Repair – Page 9 – Fix It Workshop

V-Tech Splash & Sing baby bath book

This toy wasn’t singing at its best…

My daughter was kindly given a V-Tech Splash & Sing baby book and always enjoyed singing along to the music it made. It’s a splash-proof book which is suitable for bath time play, but not necessarily for complete submersion at 100 metres!

FixItWorkshop, Sep’17, V-Tech Splash & Sing baby bath time book.

It’s a battery operated toy and has an on/off switch and volume control on the front. If the middle page of the book is squeezed in a couple of places, there are small switch buttons inside the book page itself, the corresponding the tune changes, relating to the picture on the page- I hope that makes sense.

The tunes on this book stopped changing with button presses and it became annoying to here the same tune constantly being played at bath time. Very annoying.

The casing is held together with a few Pozi-head screws and after a bit of wriggling, the pages came free from the spine (the bit with the batteries and on/off switch).

Upon testing, the wires between the pages and the spine had broken internally and no longer connected to the corresponding page buttons. They’d probably broken as the pages were turned over a good few uses.

FixItWorkshop, Sep’17, V-Tech Splash & Sing baby bath time book, buttons.

FixItWorkshop, Sep’17, V-Tech Splash & Sing baby bath time book,wire repair.

FixItWorkshop, Sep’17, V-Tech Splash & Sing baby bath time book, wire at spine.

FixItWorkshop, Sep’17, V-Tech Splash & Sing baby bath time book.

FixItWorkshop, Sep’17, V-Tech Splash & Sing baby bath time book, opening up page.

This toy is definitely not designed to be repaired. The only way to get to the wiring was to cut open the page, cut out the damaged wiring and replace it with something a bit tougher. The previous wiring was very flimsy and it would only be a matter of time before it broke, too soon.

I decided to use some thin gauge speaker cable, the sort you find in cheap portable radios for the repair. This worked really well and after some careful soldering and gluing of the cut-open page, the toy was ready for reassembly.

This repair probably wouldn’t cost in, in the real world, but I hate extreme built-in obsolescence and this toy showed examples of it.

Cost of the toy, circa £14.00. Cost of repair; my time plus some old wire I had lying about.

Testing, testing, 1-2-what?

My Fairlady sings again…

When my wife isn’t looking after our daughter, she sings part-time in and around Sussex and uses a simple portable microphone and amplifier set for gigs. The amp and the rest of the kit lead a hard life, being transported between the car boot and venue and on one occasion, the microphone was dropped from a height. I guess things could have been worse, it could have been the amp!

The microphone now rattled badly and seemed to cut out when connected up, even when turned up to 11. Not a good sound when she was in the middle of ‘Moon River’.

The microphone actually came from a Lidl karaoke set and is made by Silvercrest, a Lidl brand. It’s a heavy, metal bodied microphone with a decent quality feel and metal grilled top.

The rattle seemed to coincide with the cutting out, so it seemed sensible to open up the mic. Three Phillips screws hold the casing together and upon opening it up, the problem quickly became apparent. The metal weight inside had come away from the inside of the casing and was occasionally ‘shorting’ the connections on the back of the on/off switch. Not good.

While in bits, I checked all the wiring for continuity, no problems there and decided to clean the switch with contact cleaner for good measure. Once all the electrical side of the mic was proved, I reassembled the casing with the parts, adding a little hot-melt glue to the metal weight to prevent it coming in to contact with the back of the on/off switch.

This wasn’t the end of the song (sorry).

Upon hooking the mic up to the amp, it now worked again without cutting out, but I couldn’t help but notice that the lead connecting to the base of the mic seemed to be causing a slight crackle. Not a nice sound effect.

Opening up the three-pin mic connector revealed a simple design, three poles soldered to the microphone’s wiring, one core and one screen. A quick cut, strip and re-solder and the lead was ready to roll once again. Before I did the cable crimp back up, I added another dab of hot melt glue between the cable outer and flex guard, to ensure the cable couldn’t twist, which might cause the connector to fail again.

Cost of a new microphone £20+. Cost of repair; Time plus soldering and a bit of glue.

‘My Fairlady’ sings again…

FixItWorkshop, Sep’17, Silvercrest SKS15A1, weight in situ.

FixItWorkshop, Sep’17, Silvercrest SKS15A1, broken wire, before soldering.

FixItWorkshop, SeFixItWorkshop, Sep’17, Silvercrest SKS15A1, inside the casing.p’17, Silvercrest SKS15A1

FixItWorkshop, Sep’17, Silvercrest SKS15A1, in bits.

FixItWorkshop, Sep’17, Silvercrest SKS15A1, screws removed.

FixItWorkshop, Sep’17, Silvercrest SKS15A1.

Opening a can of worms (or not)

A little repair for my trusty Probus can opener…

Readers of this blog would have worked out by now that I’m a little bit sentimental.

A short story:

When I moved away from home, many years ago, my mum made me a ‘moving out kit’ in which contained a trusty Probus Butterfly can opener, the classic British design can opener type. Today, it broke. I was gutted.

You can still buy the same tool for just over £1, so it clearly doesn’t usually cost-in to repair such an item. However, all that seemed to be wrong was a broken pivot or spindle. The original riveted fixing had worn and eventually sheered off today when opening the cat food.

All that was needed was to re-rivet the can opener and all would be well again. Luckily, I had some rivets lying around of the right size. I grabbed my pop-rivet gun and 5 minutes later, it was ready to open cans once again…joy.

FixItWorkshop, Sep’17, Probus Butterfly Can Opener repair

Samsung S4 mini GT-i9195 -cracked screen

I take on a phone screen replacement

I’ve never replaced a phone screen before, but since there’s a wide range of spares at reasonable prices available out there, I decided to take on this repair for a friend. The screens on these and other smart phones are fragile. They are made of finely machined glass, made to extremely high tolerances and therefore susceptible to damage from knocks and scrapes. At this point usually, I might whinge on about how manufacturers do this deliberately to some extent, to bolster built-in obsolescence, but on this occasion, the break was due to the owner falling off his bike (off-road) and the phone hitting the deck, while in his pocket. I’m amazed the damage wasn’t worse. No hospital treatment for the owner on this occasion, just bruising and a dent to his pride.

The repair kit for such damage came in at a reasonable £8.99 and the eBay vendor promises to have the kit within a couple of days. I’m sure you’ll all be waiting with baited breath to know how the repair goes. I will of course keep you all updated.

WP_20170811_13_06_24_Pro — FixItWorkshop, Aug’17, Samsung G4 screen replacement.

Stay tuned.

17/08/17

The repair kit has arrived and there are lots of components in the box. After watching a few (very good) YouTube videos on the S4, I think I’ll need a clear evening to repair the phone…

26/01/18

Opening up the phone’s back, just a plastic over, only 1 small screws held the phone together as ‘layers’ sandwiched together.

After separating the screen from the main body of the phone, it quickly became clear that the screen was in fact OK and it was the digitiser (digitizer in the U.S.) that has cracked and failed. This meant that a new one was required, but after a conversation with the owner, we decided that the phone was now beyond economical repair. New digitisers are available for the S4 at the time of writing. The phone will be disposed of using an electronic recycling scheme.

Repair club in Worthing? A good idea?

An new idea for Worthing?

I enjoy repairing stuff. Anything within reason. Even if I don’t fully understand how something works when it comes in to the workshop, I enjoy the learning process, getting to know how and why something works. Am I the only one? No.

There are existing groups that meet around the UK with the aim of promoting the ‘art of repair’, re-kindling the idea that things can be mended. This ultimately enriches skills while getting more life and enjoyment from every day items we often take for granted.

I’ll bet that 70% of vacuum cleaners alone that get dumped at Worthing’s Amenity Tip could be repaired and therefore saved from landfill. I have no actual evidence for this statistic, I just made it up based only on my experience of the things I see for repair with minor faults.

Organisations like the Restart Project https://therestartproject.org hold meetings to promote electrical repair and waste reduction at various locations around the country. I haven’t met the organisers yet, but it looks like a great scheme that’s doing really well.

Do you think a regular ‘FixIt’ meeting in Worthing would work? Perhaps a ‘pub meet’ where people can share knowledge, tools and a drink over an appliance repair. That probably sounds like a weird idea, but many households have items that need repair or fettling every week, so there must be a demand of some sorts.

Could this work? If you think I’m mad, get in touch. If you think it’s a good idea, definately get in touch!

Email me…

Matt.

November’18.

Since I wrote that blog post a year or so ago, a Repair Cafe has been launched in Worthing, brilliant news. Repair Cafe are a world-wide organisation, operated locally by volunteers who can offer repair sessions and training. Fab.

Nice customer feedback: Bosch Athlet

A customer got in touch to say thanks. Always appreciated.

It’s always good to get feedback on the stuff I write here and produce for YouTube. I welcome it all, good and bad.

Here’s a nice one, relating to my Bosch Athlet repair, I received recently. Makes it all worthwhile. https://fixitworkshopblog.wordpress.com/2017/06/16/flimsy-bosch-athlet-25-2v-cordless-vacuum-cleaner.

From a chap who’s repaired his Athlet using my video.

Just a thank you.
I went looking for a solution to the intermittent cut-out on my Bosch Athlet and found your solution. It took all of about 2 minutes once I’d found a suitable length screw and works perfectly. Like it was designed that way.

In your video you thought maybe the handle was removable to allow the attachment of some accessory. It isn’t. It’s just a way of making the box smaller for shipping.

Which means if Bosch put the hole in, and supplied a screw, it would be a much better product. (But of course, then they could sell it as no assembly required:)

But seriously, thank you. I love the Athlet, but that bloody intermittent cutting-out was really beginning to bug me. If I’m ever in Worthing I’ll buy you a pint.

Name supplied.

Well, I know a few good pubs in Worthing!

FixItWorkshop Aug’17, Bosch Athlet repair

Happy repairs.

Hillbilly Compact Light / lite Golf Trolley going nowhere (motor needs new brushes)

A frustrated customer brought this ‘stationary’ mobile golf trolley in to the workshop recently. He’d replaced the control unit along with the hand controller. The battery was also new, but the trolley wouldn’t respond to the controls.

A systematic test of the wiring revealed no problems and power was getting to the motor OK. However, with the unit switched on, every now and then, the motor would make a noise, a faint hum.

This indicated that the motor, a Lemac 65178-101, was trying to do something. A few searches online revealed that the Hillbilly Compact is no longer made and parts, including the motor, are hard to obtain for reasonable money, this is a shame as the unit is only just over 10 years old.

The customer likes this particular model due to its lightweight and compact folding ability. New ones are several hundred pounds and usually heavier.

Since the rest of this trolley is serviceable, it seemed sensible to have a go at a repair. With the motor removed, the cause of the fault became clear. The commutator was heavily blackened and scored and one of the brushes had burned away, probably due to the heavy weight the trolley had lugged around a golf course.

Being realistic about spend on parts, I thought it would be a good idea to order some replacement brushes from Amazon. These brushes will come from Hong Kong via Sourcingmap (an excellent source of hard to get parts) and I will let you all know how I get on with the repair. The motor’s back-plate is available online for just over £15 plus P&P, but I like to repair the problem, rather than waste components that still work.

More to come… I expect you can’t wait.

LemacFixItWorkshop, Worthing Aug’17 Model 65178-101 motor

FixItWorkshop, Worthing, Aug’17 Hillbilly Compact Golf Trolley

One the new brushes are fitted and the commutator cleaned, I hope the motor will spin once again.

20/08/17

The brushes arrived and fitted perfectly. Time will tell if the brush material stands up to the tough punishment of lugging golf clubs across a green, but for £2.41, the repair was worth a try. See video.

Here are a few photos of the motor refitted to the golf trolley.

FixItWorkshop, Worthing, Aug’17, Back of golf Hillbilly golftrolley

FixItWorkshop, Worthing, Aug’17, front of Hillbilly golf trolley

FixItWorkshop, Worthing, Aug’17, Hillbilly, (refitted) motor in situ

Cost of a replacement golf trolley is circa £300+; The cost of the parts to repair this one; £2.41.

04/09/17

Well after some ‘light use’ the owner of the golf trolley contacted me to report that it had failed again, my heart sank! After a few hundred yards, the trolley came to a halt, which caused some amusement on the fairway…

After testing all the wiring again, I suspected the motor once more. After removing the motor, I saw that one of the brushes had stuck to the carrier, hmm, interesting. It seemed that the brushes I’d fitted had run ‘hot’ and started to deteriorate prematurely, which was a shame. When I ordered these to ‘fit’ this motor, there was always a risk that they wouldn’t last as long, since I didn’t know the exact specification for the motor- I took an educated guess, which turned out to be wrong!

I looked online again and discovered another set of brushes available for this Lemac motor, from http://www.lambeggolfshop.com, for a very reasonable £8.48, including delivery within 48 hours. I didn’t find these brushes the first time, so I must have used different search criteria, this time.

The motor now spins freely and it’s fitted back to the trolley and I hope this time, it makes a round to the 19th hole!

Porsche Boxster leaky window seal

A little water leak repair on a Boxster.

Not strictly a FixItWorkshop blog article really, but hey! It’s a cheap fix.

My beloved 2003 Boxster developed puddles in the umbrella holder on the passenger side (RHD car) when it rained hard.

The window was adjusted correctly and the door aligned properly, but when it rained, water ran down near the door mirror, under the seal, down the door card and in to the umbrella holder area. Water leaks like this, especially on the passenger side (RHD car) are a real problem on the Boxster, since the cars’ ECU is mounted on the floor on that side and is big £££ to replace/ repair if it fails.

Seemingly, the door seal rubber on the car adjacent to the door mirror area had worn and become slightly porous and was allowing water to get in between the glass and seal.

New door seals are very expensive and to prove the issue, I applied a small trace of tap (faucet) silicone grease to the area to restore the wax-like finish, the seal should have to seal properly.

This has fixed the problem for now. The door seal is worn and will need replacing in the long-term, but for now, this is a very cheap fix.

Bissell Powerlifter Pet noisy roller beaters

Now, some of you will remember that I’ve written about a similar issue before, but I think it’s worth covering again as often, complete replacement items need to be purchased, which can be costly.

This Bissell Powerlifter Pet vacuum cleaner had snapped a belt, due to an obstruction in the roller/ beater area and while the casing was open to replace the belt, I removed the beater to see how smoothly it turned. It was noisy.

Seemingly, Bissell will only supply a complete unit for around £30, with shipping, so given the overall value of the machine, it seemed sensible to have a look at the noisy component on the bench. The bearing housings, located at each end of the roller, come out easily and with some careful manipulation, each bearing can be removed.

On this unit, both bearings were dirty and dry. Now, I could have replaced them with a generic bearing, but in the spirit of thrift, I decided to clean the bearing races with brake cleaner and then repack with high-melt-point grease. When reassembled to the roller/ beater, it ran very smoothly and was much quieter, once re-fitted to the vacuum cleaner. Job done.

Blocked Hoover Steam Cleaner

Hoover Steam Cleaner Repaired!

I’ll put money on the fact that many steam cleaners like this one are thrown away needlessly due to blockages which could be easily cleared using everyday items.

This Hoover S2IN1300C hand held steam cleaner appeared to switch on OK (LED lamp on), the pump ran OK, but even with a full tank of water, no steam came out of the steam nozzle.

Off with the cover and after checking the pipes for leaks and pinches, it appeared that all was well. The pump did indeed run and the boiler appeared to get very hot.

After a fair bit of dismantling, it appeared that the nozzle was blocked by a build-up of chalk.

Hoover Hand Held Steam Cleaner, July’17, repaired at the FixItWorkshop, Worthing, England.

Cost of replacement; £30-50, cost of repair – some white vinegar.

Have a look at the video…