Hello Folks, this is Rich from Western Appliance Repair Service in Boise and Meridian Idaho. Here is a picture of a burned up control board on a major-brand dishwasher.  This is one of the worst ones I have ever seen and this damage to the dishwasher was extensive.  When I entered my Boise customers house the smell was STRONG and there was no mistaking the smell of burning circuitry. This burning is caused by loose fitting AC Supply connections at the control board.  This was most-likely caused at the factory.  The “making” and “breaking” of contact on the connector pins causes heat to be generated.  This heat oxidizes and burns the contacts over time -little by little.  As burning and oxidizing gets worse and worse more and more heat are generated the connector eventually melts and flames up.  The dishwasher’s internal safety thermostat should have been triggered.  In this case the safety thermostat was burned and did not stop the AC Current like it was suppose to do.  What saved this from being a house fire was the service panel circuit breaker doing what it was suppose to do – stop current quickly. This dishwasher was a complete loss.  Even if we had replaced the burned wiring and control board the smell would have continued to permeate the house for months if not years.  In this instance it was best to replace the dishwasher with a new one.

If you are not getting water to flow out your refrigerator dispenser nozzle this can be why. When I see a water-dispense problem in the dispenser area of the refrigerator I usually find a bad water inlet valve or a bad actuator switch.  This is most common because the inlet valve is responsible for letting water flow out the nozzle.  The switching is responsible for sending a voltage to a control board or directly to the inlet valve – to turn it on. On this particular Boise repair service call I found something way different then what I was expecting.  I verified the valve and switching were operating perfectly.  I disconnected the water line going into the refrigerator door, on bottom, and verified we had good water flow.  We did.  But, no water flow out the refrigerator’s dispenser nozzle.  There could be no mistake about this, water was being restricted inside of the door.  Buy why?  How?  We would soon find out. I removed the door and pulled the refrigerator water tube out completely and found the water line kinked like you see in the picture.  The question I have and that I can’t fully understand is – How can water flow through that water tube for years, then out of the blue, form a kink.  You have to realize that the water tube is sealed inside the door and is not moving.  Well, here is the proof!  We replace the water line and now the refrigerator is working good. [...]

Our techs at Western Appliance Repair in Boise completed an interesting service call today for a Whirlpool Oven. These pictures show what disassembly is necessary to replace a bad cooling fan motor in a slide-in oven.  The disassembly is quite severe to say the least.  This is not a problem for us however.  We can tackle a job like this one with ease. When we arrived on site we ran a diagnostics program to confirm the blower was indeed not working.  The blower was inoperable and when we actuated the control relays remotely we received no response.  This suggests we may have a bad motor or, as we’ve seen in the past, a bad control board.  In some cases the blower motor AND the main control board will need to be replaced due to compatibility issues.  In this particular case however, the cooling fan was the only thing that was replaced. After repair was completed and new fan installed, we ran a diagnostic program to verify proper fan operation.  Our nice customer informed is that the oven has been working perfectly with no more error messages. A job well done!

GE's latest dishwasher design is a very popular and dependable appliance.  As with most appliances they can and will have minor and major functionality problems.  In this case the dishwasher was not filling the tub with enough water to ensure  proper functionality. Problems like this can be a great inconvenience to our Boise homeowners.  When appliances break down, nobody is happy. When I arrived I ran a diagnostic routine on the appliance and found that indeed, the tub was not filling completely with water - at least to it's specified level.  It would fill with water for about 10 seconds, stop, then fill again for a couple more seconds.  Then, instead of the hearing the wash motor turning on, I would hear a clicking sound - repeatedly.  It appeared the sound was coming from under the toe-kick area of the appliance.  This is where the main control board is located.  Although a problem like this should be verified by doing voltage checks at the control board connector this "clicking" sound is a tell-tale sign of a possible malfunction with control board.  A  faulty control board was verified by looking at a "switching" voltage at the water control valve and an absence of a control voltage at the dishwasher wash motor. Well, long story short, I arrived today, installed a brand new control board, and the now the dishwasher functions great! I will have a Youtube video on this replacement procedure so if you would like to subscribe to my channel [...]

Refrigerators are one of the most popular and important appliances we own in our house.  It keeps our food cold and without it, especially in the summer, we’re left with food that will become rotten or stale.  Our drinks will become warm and our beer lovers will be left sipping warm suds.  This is not a good thing. There are a number of different refrigerator configurations available: Top-Mount, Bottom-Mount, French-Door, and Side-by-Side. The Top-Mount name refers to where the freezer is located.  In this case the freezer is located on the top of the unit. In the Bottom-Mount unit, the freezer is on the bottom. The side-by-side refrigerator is the most popular in Boise.  The freezer is usually located on the left hand side of the unit. The French-Door refrigerator is a combination of the Top-Mount and the Side-by-Side.  The refrigerator will be on top with two swinging doors and the freezer will be on the bottom, usually a pull-out drawer. Why the emphasis on where the freezer is located?  This is because the cool air in the refrigerator comes from the freezer via an evaporator fan.  The freezer is the “main” cooling unit which houses the evaporator and evaporator fan- motor to supply freezing air for the freezer and cool air to the refrigerator. So, what kind of repairs do make on refrigerators in Boise?  Well, here’s a few things we end up replacing – condenser fan motors, evaporator fan motors, blades, thermostats, compressors, control-boards, broken dispenser arms, ice-makers, [...]

Top-Load Washers – Washer Won’t Spin Worn Clutch A clutch is an interconnection between the drive motor and the spin tube on most top load direct-drive washing machines.  It is a mechanism that absorbs rotational energy from the motor and gradually transfers the energy to the spin tube. It is an integral part of most direct drive washing machines.  Without it, the motor would spin the inner basket quickly with no regard for the weight and/or water in the inner basket at the time.  We would not want the washer to spin at top speed if the basket is still filled with water – there would be a flooded laundry room. When the drive motor engages, it turns the outer part of the clutch at a high rpm.  The inner part of the clutch, which is connected to the spin tube, is not turning as fast. The clutch spring is initially compressed, thus lessening the friction between the inner and outer linings.  As the inner part of the clutch gains speed, the spring expands, increasing friction on the clutch linings, and causing the spin tube to gain more speed.  Soon both inner and outer parts of clutch are spinning in sync. Problems with the clutch include: Contamination of the clutch linings due to leaking transmission.  When this happens, the friction between the linings will decrease and the washer spin tube will have problems reaching the full spin speed. Worn clutch linings – In home laundry usage, washer clutch linings degrade frequently. [...]

Need Dryer Vent Cleaning?  I recommend Francis Burger from Boise Dryer Vent Cleaning.  He does a professional job at a reasonable price.  Here is his contact and website link below. Boise Dryer Vent Cleaning 208-713-1581 WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS TO HAVING YOUR DRYER VENT CLEANED? Helps to prevent dryer fires! Dries clothes quicker. No more aggravation waiting endlessly for a load to dry. Saves Money! Reduces energy bills by $8 to $24 a month in some cases. Extends the life of your dryer. less run time equals less wear and tear. Extends the life of your clothes. less run time equals less degradation of fabric. Prevents premature dryer breakdown resulting in expensive repair bills. Improves air quality in your home by preventing mold and mildew damage and possible carbon monoxide poisoning.

One very common repair I do in Boise, that I would say is one of my “bread and butter” jobs is replacing the lid switch in direct-drive top load washing machines.  A bad lid switch will cause symptoms such as the washer not spinning or stopping before the rinse mode.  While these symptoms are not all caused by the lid switch, the majority of them are. What can a customer do to check the switch on their washer?  I call it the clickity-click test.  It is not a technical test but it can narrow down the suspected part very quickly.  Take a screwdriver and slowly depress the lid switch mechanism and listen for a sharp crisp clicking sound.  If you do not hear the clicking sound the washer lid switch is most likely bad.  There is water vapor that gets into the switch mechanism and corrodes the contacts.  Technicians can verify a bad lid switch by using a ohm-meter.