Serious question, did you switch from guessing to testing capacitors?

I used to just swap parts based on the symptoms and hope for the best. Like on dryers not heating, I'd throw a new thermostat at it and call it a day. But after getting burned on a Samsung dryer where I replaced three parts before finding the real issue, I finally bought a $50 capacitance meter from Amazon. Now I test every capacitor before I touch anything else. What about you guys, do you still go by feel or have you switched to testing first?

2 comments

2 Comments

corac9122d ago

Read an appliance repair blog that said something like 90 percent of problems come down to a bad capacitor or a failed thermal fuse. That got me thinking, so I picked up one of those cheap multi meters that also tests capacitance. Caught a bulging capacitor on a washing machine that wasn't spinning right, saved myself from buying a whole new control board. Now I always test first before I even touch a screwdriver, it just makes more sense than playing the guessing game.

terrywilson22d ago

My uncle fixed a dryer with a paperclip once...