Fix It Workshop

Pump, ready for the dump

This asthmatic car tyre pump came in to the workshop with little going for it. The owner had been very close to throwing it away when he came across my website.

This AirMan pump is designed to be plugged in to a car’s cigarette lighter socket and provide quick and convenient car tyre inflation. This one was dead.

On first inspection, the fuse was OK, the switch seemed to work and all connections seemed sound, when tested with a multi-meter.

FixItWorkshop, Worthing, May’17 AirMan Car Tyre Pump, repaired

Off with the cover…

FixItWorkshop, Worthing, May’17 AirMan Car Tyre Pump, repaired- cover removed

When the motor was removed from the cam driving the piston, the bit that drives the pump, it spun freely when power was applied, using a battery in the workshop.

FixItWorkshop, Worthing, May’17 AirMan Car Tyre Pump, repaired- gear wheel

Seemingly, the centre spindle was protruding far beyond it’s specified reach, causing the pump connection rod to it it during rotation. Why? To be frank, I wasn’t sure. I can only surmise that the vibration and heat had caused the flywheel/ toothed drive to slide outside of specification.

FixItWorkshop, Worthing, May’17 AirMan Car Tyre Pump, repaired- washer

There appeared to be room for a small washer to take up the excess space, so I fitted one I had lying around.

FixItWorkshop, Worthing, May’17 AirMan Car Tyre Pump, repaired- pump now in line with washer

The washer, once fitted, allowed the flywheel/ toothed drive to sit ‘square’ in-line with the pump.

Once resembled, the pump ran freely and was ready to inflate, once more.

Cost of a new pump, circa £20. Cost of the washer, circa 5p.

Leaking Reginox Miami Tap

Reginox tap gets a new mechanism.

A friend of mine had long been complaining about a leaking tap in his kitchen for some time, so it was a long overdue job for me to tackle.

A quick look online revealed lots of videos and help, but nothing covering the actual problem in this instance.

The tap spout was leaking from the swivel joint where the spout body is allowed to move approximately 180 degrees to move from sink to sink, in this case. This is a fairly common problem for taps (faucet if you’re in America) of this design and sooner or later they all seem to suffer.

I was interested to know if the parts were available, but Internet searches revealed nothing. An email to Reginox UK was answered very quickly and I was referred to Mayfair Brassware Ltd, the manufacturers of the tap in this instance. The parts were quickly identified and delivered next day. Both companies were very helpful and efficient, useful for a non-plumber, like myself.

The cost of replacing the tap was about £50, so the £5 spent on replacement seals was well worth it. The whole job was done in 10 minutes using basic tools.

Incontinent Porsche Boxster (986)

An annoying leak, sorted.

A slight departure from my usual ramblings about white goods and other domestic appliances in this entry. Outside of The Workshop, I’m a keen petrol head who loves to tinker with cars and motorbikes and my own car was suffering from a recent bout of coolant incontinence.

Like me, most owners of these cars dread anything like this happening as it usually means big money.

The leak only happened when the car cooled after it was was run up to temperature and was evident in the area under the oil filter housing. Luckily, the leak wasn’t serious and was repairable with a 10mm spanner, washing-up bowl and 4000 grit sandpaper.

Here’s a little video which I hope will help other Boxtser owners.

Dyson DC14 roller bearings and block/ bypass relief valve

This Dyson DC14 came into the workshop with a couple of problems. The first was a lack of suction power and the second was a horrible noise from the front of the vacuum cleaner. It got to the workshop just in time.

A bypass valve is fitted to most vacuum cleaners without a bag and is there to prevent damage if a blockage exists somewhere in the airways or the owner has neglected to empty the collection bin. In this case, the valve seemed to be stuck open, causing suction power to be lost.

The valve on the DC14 (other Dyson models are similar) is a small device situated near the exhaust filter. the valve itself is a clear tube with a rubber sealed cap controlled by a spring. In normal operation, the cap seals a hole to the outside world, but if there’s a blockage, the pressure of the spring is overcome and air is allowed past the cap.

In this case, the valve was dirty and stuck. Repair required dismantling with normal household tools (small screwdriver and pliers) and cleaning using a damp cloth. A small squirt of silicone spray on the rubber seal ensured a smooth operation upon reassembly.

FixItWorkshop April’17, Dyson DC14, repaired in the workshop

The noise was traced to the front of the vacuum cleaner. The roller/ beaters were making a horrible noise when in use and it wouldn’t have been too long before complete failure would have occurred.

Spare roller/ beaters are readily available from Dyson directly and from many aftermarket suppliers at reasonable prices. Since the beaters were in good condition, it seemed reasonable to have a go at a repair. The small ball bearing races at each end of the beater are easily removed and upon inspection, both were very stiff in operation. Fortunately, the bearings used by Dyson were of good quality and as the dust covers were easily removed, all that was required was a clean with solvent cleaner and a re-grease. Once refitted, the roller/ beaters sounded as they should again.

Cost of a replacement Dyson vacuum cleaner, circa £250, cost of repair £1 (bit of cleaner, grease, silicone spray.

Sterling Power Products Pure Sine Wave Inverter repaired

Inverter, repaired in the workshop

For those wondering what an ‘inverter’ is, let me give a quick explanation: It allows one to use a mains operated device on the move, using a power supply from a motor-home, car or boat, as an example. An inverter ‘inverts’ a smaller voltage to a larger one, usually for most applications. Most inverters sold turn either 12 or 24VDC to 240VAC or 110VAC.

FixItWorkshop, April’17, Worthing, Sterling Power Products Pure Sine Wave Inverter Pro Power SB 600W

The owner of this one had accidentally connected the input wires the wrong way around, effectively reversing the polarity. Not good. Upon hearing a little ‘pop’ the owner quickly disconnected the power!

Having never worked on an inverter before, I turned to the manufacturer for advice. Sterling Power (UK) were not able to supply any product information on the phone nor via email and were generally not very helpful at all. They did offer a very reasonable 25% discount on a replacement, but were not able to offer much else to save the one I had in the workshop. Never mind.

Back to the problem. Checking the basics, the ‘accident’ had appeared to knocked-out three 25A soldered PCB fuses. Temporarily by-passing the fuses revealed a working unit, so replacing the defective fuses was a good idea at a very reasonable £1.50.

The fuses are mini-blade 25A automotive fuses. Once removed and the new ones soldered in place, the unit worked once more.

Cost of parts, £1.50, cost of replacement unit, circa £160.00.

I’ve also covered this repair overview in a video: https://youtu.be/nmnSRwQdSvY

Intermittent Einhell E-BH 950 SDS drill

Poorly drill repaired at FixItWorkshop

The owner of this drill complained that it work perfectly one minute and then stopped the next. It was making DIY a very slow process.

FixItWorkshop, April’17, Worthing, Einhell E-BH 950 SDS drill repaired

As this was a cut-out problem rather than a slowing down issue, power problems were a likely suspect.

On test, the cable flex near the base of the handle seemed to be the issue as giving it a good wiggle seemed to reproduce the fault.

Opening up the drill (several self-tapping screws) revealed a fairly straightforward layout with cord, mechanical connector, smoothing circuit (mains splash) and switch. Having suspected the culprit to be cable flex near the handle, I cut the cable down and re-made the connection, removing the suspect part of the cable.

FixItWorkshop, April’17, connector shown

FixItWorkshop, April’17, broken cable removed

Despite cutting the cable flex down by about 8″, the owner was pleased with this fix since no spare parts were required and no real issues will be noticed since it will be mainly used with an extension lead.

Erratic GHD hair straighteners

Straight GHDs

GHD hair straighteners are a premium product which retail for a minimum of £100 in the UK. However, over time they suffer from common annoying faults which cause owners to condemn the set they have.

This set of straighteners presented ‘as working’ when first switched on. After warming up, hair straightening temperature was reached within the normal time. However, after 5 minutes of use, the temperature reduced and failed to re-heat in a reasonable time. Leaving the straighteners to cool completely would effectively reset the problem, only for the cycle to repeat again.

GHD faults are well documented on YouTube and the fault turned out to be a faulty thermocouple or thermofuse, which should regulate the temperature and cut power in the event of a fault. They do however wear out and this set of straighteners was no exception.

FixItWorkshop, Feb’17, Worthing, GHD Hair Straighteners …repaired!

After dismantling, the thermal fuse was replaced for £2.70. The whole job took half an hour and saved the owner nearly £100 on a replacement.

Dyson DC33 repaired in the workshop

A Dyson DC33 gets treated to a new motor

Conked out Dyson DC33

This Dyson presented with a pretty terminal case of ‘no go’. The owner had run this relatively new machine in to the ground with little maintenance so it was little wonder what happened next.

Whilst in use, the machine spectacularly went bang and tripped the main fuse board of the house. The noise and following smell was quite something I was told.

The owner had nearly rushed out and bought a new machine and was budgeting between £300 and £400 for a replacement.

FixItWorkshop, Worthing, Feb’17. Dyson DC33 motor replaced

I was glad I could help since I was fairly certain I knew what the problem was without seeing it. After giving the cable, switches and casing a visual inspection, it was time to delve deeper. The filters were in poor condition and the general smell of it indicated that overheating had been an issue, probably leading to premature wear on the motor.

With the motor out, the true extent of the damage became apparent. Both motor bushes had worn away to nothing and part of the brush holder had broken up inside the motor, probably while it was running, causing the noise.

I suspect that the owner had ignored the warning signs of burning smells and occasional cutting out (as the thermal overload circuitry performed its fail-safe role).

Being only a few years old, the owner had a couple of options; either replacing the faulty part with a genuine Dyson replacement (a very reasonable £40) or pattern motor kit with filter pack for under £25. The owner chose the latter on the basis of the machine’s age and the fact that both filters in the machine were also ruined.

The job took an hour, including testing before the machine was back performing its cleaning duties once more.

A note to all vacuum cleaner owners (that don’t take bags): Keep your filters cleaned every couple of months or so. Your machine will last much longer if you do.

Lazy Dyson DC04 Vacuum Cleaner

Dyson DC04 brush problems

Sadly, I’ve seen loads of these older Dyson machines at the tip in recent years. I suspect, with a bit of fettling and cleaning, they could be brought back to rude health.

This one was one a high-mileage example and needed some tinker-time to get it back to a serviceable condition.

It was working of sorts, but failing to ‘pick-up’ as well as it used to. It turned out that the roller had two problems. The main bearings were worn, making a squealing noise and the brushes had worn low. This part used to be available from Dyson, but due to the age of the machine, they quite reasonably, stopped selling them. However, the net is awash with reasonable pattern parts for Dyson machines and while I tend to stick to original equipment wherever possible, a replacement roller from ebay for under £10 was a reasonable choice for this 15 year old vacuum cleaner. A replacement Dyson vacuum cleaner would be at least £250 for a basic model at time of writing.

FixItWorkshop, Worthing, Feb’17. Dyson DC04 repaired.

Just a note on Dyson machines: Having studied the company at school and following their progress for a number of years, they seem to be a firm believer in providing accessible and affordable parts to keep their products alive. They’re an excellent example of a company that truly believes in product sustainability.

http://www.dyson.co.uk/Spares.aspx

Chilly Hotpoint Tumble Dryer (VTD00)

A cheap fix for an old tumble dryer.

A tumble dryer that didn’t dry

FixItWorkshop, Worthing, Feb’17. Hotpoint (VTD00) tumble dryer (Ariston, Creda, Indesit similar. Now drying once more…

This machine is our very own, which decided to stop drying clothes. Everything seemed to work; the drum was going around, the timer was working and nothing sounded out of sorts, but it started taking longer and longer to dry clothes. In short, it wasn’t well.

This particular model is well documented online as it’s the same one with a world-wide model recall. Fortunately, Hotpoint/ Indesit/ Creda/ Ariston have an excellent recall process and information service. In fact if you’re concerned about yours, please visit http://www.hotpointservice.co.uk/safety-notices/ to see if your machine is listed. This machine had been modified and was cleared safe for use.

Anyway, it was time to dig out the tools. There’s not much to a tumble dryer really, the most expensive and important part being the motor, which in this case was fine. Having tested the heating elements for suitable resistance, it was time to check the wiring, which also tested fine.

Since the machine would heat up and then cool, it suggested a temperature control system fault. This machine has three temperature sensors; one in the exhaust and two on the back of the heater, the latter two to act as heat control and safety cut out.

If you’re still reading, it turned out that the exhaust thermostat sensor was at fault. Once it has allowed a brief heat cycle, it would shut down for ages. It had excess temperature switch ‘hysteresis’. The spare part was about £12, so versus the cost of a replacement machine at about £170, it was well worth spending time on the machine.