Retail Observer

June 2016

The Retail Observer is an industry leading magazine for INDEPENDENT RETAILERS in Major Appliances, Consumer Electronics and Home Furnishings

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JUNE 2016 RETAILOBSERVER.COM 65 electronic switches instead of the older type mechanical switches. Once we put these machines into perspective, they all of a sudden become less intimidating and more of a simple operation. In today's machines, their computer technology relies on inputs to make logical decisions, then deliver outputs based on the inputs it sees or senses. Remember way back when the first PCs started rolling out and people were wading through the new technology and the way things worked? We quickly figured out; garbage in, garbage out. These new machines are the same way. If the board or computer chip sees garbage in, its output is going to be garbage. This process is how we end up with fault codes that lead us astray and make us believe the information they are telling us. These newest machines simply have more ways of communicating the same garbage as was being given out by the earlier machines. As a technician, your troubleshooting should not change. We still need to verify components, run checks and perform the basic troubleshooting techniques as before. Think of a machine with a program where the machine is supposed to fill with water, wash, then drain. However, during operation, it fills, washes, then when it is supposed to drain, we receive a fault code, F** (drain pump not working). What could be the problem? If we believe the fault code, we would be changing the pump. Would that correct the problem? What if it does not? Could it be the pump? YES! Could it be the board? YES! Could it be the power supply? Also, YES! What are other possibilities? Where do we start, we have to investigate further. Now, let's step back to the basics and analyze the situation. Is the pump running? YES—Then it is more than likely not the board! If the pump is running and water not leaving the machine we would then need to investigate a mechanical problem: drain hose, stand pipe, etc. NO— If the pump was not running and I checked for voltage from the board to the pump and had no voltage, I would do further investigation of the board. If the pump does not run and we have a power source available, can I connect the pump directly to see if the pump runs? Yes, of course. That's how we should verify the operation of the pump. When troubleshooting these new high tech machines, just remember your basics and not let the technology overwhelm you. Another thing one should know, when one of these high tech machines is operating, it is following a programmed sequence and along the way gathering information to base its next decisions on and forming a logical process. As the machine gathers information, what if bits of the information is biased, incorrect, or just plain missing, the machine then makes decisions based on inaccurate information and will more than likely stop and deliver a fault code or possibly continue to operate but take a different path than the one originally programmed for. The term applied to this process today is referred to as an Algorithm. Every electronic controlled machine follows a pre- programmed algorithm for whichever cycle is selected. As implied above, when a problem occurs, the algorithm is disturbed and the machine starts changing its programmed process. This may cause a machine to add time to the cycle; add additional processes to the sequence, not perform functions as expected. Now for the kicker; how do we figure out what the real problem is? We rely on the internal diagnostics built into the programming and by way of putting the machine into diagnostics; it checks things for us and gives us a diagnosis and prognosis. Following with the problem described above, machine will not pump out, and fault code indicates the pump is not working. Once we go into diagnostics, we find the pump does work, it does pump the water out so the board is doing what it is supposed to. Now what do we do? What one must realize and learn is the difference between running the algorithm and following the programming versus running in diagnostics; the machine does not follow a pre- programmed sequence when in diagnostics. Once in diagnostics, the algorithm stops and the manual mode activates and de-activates components. Conclusion, when one receives a fault code and the machine is not performing a function as expected, one should not rely on the fault code alone but do further investigation and possibly manually operate components to verify the true root cause of the problem and/or customer complaint. Phil Whitehead recently retired as the technical trainer for Black Hills Energy and is the current president PSA. RO

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