Circuit Troubles (Basic Circuits and Common Problems)

When your dryer vacuum cleaner blender or any other appliance suddenly won't work most people do want two things ether they throw it away and pay for a new one or they pay almost as much to have someone spend 15 minutes to an hour to fix it for them there is a third option that has been forgotten by many fix it yourself! After all most people didn't learn about circuits in school although maybe we should have its extremely valuable information an appliance can look a little intimidating sitting there looking pretty in your kitchen or laundry room but actually most are fairly simple machines made up a collection a mechanical devices and circuits the home appliances that we use everyday are not magic boxes they operate by basic rules understand those rules and suddenly was a huge expense becomes an interesting puzzle understanding how a circuit works will give you the confidence needed to save more your hard-earned money and feel the satisfaction that comes with taking care business house an electric circuit is a path or several interconnected pads capable of carrying an electric current most circuits have four basic parts a power source conductors a control device such as a timer or switch and a component such as a light bulb or motor called the load which offers resistance to the circuit. Wires act is the conductor carrying electric current from the power source to the component to provide an element of control switch of some sort is normally installed and lastly a safety device such as a fuse or breaker is used to protect against rubble there are three basic problems that can occur with an electrical circuit short-circuit grounded circuit orange open circuit simple the key is to learning how to read the signs short-circuits grounded circuits or open circuits can all occur within the conducting wire component or control device such as a switch thermostat or timer let's take a look at this basic circuit close it in a grounded cabinet and use it to demonstrate the three most common types circuit problems that can occur first a short circuit a short circuit happens when two bare conductors come in contact with each other the current no longer flows through the entire circuit it is shunted from hot conductor to the neutral conductor and bypasses the load when this occurs there is only a very small amount of resistance in the circuit according to Ohm's law for a constant voltage represented by E when resistance is lowered R the flow of current or amperage goes up represented by I this increase in current flow can cause the wires to heat up it is the most common cause of electrical fires because the circuit is properly protected the fuse or circuit breaker react to this increase in current or amperage and blows or trips stopping the current ability to flow to correct a short the damage conductors or component must be located and repaired then the circuit breaker can be reset or the fuse replaced that was easy to now let's look at a grounded circuit is a common safety practice to connect the cabinet have an appliance or other major components to a ground source electricity will always take the path least resistance to ground you do not want to be that path so this connection helps to protect the user from electrocution in the case a short a grounded circuit happens when a hot wire comes into contact with the cabinet or grounded part when this happens the circuit is again shunted to a neutral connection in this case ground the load is bypassed the resistance decreased the amperage increased and you know the rest see it's pretty simple we locate the problem fix it reset the breaker replace the fuse and bingo you're back in business lastly an open circuit an open circuit happens when a conductor or component breaks or burns out opening the circuit and blocking electricity is ability to flow when this happens resistance is increased so according to Ohm's Law current must decrease an open circuit is just like opening a control switch no current has allowed to flow this is the most common type of electrical problem associated with appliance repair if any part within the circuit fails the continuity or electricity is ability to flow is broken stopping the flow of current replacing the defective circuit component or conductor will get you going again at this point a few questions need to be asked how do I know which of the three types of problems I'm dealing with? once I know what I'm dealing with how do I locate it? lastly once I found the problem how do I fix it? there are a few things you can do right off the bat first buy a voltmeter if you don't have one a volt meter is a very inexpensive tool that will pay you back tenfold if you learn how to use it for more information on how to use a voltmeter to test resistance levels and continuity visit applianceassistant.com how to use a voltmeter page secondly there are a few techniques used for identifying what kind of problem you're dealing with can point you in the right direction to locate it there are two main types to circuits having the same key elements a power source, conductors, load, and a control device the two types of circuits are series circuits and parallel circuits series circuits are formed when two or more components or loads which offer resistance to the circuit are placed in series when a problem such as the ones I described earlier happens the entire circuit fails the other style a parallel circuit is when two or more components or loads are placed in parallel in this style of circuit depending on where the problem occurs one component may fail while the other components remain unaffected many appliances you circuits that have both styles in one circuit and this is called a series parallel circuit now you may be saying "You said this was easy!" anything worth doing takes some time and practice to master now you know the four key element to the circuit and the three most common problems that can cause your appliance to call in sick this is a solid foundation of information to get you started most appliance problems happen when a particular component fails to work properly or a control device like a thermostat door switch or timer fails to open or close when it should each in these component failures gives clear signs as to the cause the problem and where to start looking the easiest way to troubleshoot most appliance problems is by these symptoms such as a dryer that all run with no heat a refrigerator that is cold in the freezer but not the fresh food section a washer does nothing when should spin or a dead dishwasher these clues we'll tell you where to look it was a little practice and help from your humble technical assistance applianceassistant.com you're well on your way to experience in the satisfaction that comes from solving your own home appliance problems remember you can do it and we will show you how more help videos are available at a applianceassistant.com

Channel: applianceassistant

Views: 818,009

Rating: 4.8287134 out of 5

Keywords: circuit, resistance, electricity, washer, appliance, repair, help, parts, hose, Maytag, Amana, Estate, Roper, Kitchen, Aid, Sears, Kenmore, Kirkland, Inglis, Admiral, howto, DIY, fix, instructions, instructional video, tutorial, how-to, educational, installation, electronics, Tips

Id: 3hyMggzguwY

Length: 7min 13sec (433 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 22 2010