Your recent repair? 2013 - 2020

[akck]

My son has an electrical switch by his front door that tested live for power, but it didn't seem to do anything. Upon further inspection, one lead of the line was disconnected under the house. As far as we could tell the switch used to be for the porch light, but when the garage was added, they moved the switch to the other side of the front door. So we re-wired the old switch (replacing it with a new one), to control half an outlet in the living room. Now my son can turn on a light in the house when he enters the house when it's dark.

 

[NW-Bound]

NW-Bound. Say why not hang a fantastic fan on the grille. Will cool the engine compartment after being parked? Instead of soaking it through dog house.

In cold weather I used to hang a cover over the grille of the moho, thus trapping the engine heat and recycling it into the moho. It was good for a few hours "already paid for" heat.

That Fantastic fan was mounted in an existing roof hole cut for a factory-installed fan. I needed to upgrade it for better ventilation anyway, and thought that blowing cool air down to blow the heat through the front cab windows might work better than sucking that hot air up for discharging through the ceiling. Will see how that idea will work. But in any case, the bug screens for the front windows will be a useful modification for bug-free ventilation.

About mounting a fan at the grill, there is not enough clearance. But your comment made me think of something else. How about wiring a switch to turn on the existing radiator fan as needed when the engine is off, but reversing its direction to suck cool air from underneath the engine and to exhaust that hot air out front? This is assuming that the radiator fan is a simple DC motor that is reversible with DC power.

About the occasional need of saving the engine heat instead of getting rid of it, I may have the need to do that towards the end of the trip. In mid October, I may still be up in the New England states, where temperature will get a bit chilly. I will bring an old blanket to wrap over the hood.

 

[travelover]

............About the occasional need of saving the engine heat instead of getting rid of it, I may have the need to do that towards the end of the trip. In mid October, I may still be up in the New England states, where temperature will get a bit chilly. I will bring an old blanket to wrap over the hood.

You can also stick a small pump in the heater line (like police have in surveillance vehicles) then run the heater until the engine is cold. I picked one up designed for a VW to use in my tractor heater because the tractor lacks a water pump. It was about $50.

 

[NW-Bound]

Ah, that's another good idea. But I will be leaving home soon, headed towards the Canadian Maritimes, and will not have time to do that. My time is running out, and it is getting cold up there soon.

Anyway, I will need a reliable pump that will not leak and cause a disastrous loss of coolant. And how do I bypass the thermostat that would not allow me to get all that precious heat from the big-block engine?

It's something to ponder before my next year trip to Alaska.


PS. Oops. I forgot that the fan on this engine is the old-style belt-driven fan. I have not owned a big engine like this for a long time, and all my cars in recent years have had an electric fan for the radiator and AC condenser.

 

[ls99]

I keep forgetting that new RV vehicles have electric radiator fans. I played with a few, they are reversible with DC polarity, less airflow running backwards due to blade design. I think they are brushless, bever took one apart, try a junk yard for cheap sample.

For coolant heating the radiator hoses bypass the thermostat. Could consider heat exchanger for safety, but they are $$$.

Edit add My Subarban with 7.4 engine has belt driven fan, also on the front of the radiator is a auxiliary fan which pushes air through the radiator if things get really hot.

 

[txtig]

About a year ago, my 15 year old pool/spa heater just quit working. I thought about calling out a repairman, but procrastinated instead. A few weeks ago, DW started bugging me about it because she wanted to use the spa. So, I was considering my options and was leaning toward biting the bullet and purchasing a new one (about $2500 installed). Well, I procrastinated a little more and then two days ago I came home to see that the water level in the pool was way down. A quick inspection of my pool equipment revealed that water was pouring out of my pool heater. I removed an access panel and spotted a very rusty fitting that was leaking badly. I removed it and replaced it with a plug to stop the leak. I then did a little research and determined that it was a pressure switch, designed to shut down the heater in the absence of water pressure ( when the pump isn't running). The sensor had two electrical wires running to it. I decided to short these out and sure enough, the heater kicked back on almost immediately. I've got a new pressure switch on order from Amazon for $60 so should be back in business in a few days. But, if it hadn't been for my procrastinating, my old heater would have never revealed its fault to me and I probably would have spent the $2500 on a new one!! A pretty good result I think!


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[travelover]

.........Anyway, I will need a reliable pump that will not leak and cause a disastrous loss of coolant. And how do I bypass the thermostat that would not allow me to get all that precious heat from the big-block engine?...........

The pump I used was designed specifically for that purpose - a Bosch part. The heater circuit bypasses the thermostat. That is why you get heat in your car before the engine warms up enough to open the thermostat.

 

[NW-Bound]

The pump I used was designed specifically for that purpose - a Bosch part.

It must be something like this. They want more than $100 for it. All I'd have to do is to splice the pump into the existing coolant hose.

The heater circuit bypasses the thermostat. That is why you get heat in your car before the engine warms up enough to open the thermostat.

Indeed!

All I thought of was getting the heat out of the several gallons of coolant in the radiator (the coolant capacity is more than 21 quarts), as I recently had to change out the fluid, and that is on the other side of the thermostat.

Engine or radiator, which has a higher thermal capacity? My guess is it's the engine, which also contains a large portion of the coolant.

 

[travelover]

It must be something like this. They want more than $100 for it. All I'd have to do is to splice the pump into the existing coolant hose.

Actually it was this one. Amazon had a "used" one , which usually means it is out of the original box, for $50.

Amazon.com: Bosch 0392020073 Electric Water Pump: Automotive

Engine or radiator, which has a higher thermal capacity? My guess is it's the engine, which also contains a large portion of the coolant.

I'd think the engine, but you'll pull heat from the water in the radiator, too, as it is still interconnected at the lower hose when the thermostat closes.

 

[RunningBum]

My dishwasher wouldn't stop running this weekend (luckily I was home and noticed). It has a time left display and it wouldn't get to 0. I googled the symptoms for my model and found how to run diagnostics, which was a simple matter of holding a couple buttons while turning the power on, and hitting those buttons again. The error code returned was a heat fault. In the previous goggle I found this was a common problem, and often caused by a burned out connection on the circuit board, complete with a picture of what that looks like. Saw how to get to the circuit board and mine looked the same. Lightly sanded off the burned residue and got out the $12 soldering iron I bought for no apparent reason last year. Actually I had a friend do the soldering because I didn't want to try my first one on something that small and delicate. At first it didn't work, but I reseated the connections to the circuit board I'd had to pull out and made sure they were all making good contact. Re-ran the diagnostics and it came back with no errors, and just ran a full load to completion.

My alternatives were going to be either to replace the circuit board for $200 or just replace the dishwasher. It's a higher end Bosch, but it's 13 years old so I was leaning toward replacement. Total cost will be the beer I buy for my friend.

Google remains a great source. All I really needed was the service manual, which I did find in my google search and saw that it had all of this info including note of the common burnt connection issue, but some of the other websites were more direct to the problem.

Always a good feeling to fix something yourself.

 

[flyingaway]

I had my 2000 Nissan Quest repaired yesterday for wheel overheating and new breaks, costed me $976.

 

[LOL!]

I repaired the agitator to our 20-year-old clothes washer. Cost: $4.79 for parts.

Spouse had asked, "Do you think it's time for a new washer? Our doesn't work anymore."

Savings: More than $300.

 

[oldtrig]

RunningBum, I am like you as I try to fix anything. The scary part is when something that could cause a fire is repaired. I know you got it going but something caused this to happen in the first place. ??

What if it does it again and you are not around ? Just a small warning about repairing faulty electrical things. I would do some checking to make sure your dishwasher is not on recall. Things like that just worry me.

When I worked we had a electric water heater catch on fire and if I had not walked into the building when I did , well I think you know the rest of the story. Just a word of caution when messing with anything electrical. I worry sometimes about fixing an older computer for someone because power supplies have been known to catch homes on fire. I have seen one almost catch on fire because the fan in back stopped and I am telling you this computer got Hotttt. Don't mean to scare you but I would research your problem more if it were me. oldtrig

 

[RunningBum]

RunningBum, I am like you as I try to fix anything. The scary part is when something that could cause a fire is repaired. I know you got it going but something caused this to happen in the first place. ??

What if it does it again and you are not around ? Just a small warning about repairing faulty electrical things. I would do some checking to make sure your dishwasher is not on recall. Things like that just worry me.

When I worked we had a electric water heater catch on fire and if I had not walked into the building when I did , well I think you know the rest of the story. Just a word of caution when messing with anything electrical. I worry sometimes about fixing an older computer for someone because power supplies have been known to catch homes on fire. I have seen one almost catch on fire because the fan in back stopped and I am telling you this computer got Hotttt. Don't mean to scare you but I would research your problem more if it were me. oldtrig

Those are all good points. I did check and my dishwasher wasn't on recall. My research also showed that this is a VERY common problem with this dishwasher, common enough that the repair manual shows a picture of the specific burnt out circuit and that it can be fixed with soldering. Not sure how it happened, maybe just over time, though we did have some power blips last week, enough that I unplugged everything I could and threw the circuit breakers on major appliances such as furnace, stove, etc. I don't remember doing the dishwasher and even though it wasn't on during all of this I wonder if this is when it happened.

That is also why I asked for friends with soldering experience, and found one. We both examined his work before turning the circuit breaker back on and decided it looked good--not slopped over onto anything else, and fully making the connection without excess.

I really think I took due care and feel safe about it. However, my practice has been to use the delay start to run it during the middle of the night. I may stop doing that.

Thanks for your concern and warnings. I will continue to think about them.

 

[PhrugalPhan]

Not retired here, but last night I fixed my washer. The part that tells the system the lid is down wasn't working and wouldn't agitate or spin (or drain!). I found online that this is common for this brand (Kenmore) and showed how to fix it for free. Took about an hour - much better than going to a laundromat, paying someone to fix it (and a replacement part), or buying a new one.

 

[travelover]

I had my 2000 Nissan Quest repaired yesterday for wheel overheating and new breaks, costed me $976.

Ouch, that's a tough brake.

 

[Rustic23]

I have a GE fridge that has an ice dispenser like this:

There is a nylon plug at one end. This plug appears, from web post to split. Mine split a year ago and I replaced the dispenser with a box. i.e. no ice in the door. Last week I ordered a new dispenser from Amazon. $140 OUCH!

I got to thinking there might be a way to fix the old one. I took a 1x3/4 x 2x3/4 hose clamp and worked it over the end of the nylon piece. Put it back in the freezer and IT WORKS! Will be interesting to see how long.

 

[oldtrig]

RunningBum, in my over 50 years of working on things I have found that for every problem there was a reason it happened 99% of the time.

I have been burnt many times repairing something and not finding out what caused it. Most of the time I was just in a hurry

In your case you should be good to go. It could be something as simple as overloading it. I understand that your problem is probably a common thing that happens to these dishwashers .

I just wanted you to be safe. I grew up working on cars and trucks and over the years of working I have learned so many things the hard way. Those you never forget

I could write a book on the do's and don't of auto mechanics. Things normally happen because of a reason. Many times over the years all I had to do when working on a vehicle is find out about the history of the repair work that was done before it came to my shop. Many many times errors were made by humans that caused the problem in front on me.

Good luck and good job on your repair. Oldtrig

 

[samclem]

RunningBum, in my over 50 years of working on things I have found that for every problem there was a reason it happened 99% of the time.

I thought of that when I read PhrugalPhan's note on the washer repair. The switches on the lids/doors of washers give out a lot more often if the doors/lids are habitually slammed shut.

 

[Andre1969]

I just spent $263 to make the check engine light on my 2000 Park Avenue go away. It was some kind of evaporative vent valve in the emissions system. Oh, and they changed the oil while it was at the shop.

Yesterday, the pump in the fish pond died. I meant to go get another one, but got tied up with other things, including getting the car back from the mechanic. So, I might go out today, or tomorrow, and get a new pump. I don't think they're too terribly expensive.

 

[PhrugalPhan]

I thought of that when I read PhrugalPhan's note on the washer repair. The switches on the lids/doors of washers give out a lot more often if the doors/lids are habitually slammed shut.

Lid slamming may be true, but the housing for the mechanism that indicates if the lid is down is plastic and just glued, not screwed together . Basically saving pennies during manufacture and leaving a nice failure point to sell part and repair services. Videos online showed how to solve the problem so it doesn't happen again at no cost.

And last night I fixed the sun visor on my car that broke off. Cheap plastic connector - its a safety hazard others have complained online about . Once I looked into it, a small screw, a small washer, and 15 minutes of effort and its fixed. It was great having the visor on the commute in today. Avoided getting a new one for $60 online or paying $120 for the dealer to put a new one in.

 

[samclem]

I replaced our water heater this weekend. We got 9 years out of a unit warranted to last 12 years, so we'll see if we get any money back. It rusted out, I think due to our softened water (it has quite a bit of salt). I never checked/changed out the sacrifical anode rod in the old WH, I'm fairly sure it was consumed and the tank was doomed at that point. I wanted to check the old anode rod as part of the required post mortem, but couldn't get it out (bent a breaker bar trying to get it to budge using a 5 foot "cheater"). There was very little sediment in the tank, just rust.
The new WH is in place and working fine, no drama there. I"m thinking of buying a "powered anode" to put in place of the factory magnesium one. Its pricy ($250), but is supposed to last 100 years. They draw very little power, and apparently do a good job of protecting the tank. And, I could re-use it in my next water heater when this one dies (heat exchanger, etc).
Here's a pretty good site on extending the life of water heaters. Mostly it "boils down" to keeping the anode rod in good shape (he prefers magnesium ones over aluminum) and reducing sediment buildup. A $50 replacement anode rod can easily double the life of a $500 water heater, and it's a lot easier to install than a new WH. The guy is obviously selling stuff, but the prices are reasonable and (to me) the info there is worth paying the requested small premium for the parts.

 

[Keim]

http://www.radiomuseum.org/images/radio/grundig/konzertschrank_br_9065_30630.jpg

I am in the process of repairing one of these old Grundig consoles. Cost about $1000 when new in 1958-top of the line I'm sure!

I've checked and replaced some tubes. Have about 40 replacement capacitors on order. Also fixing the turntable-it needed needle, belts and an idler wheel. This thing is very cool. Turntable and tuner both pull out. Each compartment lights up. Very nice cabinetry.

 

[samclem]

I replaced our water heater this weekend. We got 9 years out of a unit warranted to last 12 years, so we'll see if we get any money back.

A follow-up: I did very well on the warranty. Surprisingly, it wasn't pro-rated, so if the water heater crumps out at 11 years, 11 months, HD/Rheem still replaces it with a new one of the same kind. Since mandated changes have made "ones of the same kind" impossible to buy I got a refund of my initial purchase price. Sure, I lost out due to inflation, but I still got enough to almost buy the replacement (less capable 6-year) WH. I am very satisfied. Now, with that jingle in my pocket, I'm having an easy time rationalizing the purchase of that fancy powered anode for this new WH and see if I can make it last a looong time.

 

[Free To Canoe]

Repaired Mother in Law's basement faucet. Only two trips to the hardware store. Hot side and cold side were two different valves due to previous repair. Hardware store had no innards replacement so they used screw extractors to repair the existing ones so that they would accept the rubber gasket. They worked on this for about an hour and charged me nothing. Total bill was $2.35! Tried to tip him but that didn't work. Maybe now MIL's water bill will be something less than $300 per month.