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Topics Discussed:

• 2003 Maytag Over the Range Microwave with Light Bulbs Continuously Burning Out
• 2003 Maytag Range with a Squeaky Oven Door
• Kenmore Refrigerator with Door Shelves Falling Out of Place
• Maytag Range Replacement of the Large Surface Burner
• Roper Washing Machine, Model AL6245V, Dancing Across the Floor
• 1979 Electric Range Question Regarding Glass Breaking on a Surface Burner

2003 Maytag Over the Range Microwave with Light Bulbs Continuously Burning Out

JOHN SOWDEN

And thank you for joining us this morning on the Appliance Repair Show on New Talk 760 WJR. The Appliance Repair Show is brought to by RepairClinic.com for appliance parts, help, and more. We welcome your calls this morning. If you have issues with an appliance give us a call and as usual this morning to tell you how and what you need to do is Mr. John McCollough.

JOHN MCCOLLOUGH

Good morning, John.

JOHN SOWDEN

Good morning.

JOHN MCCOLLOUGH

Nice cloudy morning here as we get into spring in Southeast Michigan. It is a great morning to give us a call. We are open for business and live at the Golden Tower of the Fisher Building; 800-859-0WJR is our number, that's 800-859-0957. Savvy listeners to the weekend expert shows here on WJR know that the best time to call is early in the program. This is no exception. If you have a question on an appliance, give us a call at 800-859-0957.

JOHN MCCOLLOUGH

Taking your calls at 800-859-0WJR that's 800-859-0957. Your calls on major appliances and we'll go to Dave, in Flat Rock, with a microwave question here on the Appliance Repair Show. Hi, Dave. Go ahead, Dave.

DAVE

Yes, good morning.

JOHN SOWDEN

Good morning.

DAVE

I have two questions actually.

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay.

DAVE

One is I have a Maytag over the oven or over the stove microwave.

JOHN SOWDEN

All right.

DAVE

The bulb for that unit, the first, the original bulb lasted several years.

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay.

DAVE

Now, it's like every other month, every couple of months I'm replacing the bulb.

JOHN SOWDEN

And that's the bulbs that shine down onto your range or the surface units?

DAVE

Correct.

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay. And you keep going through the light bulbs?

DAVE

Yes, I do. I replace them. Now this last time, I actually put some dielectric grease on the base and I'm sure, I'm careful not to over excite the bulbs but you know usually one goes out and then the other one will go out but I always replace them in pairs.

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay. Now do you use this as a night light as a lot of people do? You kind of leave it on.

DAVE

Yes, sir in some cases, yes.

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay, that's when you get the generally reduced time on that and the light bulb you are purchasing are they from the manufacturer for that unit or are you just buying something similar because there are a lot of generic or after market bulbs that are generally cheaper.

DAVE

Right, exactly. You know I have not bought the original replacement bulbs. Actually those bulbs are harder to find. I usually get them at Home Depot. It is a 25 watt bulb but it's a GE product. But, I thought maybe if I got the original manufacturer bulb it may be better, it may last longer because as I said the first set of bulbs lasted for several years.

JOHN SOWDEN

Yeah, again what normally happens with that is if you leave it on all the time you will get a lot of heat and you'll have a socket problem where you are not getting a good connection in the socket after a period of time. On occasion what will happen, the bulb will short or ground and you will end up wiping out the relay that turns on those lights. My question is: Are they staying off when you switch "off"? Does it stay off or are the lights kind of locked on the "on" position.

DAVE

No, they'll stay off. It's actually got two modes of light and then a dimmer mode.

JOHN SOWDEN

A high and low?

DAVE

Yes. The other thing that is kind of odd is that you know when I look at the bulbs and take them out they got that kind of shiny mirrored appearance to them.

JOHN SOWDEN

Right.

DAVE

You know what I'm saying. They look like there chrome actually.

JOHN SOWDEN

Right. Well, I would think that with the shortness of longevity of the bulbs you have been using lately and you are not getting the necessary manufacturers bulb; it could be that they are not a constant duty or the bulbs that you are putting in are just not made for that application. You can try to get the stuff designed for that from the manufacturer but some of those bulbs for the microwaves are, you can buy them for 3, 4, 5 bucks a piece locally and through the manufacturer they are 8, 10, sometimes 20 dollars a piece. You can go through a lot of generic bulbs before you end up cost effective wise buying a direct replacement. If you get sick of changing it, I would recommend the manufacturers. If you get the model number as it reads off the unit itself, not off the brochure, go to RepairClinic.com, and enter the model number into our search box you'll see a picture of all the common parts for your unit including the light bulbs and it will give you an idea of what you are looking at to get the direct replacements. It'll give you chance to do the math on it and see which way you want to go.

2003 Maytag Range with a Squeaky Oven Door

DAVE

Okay, one more quick question, if I may?

JOHN SOWDEN

Sure.

DAVE

It would help my wife out and me tremendously.

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay.

DAVE

Maytag oven door.

JOHN SOWDEN

Yes.

DAVE

You know generally when you first start out its fine but once it warms up, man, when you open up the door it squeaks terribly.

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay.

DAVE

It's got the squeaky spring syndrome going on. What kind of product can I use safely to take care of that problem?

JOHN SOWDEN

It really depends on what kind of hinge assembly you have. Some are kind of an all in one hinge while others have different components where there are two or three pieces for the hinge. If its just worn out lubrication is only give you a little more time. A lot of them we use white lithium grease or something like that in sparingly amounts in certain components. You really need to kind of get in there and see. You might want to just replace the door hinges and again there are so many different configurations for the door hinges out there it is a matter of what model you have. Again I recommend getting that information and then you can have an idea of what you are looking at or what you are looking for. Normally, take the spring out and if its not worn too bad you can lubricate it and get some more mileage but sometimes to get at them and to get them out it is such a hassle that you might as well put in a new set of springs while you have it all torn apart.

DAVE

Right. Well it's only about; both of these products are only about 6 years old so I would hope that there not worn out.

JOHN SOWDEN

Well, everybody uses there appliances differently, too. Some people use their oven every day. Other people you know, once or twice a month so you know they're obviously made to take a lot of wear and tear but sometimes people go 20-30 years without this type of problem and it is just from lack of use.

DAVE

Thank you so much. You have a great Sunday morning.

JOHN SOWDEN

You too. Thank you for calling this morning.

Kenmore Refrigerator with Door Shelves Falling Out of Place

JOHN MCCOLLOUGH

800-859-0WJR that's 800-859-0957. Here's Tom, from Detroit, with our first refrigerator question of the day here on the Appliance Repair Show. Hi, Tom. Go ahead, please.

TOM

Well, good morning guys. Thanks for taking the call. Love the show. I had a question about my Kenmore fridge and I don't have the model number. I'm not at home but I have a problem on the inside of the door. The shelf keeps pulling off. There's two shelves, the top shelf is actually a little deeper than the lower and the rail that holds the mayonnaise jar and stuff keeps falling off and like an idiot I keep whipping open the door and mayonnaise jars hit the floor and my wife starts yelling. You know, but I need to figure out how to replace the liner on the door where the little latch that holds that shelf on is there and I'm concerned that its gonna be a kind of involved process and I'm not all that handy so I'm scared to tackle it. Is this something that I can do at home or not?

JOHN SOWDEN

That's a real common problem, Tom. And, what normally happens is they come in two configurations. One is the whole shelf complete and they normally have a few tabs on it that lock into place. Other ones you have a metal bar and then each end you have a plastic end cap and there's different ways that it snaps into the liner of the door. If you get the information off your unit, go to RepairClinic and give us the model number, you can then see what the components are suppose to look like in its unbroken state and that might help for learning what to do. Some, they just kind of hook in place. Others, you need to start it and push up and lock in the top part of it and insert the rest of the locking tab into the door panel and then slide it down to lock it in place. On occasion, if the door liner where the small little holes are that this thing locks into; if that's broken away there's not a whole lot you can do other than replace the door liner and that can be a pretty expensive and time consuming thing so first inspect the small holes that are in the liner and make sure that those aren't in fact the problem. And if so, if there adjustable, you just might not be able to use that spot of the door any more. You might have to put your smaller jars in that area and find a different place to put your mayonnaise jar to fall on the floor.

TOM

Thanks. No, I appreciate that. It's a good place to start. What's the web page again?

JOHN SOWDEN

That's RepairClinic.com.

TOM

All right. Sounds good. Thanks guys.

JOHN SOWDEN

Thank you.

JOHN MCCOLLOUGH

Thank you very much for the call, Tom. 800-859-0WJR that's 800-859-0957. If you have a minor question about a major appliance or if you have a major question about a major appliance about the only thing we don't do here are furnaces and blenders. From both ends of the spectrum; 800-859-0WJR that's 800-859-0957. This is the Appliance Repair Show on News Talk 760 WJR.

Maytag Range Replacement of the Large Surface Burner

JOHN MCCOLLOUGH

Taking your calls at 800-859-0957. Here is Warren, in Indianapolis, with a range question here on the Appliance Repair Show. Good morning, Warren. Go ahead, please.

WARREN

Morning. Simple question. We were going to replace the coil on the stovetop of a Maytag range, the large coil. And, when we pulled the old out it has a flat metal blade type terminal but you go to the store to get a replacement and they all have this round looped wire. Can those be substituted? Any difficulty?

JOHN SOWDEN

It depends. Are you getting the direct replacement for that unit?

WARREN

We can't from a local Home Depot but we can order it for about $20 more.

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay. Well, it depends sometimes they will actually change the style from the looped hollow end terminals from the flat blade. The flat blade, at times, gives you a little more surface area so you get a little better connection. It wouldn't hurt to put in the looped terminal as long as you have the same wattage and burner configuration so it sits properly in the bowl. You might also want to look at since you have it apart to replace the receptacle that it goes into.

WARREN

I see.

JOHN SOWDEN

Now the other thing that you can do is you can get the model number as it reads off the unit. Go to RepairClinic.com and then you'll see the factory replacement burners and the receptacle, what that would run and that might solve your problem right there for you.

WARREN

Okay, so there is a difference in the coil capability so I shouldn't use the GE coil or something like that as a substitute?

JOHN SOWDEN

A lot of it has to do with mounting. I mean if you get a large coil most of them are 2,100 or 2,600 watt coils. As long as the configuration is correct as far as the wattage and the mounting, if it fits in the receptacle you'll normally be okay. But if you get something that's not fitting well what happens is you get a poor connection in that receptacle. It gets hot and then you start going through burners more often. You are really better off to get something that's made for that unit. And if you know especially again with mounting and the way it sits on the burner bowl. You don't want to put a big pot of spaghetti or something like that on a burner that is rocky or something like that. At times, you're better off to just spend a few extra bucks and start over with the factory replacement stuff and that way you have a little more peace of mind and less repairs in the future.

WARREN

Got it. Okay. Thank you.

JOHN SOWDEN

Thank you for calling this morning.

Roper Washing Machine, Model AL6245V, Dancing Across the Floor

JOHN MCCOLLOUGH

And again that website is RepairClinic.com which is probably where you would want to go to get the exact factory replacement. And, here's Rosalie, in Redford, with a question on a washer here on the Appliance Repair Show. Hi, Rosalie. Go ahead.

ROSALIE

Hello. Thank you. I have a dancing washing machine and I have to hug it to make it stop dancing and I've used it several times since it started doing this. I thought it was because it was a load that needed to be redistributed because I had a flood in the basement and I was washing rags and rugs well then when I tried washing my dainties it did the same thing. I'm afraid to use it. I want to know if it can be fixed. And, do I need a new machine? Or, who should I call?

JOHN SOWDEN

So you're tired of dancing with it is what you are trying to tell me...or hugging it?

JOHN MCCOLLOUGH

I can see the new TV show Ð Dancing with the Roper.

JOHN SOWDEN

You can be a judge if you want John. I'll try to get you in on that deal.

JOHN MCCOLLOUGH

I appreciate that.

ROSALIE

I'm not wearing one of those costumes though.

JOHN SOWDEN

Well, what's happened more than likely is that the inner structure of that machine has two or three springs that keep it centered and there is also a small set of pads that the drum rides on that keeps it from going out of balance. And if the unit has been in the same spot for years and you haven't had any problems more than likely one of the springs is just broken or the retainers for the spring and/or the pads are worn out. So, if the machine otherwise was working all right before, it probably be worth having a service man come out and look at it. And, normally, it is not going to be that big of a repair, I'd say you could probably get out of it for under a $100. And they can also inspect other things with the machine at that time. If they see something else worn and kind of give it a general evaluation of it before you move forward. Yes, it is repairable. It doesn't sound to terminal from what you're describing but I can tell you the more you use it in that condition and its beating around, its going to end up beating and breaking other components inside or things of that nature. I would not continue to use it until you have it addressed.

JOHN MCCOLLOUGH

Excuse me, John.

JOHN SOWDEN

Sure.

JOHN MCCOLLOUGH

Could the fact that it was flooded have anything to do with it?

JOHN SOWDEN

She said that the basement flooded but it depends how high the water came up.

ROSALIE

There was not water in that particular area. It was in the other part of the basement.

JOHN SOWDEN

I got the impression it wasn't the machine that got wet but you were trying to hasten the cleanup of the flooding of the basement.

ROSALIE

That's correct.

JOHN MCCOLLOUGH

So you were right on, as usual.

JOHN SOWDEN

I was paying attention.

ROSALIE

Who should I call or where should I look?

JOHN SOWDEN

Well, the first thing I recommend as far as servicers go is speak to a friend or neighbor, somebody at church, somebody who has had a good working relationship with somebody. Make sure they service the brand that you have or if you still don't find someone satisfactory that way I always recommend just calling the manufacturer and they can then direct you to someone who is an authorized servicer and/or have their own people. Generally, a word of mouth or something of that nature is the best way to go. If you have had somebody that has had pretty good success and felt that they were treated pretty fairly that's generally the best way to go.

ROSALIE

Okay, now will they need to turn the machine over or get behind it or anything like that?

JOHN SOWDEN

It is hard to say. Most often the machine you have they can remove the cabinet and stuff as it sits where it's at. Most of the time, they will send out some young strong guy who can wrestle it out. And that's why I'm doing radio now instead of wrestling them any more.

ROSALIE

We pulled all the stuff from the other part of the basement and we have been stacking it every place and so I will have to clear the area but I wanted to make sure how much area he needed.

JOHN SOWDEN

I'm certain they will appreciate easy access to the unit.

ROSALIE

Okay, thank you so much.

JOHN SOWDEN

Thank you for calling this morning.

1979 Electric Range Question Regarding Glass Breaking on a Surface Burner

JOHN MCCOLLOUGH

Thank you for the call. 800-859-0957 is the number. And, here's Barb, in Novi, with an electric stove question here on the Appliance Repair Show. Hi Barb. Go ahead, please.

BARB

Hi, this is the oddest thing to me. I have the electric range and I use a flame diffuser. Is that what you call those things?

JOHN SOWDEN

I am not aware. I'm not looking at it, ma'am. That's the problem. You've got an electric stove?

BARB

Yes.

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay. Is this a smooth top or a conventional burner?

BARB

This is 30 years old.

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay, but is it a glass top unit or...

BARB

No, it's the old fashioned...

JOHN SOWDEN

Standard burner?

BARB

Yeah.

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay and what happened?

BARB

I put the...I call it a flame diffuser. I am not sure what the name is, but it is a gizmo that you put on the burner when you are going to put glass or Centura ware or something like that other than metal. It prevents breakage. I mean otherwise if you put a glass thing on the burner it would explode. Well, I put this thing on and I was making tea, four cups, and all of a sudden there was this huge explosion sound and I came running in to see. Four cups of would-be tea all over the stove.

JOHN SOWDEN

So, you broke your tea pot.

BARB

It broke the glass. It fractured the glass in a hundred pieces.

JOHN SOWDEN

Is the stove burner working properly otherwise?

BARB

Yeah.

JOHN SOWDEN

So you have tried it and used it and its working.

BARB

Yes, I've been using it. In fact, I have done this tea thing a hundred times.

JOHN SOWDEN

Well, it sounds like if the burner is working and regulating temperature properly; it sounds like you might have had a nick or something in the tea pot that just it was time for it to go. At times, some of these things that you put on the burners, they actually get the component off the burner to where it does not regulate the temperature as accurately as it could but if you are not having problems with the burner in its current state if you're using it and you set it on medium and it seems to keep medium and its not running away staying on high then I'd say you probably just had a tired tea pot.

JOHN MCCOLLOUGH

There you go...and we thank you for the call and we hope that is all the problem is.