Home appliance inspection, troubleshooting & repair guide:

This article series gives links to collections of repair guides, manuals and information for common home appliances.

Here we also describe simple steps that you can take to get a home appliance working again, or to decide that it’s time to buy a new toaster or other device, or that you would be smart to call an appliance repair person.

These quick inspection points and tips are accompanied by links to detailed inspection, diagnosis, and repair for most appliances found in homes, from room air conditioners to washing machines and water heaters.

We also provide a MASTER INDEX to this topic, or you can try the page top or bottom SEARCH BOX as a quick way to find information you need.

Appliance Repair Guides, Advice, Tips & Procedures

From room air conditioners to washing machines and water heaters, here we list InspectApedia articles that can assist in the diagnosis and repair of most home appliances.

These articles focus on basic procedures that help spot trouble with an appliance first by simple visual inspection. For each appliance topic we include links to additional in-depth inspection, diagnosis & repair information.

[Click to enlarge any image]

Photo at left: the igniter module for a Jenn-Air countertop gas cooktop. We replaced this item as well as the wiring and individual igniters to cure chronic gas burner ignition problems: endless clicking.

Details of that repair are found at GAS IGNITER DIAGNOSIS & REPAIR.

Article Series Contents

• APPLIANCE DIAGNOSIS & REPAIR – home
  • CHECK THESE FIRST
  • AIR CONDITIONING & HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
  • ASBESTOS USE in APPLIANCES
  • ASBESTOS USE in AIR CONDITIONERS
  • CLOTHES DRYER INSTALLATION & REPAIR and also see ASBESTOS in CLOTHES DRYERS
  • COFFEE MAKER
  • DISHWASHER REPAIRS
  • DOORBELL
  • ELECTRIC MOTOR DIAGNOSTIC GUIDE
  • EXHAUST FAN REPAIR
  • GARBAGE GRINDER / DISPOSER REPAIR
  • GAS APPLIANCE CONVERT LP-to-NATURAL GAS
  • GAS COOKTOP RANGE & OVEN MANUALS
  • GAS FIREPLACES & GAS LOGS
  • GAS REGULATOR NOISES
  • HEATING SYSTEMS
  • KITCHEN RANGE COOKTOP OVEN REPAIR
  • MERCURY HAZARDS in APPLIANCES & GAS REGULATORS
  • MICROWAVE OVEN REPAIR
  • MOFFAT STOVE HISTORY & REPAIR
  • NEST CAM INSTALLATION & USE
  • OVEN DOOR REPAIR / REPLACE, Jenn-Air
  • OUTDOOR GAS HEATERS
  • REFRIGRATOR REPAIR
  • SEWAGE PUMP DAMAGE & REPAIR
  • THERMOSTATS, HEATING / COOLING
  • TRASH COMPACTOR REPAIR
  • VACUUM CLEANER REPAIR
  • WASHING MACHINE REPAIR
  • WATER HEATER AGE & MANUALS
  • WINDOW / WALL AIR CONDITIONERS
  • 1950s APPLIANCES, BATHROOMS, KITCHENS
  • CDA HOME REFERENCE BOOK APPLIANCE REPAIR
  • MORE READING – link to master ARTICLE INDEX – a list of appliance repair-related articles
• APPLIANCE EFFICIENCY RATINGS

Check These Things First when Troubleshooting an Appliance

Before tossing out your air conditioner or coffee maker and even before calling an appliance repairman for your washing machine, refrigerator, or clothes dryer, here are some things to check:

1. 1. Electrical power: Is the appliance plugged-in?
      • Is there electrical power where the appliance is connected and is the receptacle itself properly wired?
   2. Appliance instruction manuals often contain a troubleshooting guide: have we found and read the installation and troubleshooting procedures given by the manufacturer for this appliance?Often there are trivial problems that are easy to correct but that are not obvious before reading the instructions.
2. Controls & switches: Are the appliance controls and switches properly set? Is a control or switch acting funny: loose, makes a sparking noise, used to “click” but no longer does?
   • Hidden reset buttons: Is there a reset switch or button on an electric motor or elsewhere on the appliance
3. Noises or smells: something is burning? Is the appliance making a funny noise or smell.Watch out: Unplug the appliance immediately to avoid a fire.
4. Appliance inspection for electrical problems: do we see something that looks burned when inspecting an appliance circuit board, wire, or switch?Watch out: as we cite at DISHWASHER SNAFUS, poking around inside or beneath an appliance may risk electrical shock.
5. Appliance inspection for leaks: fordishwashers – DISHWASHER SNAFUS,

   garbage grinders – GARBAGE DISPOSAL vs SEPTICS,

   water heaters – WATER HEATERS,

   washing machines – WASHING MACHINE OIL LEAKS, do we see or smell oil or do we see water leaking?