Top 5 Tips for Troubleshooting Appliance Problems

Malfunctioning appliances with problems can really disrupt your daily life, but troubleshooting is your friend! Right when you need them, your oven stops working or your dishwasher spews suds everywhere. It can be easy, in the moment, to assume you’ve got a huge bill ahead of you, whether it’s a whole new appliance or the cost of diagnostics and repair, but that doesn’t need to be the case! Appliances are complex machines full of a variety of components, large and small, that can go bad or simply gum up. If you know exactly what and where your problem is, you may find that it’s incredibly easy (and affordable) to fix. But how do you figure that out? No matter what appliance you’re working with, there are a few diagnostics you can run yourself, to help you track down your problem. Once you know the cause of an issue, fixing it becomes a whole lot easier – and usually cheaper, too. Many common appliance problems are relatively simple fixes that you can handle yourself with a basic tool kit and a bit of time.

In this article, we’re sharing five diagnostic tips that can help you zero in on the causes of issues with your appliances. Let’s get started!

Need appliance parts for your fix? Search by model number below to find the perfect part for your model:

Helpful Tools To Have On Hand

We’re not guiding you through any repairs in this article, just figuring out what our problem is to begin with, so this list isn’t going to look like your standard tool list. You won’t necessarily need all of these items for every issue, but they can help you track down your problem faster:

• A smart phone can be used as a flashlight, a search engine, and a camera. Take pictures of wires or complicated assemblies before you start taking things apart so you have an easy reference later. You can also snap a shot of model numbers or damage to have a quick reference when looking for a new part or assistance with an old one.

• A flathead screwdriver is a great multitool, good for more than just installing and removing screws. You can use a small flathead screwdriver to pop off protective caps, pry apart certain wire harnesses, and lock hinges in place for easier access to the things you’re trying to check out.

• The internet is the best place to go once you’ve got a list of symptoms for your appliance. You’d be surprised by how quick it is to diagnose a problem by determining the symptoms. Once your determine the symptoms of your problem, search with your model number in the box below, go to the “symptoms” tab and identify the most common parts needed for your symptom:

1. Start With The Basics

Start with the basics…The very basics. Before you even do the tried-and-true turn it off and back on trick, make sure that your appliance’s power and water supplies are on, and that everything is properly connected. Check wall outlets, valves, and the sources themselves, like your circuit breaker and water heater. Even if you haven’t touched the appliance, if you’ve had electrical or plumbing work done recently, there’s a chance someone forgot to turn everything back on once they were done. Do note that if you’re having trouble with a gas-powered appliance and your gas appears to have been shut off, you will likely need to contact the utility company to have it turned back on.

2. Test Your Outlets

Okay, so you know that the power is on, but when you try to turn on your appliance, it doesn’t work – not a flicker of light to be found. How do you even diagnose an issue with an appliance that isn’t turning on at all? Don’t fret! Your appliance may not even be the source of the problem! What do you do in this situation? Unplug your appliance and plug something else into the wall outlet it was using. A lamp or a hairdryer is a good option – something that you know works that is also easy to turn on and off. If your light isn’t working with that outlet, then the outlet is the problem.

Unless you’re an experienced electrician, you should have a professional take a look at your wiring issues.

3. What’s that sound?

An unusual noise is generally enough of a red flag to say, “There’s a problem here.” But knowing what type of noise you’ve got and where it’s coming from can help you figure out exactly what your issue is.

Here are some things to consider:

• Where is the sound coming from? Front, back, high or low in the appliance? The location of the sound will give you an idea of where your problem is on the appliance when it isn’t working properly.
• What’s it sound like? Clunking, grinding, screeching, and humming can all be pretty wildly different problems in appliances. A failing motor sounds and a stuck belt don’t sound the same. Identifying what your unusual noise is will make it a whole lot easier to pick out your problem.
• When does it happen? On certain appliances, like refrigerators, washers, and dryers, when you hear the sound can help you out, too. If your washer is only rumbling during a certain cycle, or your fridge gets way too loud only when you open the freezer door, it’s safe to bet that your problem originates with a component that is only used during those times.

4. Watch Your Wiring

If you’ve just finished a repair job and you’re still having the same problems – or have encountered a host of new ones – start by checking out your wiring. There are a lot of plugs, terminals, and grounding wires to be aware of when you’re replacing faulty parts in appliances, and sometimes it isn’t easy to remember exactly where everything goes. Double check that every harness is connected and all the wires are where they should be. Even if you think you did it right, it’s worth giving everything another look and checking it all against pictures or official diagrams.

Consult your home appliance’s manual or check online for official wiring references and reset button information, and the next time you complete a repair yourself, remember to take a picture of wiring arrangements and complicated component assemblies before you disassemble them. This will give you an easy reference for how everything should look once you’re putting it all back together again!

5. Check The Door Switch

Most modern microwaves, washers, dryers, ovens, and plenty of other appliances come with door latches that work as safety features. If an appliance thinks the door isn’t latched, it often won’t run at all. And, by contrast, if the appliance thinks the door is latched, it will run even if the door is open. You definitely don’t want that.

A faulty or failed door switch can lock your appliance up (literally, sealing the door), stop it from running all together, or make it unsafe to use. Luckily, replacement door switches are usually pretty cheap, and replacing them yourself is often an easy job, regardless of the appliance.

Here are some specifics to watch out for:

• Over-the-counter microwaves have two door switches. There’s an upper and a lower switch installed in an assembly behind the microwave’s control panel. If one of these switches has failed, it could blow the fuse on the filter board, meaning you’ll have multiple parts to replace. If you’re replacing one door switch on your microwave, always replace the other one as well.

• Washing machines will sometimes lock up and refuse to drain when the door switch or another part has failed. You may find you need to override the door switch before you can even get in and have a look at what exactly the problem is. You can temporarily bypass your washer’s lid lock with a magnet. It doesn’t even need to be a strong one. If you place the magnet right on the lid lock, one from your refrigerator can suffice.

• If your dryer’s light isn’t turning on when the door is open, it could be a burnt out bulb, but it could also be that the door switch is shot. If this is the case, the dryer will probably also tumble even though the door is open, so it’s important to fix this quick to avoid injury!
• The switch on your oven door is susceptible to damage from your oven’s self-cleaning feature. In fact, the door switch is one of the most common parts to break if a self-cleaning function has been run too long or too frequently. If you want to use your oven’s self-cleaning feature, make sure you’re doing it only as frequently as your manual suggests.

Wrapping Up

There you have it, the top five things to look for when diagnosing a problem with your appliance. We hope this guide has helped you to narrow down the source of your appliance woes and gotten you on the path to fixing it up. Once you have the problem identified, it’s easy to search my model number and determine the parts related to the problem and the specific parts needed on AppliancePartsPros.com. Still having problem? Our friendly staff is happy to help you perform repair services yourself! If you’re on the hunt for more troubleshooting tips, repair help for specific appliance types, or need a genuine OEM replacement part to get your appliance back in working order, stick with AppliancePartsPros.com.