Taking a break the usual Computers Behaving Badly, this is a tale of a refrigerator repair - several times. We are friends with an elderly couple a few doors down. I usually help them out with their computer related issues, but this time it was different.
AoL: Could you look at our refrigerator? It's almost brand new and (wouldn't you know it) the warranty expired yesterday. It's leaking water from the ice dispenser at an alarming rate.
Me: Ok - it's not really inside my wheelhouse, but I got my EE degree sometime during the Reagan Administration, so hopefully I retained something by accident.
I have a look, or rather a listen, at the ice maker. Immediately notice that there is no fan-turning noise. It's deathly quiet. There's also a subtle but distinct smell of burning insulation that us EEs have come to know and love.
Me: Looks like the fan that is supposed to keep the ice frozen is kaput. That's why it's leaking water. I'll see if I can get it replaced.
A quick Google search turned up a nearby (30 miles) store that carried the right motor, and a Youtube video showed me how to replace it. Not too difficult, although I did have to use a few words that drew a "tut-tut" from the dear old lady. Slap everything back together, fire it up and was greeted with the melodious hum of an ice maker in its happy place. All good.
Or so I thought.
About three months later:
Dear, it's doing that thing again. There's water all over the floor.
I examine the unit. Motor is basically a smoking mass of metal and wire. She's dead, Jim.
Thinking I got sold a refurbished motor instead of a new one, I returned to the store in righteous anger. They assured me it was a brand new unit, but replaced it anyway, since it was under warranty.
Rinse and repeat.
Until three months had passed.
Dear, I hate to trouble you again, but our kitchen is rapidly turning into an indoor swimming pool.
Obviously, something else was going on. Power surge? I checked the lines - no spikes, besides, nothing else was affected. I was just about to suggest replacing the controller board when something caught my eye. A fridge magnet. A big fridge magnet, stuck to the side of where the ice maker motor would be.
What's that?
Oh - that's a magnet that little Jimmy (the grandson) gave us. He said is's one of them neodramatic things. Works like a charm.
I pulled the "neodramatic" magnet off the fridge, which turned out to be no easy task. Yes, it was a neodymium magnet, about three inches, by 2 inches and about an inch deep. It clung to the side of that fridge like a limpet.
Here's your problem. You're trying to run a poor little fridge motor in a magnetic field several thousand times stronger than it was designed for. The poor little guy did the best he could, but it was just too much for him.
I replaced the motor one last time, and then made sure they understood to keep little Jimmy's gift far away from anything electronic. Since then - no more leaks.
Submitted April 22, 2017 at 02:10AM by AngelOfLight http://ift.tt/2pNQxAX talesfromtechsupport
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