goes wrong....

In my old house I changed it three times (bought the cheap ones and they lasted only a few years).... it was easy to get to... once I did have to change the downspout from the sink, but that just required another tool... another time it just did not want to seat properly no matter how much I muscled it...

In my current house, I would not even go there... small opening and LOTS of hoses and pipes in the way.... I will not do it myself again.... but the one I did put in I bought the one with the longest warranty they had....

 

[sengsational]

Talking about pipes and disposals...I put in a new kitchen sink with a new faucet today. The cast iron sink weighed 75 pounds, so every move had to be planned out. DW and both were required to get it dropped in.

Then it's over 2 inches deeper and the drains are toward the back, so the drain pipes needed to be completely re-done. It turned out to be a 3 hardare store visit job, trying to get the drain pipes to fit.

I know many DIYer here draw the line on plumbing. I thought about it, but I think it was $350, and I wonder if that would include the significant fiddling and repositioning of the RO water system. But if you add the faucet and drain hardware while the sink is upside down on the bench, there is not too much lying on your back under the cabinet.

 

[Looking4Ward]

Working on mine right now. Apparently we've had a leaking copper elbow behind the wall in the downstairs powder room. Figured out this week the wet spot on the drywall wasn't coming from DS9 splashing water from the pedestal sink, so I opened up a bit of the wall and found wet, nasty black mold.

Had one of those flexible cameras with a light on the end that I shoved up inside the wall and could see the leaky pipe about five feet from the floor.

Ripped out the drywall today, scrubbed out most of the mold and will repeat tomorrow. Then I'll resolder the elbow (wrapped in a towel in the second picture), put in new drywall, texture and paint.

I'm thinking I saved quite a bit doing this myself.

 

[Nunthewiser]

Fixed the fuel system problems on my simple as dirt '91 Jetta diesel. It was sort of "missing" under full load acceleration. At first I was thinking it wasn't getting enough fuel so I added an electric fuel pump ahead of the fuel filter in the engine bay. That had no effect, so I took to cleaning, then changing injectors. I scratched my head when the new injectors would not light the car up at all. When I went to swap them out yet again I discovered I had failed to tighten the fuel lines at the injector pump (duh!). Runs like a champ now on all 52 horsepower.

 

[ArkTinkerer]

Talking about pipes and disposals...I put in a new kitchen sink with a new faucet today. The cast iron sink weighed 75 pounds, so every move had to be planned out. DW and both were required to get it dropped in.

Then it's over 2 inches deeper and the drains are toward the back, so the drain pipes needed to be completely re-done. It turned out to be a 3 hardare store visit job, trying to get the drain pipes to fit.

I know many DIYer here draw the line on plumbing. I thought about it, but I think it was $350, and I wonder if that would include the significant fiddling and repositioning of the RO water system. But if you add the faucet and drain hardware while the sink is upside down on the bench, there is not too much lying on your back under the cabinet.

Did the same over my birthday weekend. Just wanted to get something DONE, FINISHED, OVER WITH. Sink was the source and target of my wrath. But pulling the old pipes found them so caked full of corrosion that the drain was very slow. We pulled and replaced those pipes. Better but still clogged somewhere further down. Finally, on Tuesday, went up on the roof and ran a line down the vent stack. Took a while but broke thru a blockage. Now all my cares go down the drain and we can watch the nice little whirlpool that we never saw since we bought this house...

 

[imoldernu]

Update on an older problem, posted here....

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f29/your-recent-repair-68722-6.html#post1512732
for which I received much thoughtful help from my friends here on ER... which was very much appreciated.

It had to do with a mysterious wiring problem in my park model trailer at the lake. I went back to the local contractor that I had contacted originally, who decided to bring in the best guy in the county. As I understand it, he went to the suggestion that NW-Bound (pictured) and others had made about the wiring ground... He went to the main box... before the meter, and found burnt crossed ground wires. It was the place I was afraid to go because of the voltage. Twenty five years before, the prior owners had a 220V dryer installed in the exterior shed, with a separate direct line from the meter box. Although disconnected long ago, the wiring remained, and for whatever reason there was an intermittent short, exacerbated by the use of some electric heaters. Anyway... fingers crossed, fixed... for $100... Much less than the feared rewiring of the entire house/addaroom... which might have been into the thousands.
Thanks again to all who helped with thoughts and comments.

 

[aja8888]

Update on an older problem, posted here....

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f29/your-recent-repair-68722-6.html#post1512732
for which I received much thoughtful help from my friends here on ER... which was very much appreciated.

It had to do with a mysterious wiring problem in my park model trailer at the lake. I went back to the local contractor that I had contacted originally, who decided to bring in the best guy in the county. As I understand it, he went to the suggestion that NW-Bound (pictured) and others had made about the wiring ground... He went to the main box... before the meter, and found burnt crossed ground wires. It was the place I was afraid to go because of the voltage. Twenty five years before, the prior owners had a 220V dryer installed in the exterior shed, with a separate direct line from the meter box. Although disconnected long ago, the wiring remained, and for whatever reason there was an intermittent short, exacerbated by the use of some electric heaters. Anyway... fingers crossed, fixed... for $100... Much less than the feared rewiring of the entire house/addaroom... which might have been into the thousands.
Thanks again to all who helped with thoughts and comments.

Nice to hear you got it fixed before it became a bigger issue.

 

[John Galt III]

Was getting a buzzing sound from the heater fan in my Trans Am. Thought I had to replace the blower motor. But when I took it off, I saw insulation and string all over the place, no doubt put there by mice. I removed all the junk, now the fan works great and no more noise. Very satisfying. And free.

 

[HawkeyeNFO]

2008 Honda Odyssey lost it's A/C over the past few months. It started out as just intermittently going out about a year ago, and gradually got to where it never worked.

After some research and quick troubleshooting today, it turned out to just be a simple $5 relay that had gone bad! Much easier and cheaper than loading freon into the system or replacing a compressor. And a dealer would probably want at least $100 just to look at the vehicle.

Gotta love YouTube!

 

[travelover]

2008 Honda Odyssey lost it's A/C over the past few months. It started out as just intermittently going out about a year ago, and gradually got to where it never worked.

After some research and quick troubleshooting today, it turned out to just be a simple $5 relay that had gone bad! Much easier and cheaper than loading freon into the system or replacing a compressor. And a dealer would probably want at least $100 just to look at the vehicle.

Gotta love YouTube!

Brand specific forums really rock, too. The dealer can only go by TSBs and local experience, but the collective knowledge of thousands of owners, driving millions of miles, dwarfs the knowledge of even the manufacturer.

 

[John Galt III]

Scoping out a new project. May replace the headliner in my Pontiac Trans Am GTA. This is when oceans of time are very convenient.