Fix It Workshop

Cheap Tesco DVD player

This cheap and quite frankly nasty DVD player came in as a dud unit. No lights on, nothing. To be frank, not even I thought it would cost in to repair it, since the owner told me it didn’t cost more than £20 in the first place.

Never mind, off with the cover and a quick poke around with the multi-meter revealed no power coming from the transformer within the unit. This converts high voltage from the mains to lower, safer voltages for the player. On this DVD player and many others I’m sure, the internal processes are broken up in to ‘cards’. On this unit, there’s a power card, a logic card for the motor drive and a video card for the picture. Closer inspection of the (cheap and horrible) power card revealed several faulty components, which had failed catastrophically. At first glance, I suspected that the cost of replacing individual components wouldn’t cost in and that sadly, this DVD player might be headed for the bin.

Fear not! With the power of Amazon, I was able to find a generic suitable DVD power card via China that fitted, with a small amount of wiring for £5, delivered. Job done.

Here’s a video of the fix.

Flimsy Bosch Athlet 25.2V cordless vacuum cleaner

I quite like the idea of this vacuum cleaner in that it’s lightweight, easy to use, highly portable and easy to maintain. All things that make a great product.

The particular vacuum cleaner came in to the workshop, just outside of its warranty period and had been looked after well. However, it had developed a nasty intermittent cutting-out problem when in use. I also noticed that the charger’s flex had also cracked near the wall plug, making it dangerous while charging.

First things first and it was off with the rollers and filters to clean any obstructions that might make a device like this overheat. Nothing obvious there, but all items cleaned and washed as a precaution to allow the roller to move freely and the vacuum to breathe easily.

Closer inspection of the handle area revealed a weakness in the design which had meant that the quick-release mechanism had caused an electrical connection to degrade, causing the cutting out.

The only remedy was to address the handle’s weak point with a mechanical fix and make good the electrical contact.

I hope Bosch take note and make an improvement in this area on an otherwise nicely engineered item.

I also did a small repair to the damaged flex on the charger.

Cost of a new vacuum cleaner, circa £250. Cost of screw… less than 50p (without my time of course!)

Here’s a little video of the repair…

Kaput Bosch AL1450DV Drill Battery Charger

An old Bosch battery charger gets a new lease of life.

These chargers often lead a hard life, working in dusty, hot and noisy conditions, so I guess many of these fail in time.

This Bosch unit is fairly common among Bosch DIY drill sets and this one had died catastrophically. With the power applied, this one refused to give the slightest charge to a drill battery, once plugged in.

After some basic testing, I decided to change four components which would have caused the other to fail in a ‘domino effect’. The cost of the replacement parts was just shy of £10, but definitely worth saving since second-hand units seemed to be changing hands for £40 on eBay, with their condition largely unknown. The parts (two resistors, MOSFET transistor and diode/ transistor) were readily available online.

I recorded a short video to help others who might have a similar problem with theirs…

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.