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Topics Discussed:

• 1999 Kenmore Refrigerator Makes Banging Noise When Compressor Shuts Off
• Tappan Gas Range Pilot Only Lights Periodically
• 1995 Cuisinart Convection Oven/Microwave is Stuck on Oven Setting
• 2006 Maytag Front Loading Washing Machine has Mold Buildup in Door Gasket
• GE Side by Side Refrigerator Making Clicking Noise
• 1993 Magic Chef Range Igniter Intermittently Lighting
• 1999 Frigidaire Gallery Dryer Making High Pitched Squeaking Sound at Startup
• Maytag Top Loading Washing Machine Cold Water Wash Comes Out Warm
• 1988 Kitchen Aid Dishwasher Covers Dishes with Soapy Film after Using New Detergent
• 1995 Kitchen Aid Gas Range Surface Burners Ignite Only on One Side

 

1999Kenmore Refrigerator Makes Banging Noise When Compressor Shuts Off

 

JOHN MCCULLOCH

And here is Lou, in New Baltimore, with a refrigerator question, here on the Appliance Repair Show. Go ahead please, Lou.

 

LOU

Good morning, gentlemen, and thank you very much for the service. We listen to you every week and it's a pleasure.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Well, we appreciate you being a loyal listener.

 

LOU

Thank you. We have a Kenmore refrigerator that's eight to ten years old and recently it seems that whatever the compressor, or whatever the cycle is that cools the refrigerator down, you hear a bang. It's like a pop and you can actually feel the refrigerator shudder a little bit when that happens.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

This is when the unit shuts off?

 

LOU

It appears when it shuts off, yes.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay and otherwise, is it cooling all right? You're not having any problems? You're not losing any food?

 

LOU

No, it's been cooling.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Well, most often, if you hear a loud slap or clunk as the machine shuts down, the problem is either that the grommets that mount the compressor, the little rubber pads it sits on are worn. That's not really that uncommon:  they can be pretty worn out and still not cause a lot of problems. Most often what happens is there's a set of four springs that the motor is sitting on inside the compressor that's sealed. One of the springs is broken, so that when it shuts off, the internal motor is actually slapping against the outer shell. The only way to really fix that problem is to replace the compressor.

 

LOU

Replace the compressor?

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Yeah. It's not a real uncommon problem, and most often the unit will run for quite some time in that condition, years sometimes, but all it takes is that one time to shut off and slap against the shell and crack something inside there and then you start losing all your food. So I would definitely babysit it and keep an ear and eye on it if you're going to continue to use it. Otherwise, the only way to put it in operation again where you know it's going to be okay is to change the compressor. Depending on what kind of unit it is, side by side or freezer on top, that can get pretty expensive for cost of repair versus buying new.

 

LOU

Understood. Thank you very much.

 

Tappan Gas Range Pilot Only Lights Periodically

 

JOHN MCCULLOCH

And here's Marty, in Livonia, with a question on a Tappan Range, on the Appliance Repair Show. Go ahead please, Marty.

 

MARTY

I'm having a situation with my Tappan gas range. It's natural gas. The pilot lights periodically fail on the top of the stove. There are two of those. The one for the oven range periodically goes out and when it does work properly, it seems to take an inordinate period of time to actually light the oven up. I can heat the little ball unit...

 

JOHN SOWDEN

And it fires up?

 

MARTY

Yes.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Is this an older unit?

 

MARTY

Yes it is.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Over time, it's not uncommon for the pilot lines to get a little plugged up. There are some things that go along with the natural gas to make it smell so you can smell it when you have a leak and other things that are in there over time can plug up those very small pilot orifices, either on the surface and/or the oven pilot assembly.

 

MARTY

Okay.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

If you take a small wire brush and gently brush off the pilot assembly, you might see a white residue all down the white ramp. That might add some more heat to the sensing bulb for the oven safety valve. If you turn it on, you normally see that pilot flame actually climbs down that little ramp and engulfs the sensing bulb. Then you get a lot of residue on there and it kind of hinders it from doing that. So I would recommend cleaning that up. Now, the surface is harder. You can try to clean that off but they're very small holes in there, and if you try to get in there with a pen or a needle to clean them, you can enlarge them too much and then you end up with kind of a little flame thrower, a big yellow flame.

 

MARTY

Gotcha. One of them does have a yellow tip to it, the one on the top of the stove.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Yeah. You might try, again with the wire brush, clean gently on all these pieces, see if you can clean it away. If not, you might have to replace the surface pilot assembly. Normally it comes as the small three sixteenths tubes with the pilot hole at the end of it. Depending on the age of the unit, there may or may not even be-

 

MARTY

It's very old.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Yeah. It might not even be available. But I would start out by trying to clean up the ends a little bit, and again, don't stick anything inside the pilot hole assembly itself, because you might end up enlarging it and then you've really made a mess.

 

MARTY

I appreciate that. That will make mama happy and if mama's happy, then there's happiness in the house! Thank you, my friend, have a safe day.

 

1995 Cuisinart Convection Oven/Microwave is Stuck on Oven Setting

 

JOHN MCCULLOCH

And as promised, here's Shirley from South Lyon, here on NewsTalk 760 WJR. Go ahead please, Shirley.

 

SHIRLEY

I have a Cuisinart microwave and somehow, it's a combination oven and microwave, and somehow it's on the oven part and I can't get it off to just go on the microwave setting.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

You've tried selecting the microwave mode? This has a touchpad on it?

 

SHIRLEY

It has a touchpad.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay and you tried hitting the microwave and it doesn't shut off the convection/bake mode?

 

SHIRLEY

No. I've done the release button, or whatever you call it, the clear button.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

And that doesn't help either?

 

SHIRLEY

No.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Well, the one thing you can do is, it's either one of two things, either the touchpad could be sticking down, meaning it's always telling it to be in the cook mode or bake mode and it's not taking a command from the rest of it, or it's possible that it's the circuit board. There's a set of relays in there that actuate and send power to the proper components for whatever mode you select, so it's possible one of those relays is stuck on the board. Probably the easiest and quickest thing to try is to unplug the unit and let it sit for several minutes and then plug it back in. Normally if the relay is stuck or something like that, then it may go back into operation. If not, then you have something, it sounds like, in the control panel:  either the touchpad or the circuit board. Normally touchpads aren't too expensive but circuit boards are very expensive. So if you still have problems with it, you may want to call a service person out and decide which one you need.

 

SHIRLEY

Maybe it wouldn't be worth it, after thirteen years.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Some of these convection/microwave combinations are pretty expensive, so I would price a new one. Also keep in mind that when you put a new one in, if this is mounted above the stove or underneath the counter, there's normally an additional fee. It's normally fifty to one hundred dollars to have that installed. So you have to roll that into the price of a new one, too.

 

SHIRLEY

All right. Well, thank you for taking my call.

 

2006 Maytag Front Loading Washing Machine has Mold Buildup in Door Gasket

 

JOHN MCCULLOCH

Pat in Toledo, Ohio, you're next on the Appliance Repair Show.

 

PAT

Yes, I'm calling about my front loading washer. It's probably a year and a half to two years old and I'm getting a lot of mildew and mold buildup in the gasket.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

It's right in the very front, in the sump area?

 

PAT

Yeah!

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay. Well, it's not uncommon. A lot of the front loaders will hold a little bit of water in that area. At times, you can get a mold buildup. Now, one thing you can try to do is in between loads, do you keep the door closed or open?

 

PAT

Well, we've been trying to keep it open now, since we noticed this.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

That will help the situation. Again, with all the front loaders this is not an uncommon problem and a lot of it is that they use a lot less water. Make sure you use the proper amount of detergent. You've got a lot less water in there so you've got a lot more concentrated soapy water and that will sit in there and sometimes it will stagnate a little bit. What I would recommend doing is, some machines have a clean cycle or hot cycle, and you can try running it through that once or twice. Adding a little bleach might help. I would start by physically wiping off the door gasket, and gently so you don't tear it. They also have a product called Affresh (part # W10135699) out which is a set of cleaning tablets that you put in the tub. I think you use two or three the first time around and it kills all the bacteria and stuff inside the tub. After that you throw in a tablet every month or so and it will keep this problem at bay.

 

PAT

What was the name of that product?

 

JOHN SOWDEN

It's called Affresh (part # W10135699). If you go to our website, RepairClinic.com and go to our accessories section and click on washers, you should find it there. I think it's seven or eight bucks for a package, and I think it's actually made by Whirlpool/Maytag, so it's recommended for your machine.

 

PAT

Great! Thank you so much!

 

GE Side by Side Refrigerator Making Clicking Noise

 

JOHN MCCULLOCH

Frank, in Royal Oak, has a question on a GE refrigerator.

 

FRANK

Hey guys! I've got a side by side GE fridge and freezer. I'm thinking it's the compressor. I can hear the thing clicking but it doesn't seem to be activating. Am I destined to have that thing replaced? The fan's blowing and I've gotten in there and removed the dust bunnies that have gotten lodged in there. It seems to be running a little bit better. The fan seems to be more active, should we say, since I did that but should I keep my fingers crossed that this thing might kick on? Because it's pretty hot and you can hear the clicking.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay, so you can hear the compressor try to start.

 

FRANK

Exactly.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Does it dim the lights, too?

 

FRANK

A little bit, yeah, when that happens. It just dims the lights in the fridge itself, not the rest of the house or anything.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay. The compressor is trying to start. That's a problem either in the starting components in the compressor; there's a relay overload set of electrical components there that turn on the compressor. They basically energize the start winding and run winding for a split second to get it running and then it drops out the start winding. It's possible those have failed and/or it's possible that the compressor has either electrically failed, meaning one of the windings is burnt or shorted open, or it has mechanically failed and the internal workings are locked up. If the compressor's been repeatedly trying to start then it will get very hot to the touch, so if you can, I would just unplug it for two or three hours, and see if it will take off.

 

FRANK

Okay.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

If it does, then I would lean more towards putting a new relay and overload on it and see if that helps out. If you go to our website, RepairClinic.com, we do have some instructions on how to check the compressor windings, if you have an ohmmeter (part # DM10T), to see at least electrically if it's failed or not. A lot of people will just throw a new overload and relay on it, and if it doesn't work, then it's time.

 

FRANK

Then you know.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Depending on the age of it, to replace the compressor, you're normally looking at five to eight hundred dollars, depending on the cost of labor and the compressor.

 

FRANK

So time for a new refrigerator?

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Yeah, unless it's one of the newer high end stainless steel jobs that are a couple thousand bucks, then you're still at half the cost of new then, and most people will still go ahead and get it going. But if it's your basic fridge, then-

 

FRANK

If I have a person from a service company come out, can they check it and make a determination?

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Yes.

 

FRANK

Which if it's the component that makes it activate or if it's the compressor itself, then I could probably get an educated guess from him as to how much it would cost?

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Call around; most places will charge a flat rate for the trip out and a diagnosis of your product. Just let them know that you just need someone to tell you what's wrong with it and how much it's going to cost and we'll take it from there. Again, they should be able to come out and tell you for sure which one it is.  Again, you might want to give them the model number off of the machine and that way if it is the relay package they can bring one with them so there's no second trip, and you have to stay home from work and all that good stuff.

 

FRANK

Thank you very much.

 

1993 Magic Chef Range Igniter Intermittently Lighting

 

JOHN MCCULLOCH

Here's Terry from Livonia, on the Appliance Repair show. Go ahead please, Terry.

 

TERRY

Hi. Thanks for taking my call. I have a Magic Chef stove, and it has the glow plug type pilot, and we turn it on a lot of times it doesn't want to light. Sometimes we'll smell gas and sometimes we won't but I notice if I open up the broiler and reach in there and thump the burner a couple of times, a lot of times it will light.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

So if you tap on the burner, it will light?

 

TERRY

Yes.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay, but you're getting delayed ignition, otherwise. So the igniter is glowing bright, bright red, and at times it will light and sometimes it won't?

 

TERRY

Right.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Then I would replace the oven igniter.

 

TERRY

The glow plug type thing?

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Even though it's glowing bright red, this is something that people have a misconception about because they think if it's glowing bright red, then it can't possibly be the problem because they can see it working. Actually what it has to do is, the unit gets hot and there's an actual current drop through that igniter, or resistance drop I should say, and it allows the gas valve to then come into play. It allows electricity to act on the gas valve. So by tapping on it all you're probably doing is jostling the gas valve that little bit to allow the gas to sneak through. Is this the original igniter in the unit, and its fifteen years old?

 

TERRY

I'm sure it's original, yeah.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

The only way to test it is with what they call an amp probe, and see how much current is being drawn in that circuit. Given your situation, I'd say you have a ninety-five plus percent chance that if you change the igniter you'll be back in business.

 

TERRY

All right.

 

1999 Frigidaire Gallery Dryer Making High Pitched Squeaking Sound at Startup

 

JOHN MCCULLOCH

Here's Deborah, in Rochester, here on the Appliance Repair Show.

 

DEBORAH

Yes, good morning. I have a Frigidaire Gallery heavy duty dryer. We purchased it in 1999. When I turned on the cycle, there is a loud high pitched squeaking sound. It appears as the tub turns. This will persist for maybe five or ten minutes. It seems like once it heats up it subsides, but it's still like a rubbing sound.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Yeah. Okay, but it does quit eventually?

 

DEBORAH

Eventually it does quit when it feels like it, and sometimes it doesn't.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay. Well most often there are two or three components that can cause this. One is the rear bearing assembly. It's kind of a ball and socket design that they use there, and that's something that as it heats up it can stop. Can you tell if the sound is coming more from the front or the back, or is it too hard to tell?

 

DEBORAH

It's hard to tell. It's all over.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Yeah. The other thing is there's a pulley that puts tension on the belt that could be worn.

 

DEBORAH

Oh.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

At time, the motor bearings themselves can cause this condition. The rubbing can either be from the bearing failure, or the front of the drum runs on a set of little plastic pads that could be worn out and could cause it. So you could have a couple of things. Normally the rear bearing starts to go and then the drum doesn't sit level and it puts undue wear on other portions of it. Now, if it just needs a rear bearing and you want to replace it yourself, you can get help if you go to our website, RepairClinic.com. Go to the "Contact Us" section and put in your email address and it will ask you some questions about what you need help on. Plus, there will be some documents that you can print out and bring with you to disassemble the unit yourself if you wish. Always unplug the unit before you get started. That will give you an idea of how to access some of these components. You can also go to our detailed appliance illustrations and select Frigidaire dryer, so you can see where they're at and what they look like, so you can do a physical inspection. Normally if you just need a rear bearing, that's twenty-five bucks plus shipping, and that's up to you. We ship Fed Ex, so you can get next day air, ground, whatever you want. That's a pretty inexpensive repair and it's something that, while not necessarily an entry level do-it-yourselfer project, I've nevertheless heard of a lot of people that have completed this repair without too much trouble.  The components, such as the front glides, the rear bearing, and the idler pulley, which is a little tension pulley for the belt. They actually have a kit that comes with a lot of this stuff. It's a dryer preventative maintenance kit (part # 5304461262) that they sell now, so you can get all the pieces you need and rebuild the whole thing for less than fifty bucks and hopefully get another ten years out of it.

 

DEBORAH

Oh, okay. Now would we access this from the rear, or underneath?

 

JOHN SOWDEN

No, on this particular dryer, the top folds back like a car hood. There are normally a couple of clips between the top panel and the front panel that you depress with a putty knife, and then you fold it back. There are screws that go into the front panel from the inside. You'll see it. Again, you can go to our website and print that out. Go in there and get after it.

 

DEBORAH

Okay, and that's RepairClinic.com?

 

JOHN SOWDEN

That's exactly right, RepairClinic.com. We're open today. Our parts counter is open until 6:00 pm. Our call center is open 8:00 am until midnight, seven days a week, and our website is always available to get any information if you wish, to purchase parts or just to find out how appliances work.

 

DEBORAH

All right. I will try that. Thank you so much.

 

Maytag Top Loading Washing Machine Cold Water Wash Comes Out Warm

 

JOHN MCCULLOCH

Here's Rich, in Buffalo, New York, here on the Appliance Repair Show. Go ahead please, Rich.

 

RICH

Thank you for taking my call. I really appreciate the quality of your show. My wife has a Maytag washing machine and the problem that we're experiencing now is the cold water wash comes out warm and the cold water rinse works. I have replaced the water inlet valve, which didn't correct the problem. So I'm calling to see if you can steer me in the right direction to correct the problem.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay. This is a top loader?

 

RICH

Yes it is.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

And you said you replaced the water inlet valve.

 

RICH

Yes.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Without the model, I'm not sure how much help I'm going to be. Some of those have a thermistor in the water valve. Is that similar to what you have on yours? There's a little wire harness that plugs into it?

 

RICH

I don't remember because I did this a while ago and I just happened to hear your show, and I thought I'd call my wife in Buffalo because I'm almost there now. It's one of those goofy situations.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Well, with some of the machines, what happens is you select warm, cold or whatever, and you turn a switch and it sends power to the appropriate valve on the water inlet valve, which you replaced. In others, they have a small circuit board and they have a sensor, or a thermistor, that's mounted in the water inlet valve. What it does is it monitors the temperature of the water going through it, and if you select warm it actually pulses hot and cold water to give you the proper temperature.  If that's the system you have and it's an electronic system, one possibility is that the thermistor in the valve is bad, which is probably not the case because you just replaced it, assuming you replaced the correct valve for it.

 

RICH

Yes, I did. I was looking at the schematic and that looked like that would be the problem. I called another show and the guy was surprised that that didn't correct it. I think he said that there were two other things that could have been a possibility, but I just can't remember what they were.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Yeah, it depends on the setup that your particular machine has but with a lot of the machines that have come out recently, and it's all to help save energy of course, it works where if you select warm it will give you true warm water, or at least their version of it. There's probably another small circuit board there that helps monitor this and it's talking to the sensor in the water inlet valve. If that's the case, the other thing you want to make sure is whether or not the plug that's on the thermistor on the water valve is corroded. If some water has dripped in and corroded that connection, you'll get a higher resistance than the board is looking for and it will give you a faulty signal. So make sure the connections are clean. If you see any corrosion on them, clean them up. Again, the poor resistance in there will give the board a faulty signal.

 

RICH

Okay. When I took it apart they did look real clean. I do remember that.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

I'd lean more towards the electronic board, then, if everything else turned out to be okay. If you have more questions or you get deeper into it, you can always go to our website, RepairClinic.com, get the information off of your machine and they can give you a detailed answer and some links to the parts you might need. If you have any follow-up questions, we're always ready to answer those too. So take the rest of the Sunday here, when you get home, get started working on the washer here and you can always chime in and we'll try to help you out.

 

RICH

Okay. Well that sounds real good. I appreciate your time.

 

1988 Kitchen Aid Dishwasher Covers Dishes with Soapy Film after Using New Detergent

 

JOHN MCCULLOCH

Grace in Troy, you're next, here on the appliance Repair Show. Go ahead please, Grace.

 

GRACE

Hi. I have a Kitchen Aid dishwasher. It's a little over twenty years old. I bought a new brand of soap and since then, my dishes are coming out with a thick film of soap on them. The glasses are so bad that you can't see through them! So what I did was I ran the machine three times empty with no dishes and no soap. Every time I opened it to take a look inside there were suds coming through the center post where the spray arm is. Every time I've done this cycle, there's a little less soap but there's still some in there. I wanted to know, could I put vinegar in there? I've read that you can put Tang in there and it clears it out. I just don't know what to do!

 

JOHN SOWDEN

When you said you bought some new soap, did you buy dishwasher detergent soap?

 

GRACE

Yes.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

So this is not for the sink, or regular hand washing detergent.

 

GRACE

No, its dishwasher soap.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Hmm, because it's common for people to run out of the regular dishwashing soap and say, I'll put a little squirt of the regular Dawn dish soap or whatever it is for your sink, and...

 

GRACE

No, these are like gel tablets that you put in the little soap hopper but since I've been using that, that's how my dishes have been coming out.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay. Has anyone else in the family or visitors been using the dishwasher?

 

GRACE

No.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay, because the other situation is that people can rinse their dishes in the sink with regular dishwashing soap and they leave some on the dishes, so when they put them in the machine it foams up. The other condition is that sometimes the sink itself, when you pull the plug, depending on if the drain line is not routed higher than the top of your kitchen sink, then it can actually push water down into the dishwasher.

 

GRACE

Oh!

 

JOHN SOWDEN

This may or may not have been a problem before because your unit has a drain valve that opens and closes positively for the drain cycle, but if it's stuck a little bit, you can actually get water to come back in. Have you had any other work done to the machine?

 

GRACE

No.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

That's good.

 

GRACE

No repairs or anything on it. It's been a good machine.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

To get rid of the residue that you currently have, yes, you can put a little vinegar in there and keep running it, try to flush it out.

 

GRACE

Do you put it where the soap goes?

 

JOHN SOWDEN

No, just open the door. What I would do is start it up and once you get to the main wash cycle, because normally it will go through a prewash and then to a wash, open the door and pour in a cup of vinegar and maybe another half gallon of water. When you open the door you should have an inch of water across the bottom of the dishwasher.

 

GRACE

Right.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

If you don't in the main wash cycle, then you might have a situation where you're not getting enough water into the machine and that's why you're having poor wash ability problems.

 

GRACE

So if that's the case, what do you do to get more water in there?

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Well, you can stop it and add more water during the cycle, which is not the best way to do it!  One thing to check then would be the float, the little thing that looks like a bell in the front corner of that, and make sure there's nothing holding that up. Or, most often after twenty years, the water valves get restricted with hard water or water sediment, and that unit is on a timed fill. It fills for about ninety seconds several times. If it has restricted the water valve, you're only getting half the water or two thirds of the water in during that time that you're supposed to, so normally a water inlet valve being restricted can cause this condition.

 

GRACE

Do you access this float through the front of the machine because it's built into the counters?

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Yes. Basically the float, if you open up the door it's normally in the front corner. You'll see the bell I'm talking about. That just lifts up and down; you'll hear a little clicking sound. To change the water valve you'll have to remove the lower access panel, turn off the water and turn off the power, and that's a little more of a plumbing adventure at times. So if that's the case, you may want to call somebody out to do that.

 

GRACE

Okay.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

But I would start with getting rid of the suds. I would then monitor it and see what kind of water fill you're getting in the main wash cycle. If all that looks good then I would just go back to your old detergent, because at times you can just get a bad batch that causes problems or it could be just that some of the newer ones are more concentrated-that's generally what you want to look at. Find out the dosage of that and make sure you're putting the right amount in.

 

GRACE

And I can use vinegar?

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Yes.  It just helps break the suds down a little bit.

 

GRACE

Okay. I'm going to try that. Thank you.

 

1995 Kitchen Aid Gas Range Surface Burners Ignite Only on One Side

 

JOHN MCCULLOCH

Here's Virginia, in West Bloomfield, on the Appliance Repair Show. Go ahead please, Virginia.

 

VIRGINIA 

I have an automatic lighter on the stove, on the Kitchen Aid stove. There are only two that work. You know how they click on?

 

JOHN SOWDEN

For the surface units?

 

VIRGINIA 

On the surface. A Kitchen Aid stove. I have an oven next to it, and when my children put the oven in for me, my boys, I discovered after that, this was a Christmas gift, that the two automatic burners did not light. They don't light. I got the two to go. You know how it clicks on? Now, whom can I call for Kitchen Aid products?

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Is this a new unit?

 

VIRGINIA 

No, it's every bit of twelve, maybe thirteen years old.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay. Now, you've got a four or five burner cook top?

 

VIRGINIA 

I have four burners on the cook top, yes.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

And one side is lighting and the other side is not?

 

VIRGINIA 

Correct.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay, so you get the left or right side but the other one is not lighting?

 

VIRGINIA 

Right and it's driving me crazy! I had some guests, some ladies, and they said, "Oooh, this is really bad! That's not going to work for you!" And I said, well I limited myself to using the two that do light up. That's inconvenient. I can't cook on the other two. They won't light.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Most often the problem is with what they call the spark module, which is a little box that generates a spark. Normally, depending on the model, you have a couple different outputs and one is probably for the left side and one is for the right, and the one side has failed. As far as for service in your area, I would always ask a friend or neighbor what kind of success they have had with a service company. If you just moved in, or have nobody to get that resource from, then I would recommend that you get a hold of the manufacturer; Whirlpool is the mother company of Kitchen Aid.

 

VIRGINIA 

Whirlpool? That's what I wanted, information on how I can call to get somebody out here.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Right. This is something that pretty much any service company should be able to take care of. It's a pretty straightforward, common repair. If you don't feel comfortable with that, you can always get a hold of the manufacturer and they'll send somebody out. Normally that's going to be a little more expensive than using a local servicer, but then again, you're getting the experts trained for just that product line. So like everything else in life, you get what you pay for.

 

VIRGINIA 

Yeah. At this time, like me, the house is getting old and a lot of things are breaking down. It's really driving me wild!

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Well, you've got two sons to help you out! Thanks for calling.