Things That Does Not Compost Well

• Bounce Dryer Sheet. After two year in the compost bin, the Bounce dryer sheets were still intact.

Squeezebox Classic V3 Inside Pictures

Objective2 (O2) Headphone Amp

Audi Q5 2011 Windshield Wiper Replacement (Front/Rear)

Replacing the wiper of an Audi Q5 2011 is an easy job. It takes 5 minutes and there is no need of any tooling. But you will need the following replacement parts.

• Pair of front windshield wiper: Bosch Q5 OEM Blade Set 24" and 20"
• Rear windshield wiper: Trico 12" Rear Wiper Blade

Front Windshield Wiper Replacement

 Push the square button in and slide out the blade.

Below are the pictures of the two replacement blades

Slide in the blade into the arm until it clicks. The 24 inch blade is for the driver side and the 20 inch blade is for the passenger side.

 

Front Windshield Wiper Replacement

Raise the rear wiper and pull the blade out from the arm.

 

 

The blade is mounted to the arm by two tabs and the corresponding slot in the arm.

 

 

Push the replacement wiper into the arm until it clicks. Lower the arm back on the rear window.

Energy Connoisseur C-7 Speaker Crossover Upgrade

Energy made quality speakers before it got bought out by Audio Products International (API) and later by Klipsch.  The Connoisseur series introduced in 2002, not to be confused with the newer Connoisseur speakers, were one of the better speakers at the same price point. The following pictures show the crossover inside the tower speaker with one tweeter and three 5.5" woofers.

 

Energy C-7 stock crossover sideview.

 

 

 

 Stock crossover top view.

 

 Replaced two electrolytic capacitors with polypropylene capacitors.

 

If you are looking in buying a pair of nice speakers, you can still get the originally designed Reference Connoisseur (RC) series speakers at Fry's at a bargain.

Energy C-100 Speaker Crossover Upgrade

Energy C-100 stock crossover.

 



 

 

 

Replaced 10uF electrolytic capacitor with polypropylene capacitor by Solen.

Tools of the Trade

You will need the correct tool to do any job properly. With the right tool it will take a few minutes to do the same job as it would have taken an hour. Here are some tools that you might find handy.

• Soldering Tool: For starter you might want to get a portable solder iron like the Weller SP40NUS. If you have Fry's close by, you should be able to get a digital adjustable temperature control soldering station Hakko FX-888D on sale.
• Desoldering Pump.
• Desoldering Wick.
• Multimeter. Buy a Fluke if budget allows.

Panasonic Inverter Microwave Carousel Motor Replacement

The carousel (turntable) motor of the Panasonic inverter microwave usually breaks after a few years of usage. The insulation in the coil windings will eventually decay causing a short or a open in the motor windings.

 

 

To replace the motor, unplug the microwave and cut out the bottom panel by clipping between the two holes with a wire cutter.

 



 

Purchase a new TYJ50-8 motor from eBay and make sure it has the same specs. Replace the motor and reconnect the wire. Screw the bottom panel (backwards) sliding the two tabs into the two slots on one side and the hole on the other and attaching the panel with a screw in the hole.

 

Looking at the manufacturing date (2007), the new motor should last 8 years.

 

 

Carrier 58RAV Furnace Controller Repair

The furnace was showing symptoms of shutting off within 45 seconds of the heat cycle. LED was showing three short flashes and one long (31). Based on the manual, the error code is "PRESSURE, DRAFT SAFEGUARD, AUX-LIMIT SWITCH (when used*) OR BLOCKED VENT SWITCH (when used) DID NOT CLOSE OR REOPENED".  Upon closer inspection of the controller board, the resistor at location R33 showed cold solder. Re-soldering the resistors fixed the problem.

 

 

Make sure to take a lot of picture, label the wires and reconnect the controller board properly.

 

Treadmill Console Repair Reebok Competitor RT5.1

The rule of thumb when debugging electronics is to first check the cable and connectors. This is usually the weakest link of any electrical component. When you open up a treadmill console, you will usually find that keypad control board is connected to the keypads by flimsy flat cables with compression sockets. Here is the inside of a Reebok Competitor RT5.1 treadmill.

 

If only a few keys in the keypad are operational then you will need to clean the contacts of the sockets and the flat cables. Take pictures and write down the direction where the direction of the cables go before disconnecting them.

 

Place a piece of paper in between the flat cable and the connect and compress the white tab a few times. This should clean up the contact points in the connector. If the cable is loose, you can leave the paper on the backside of the flat cable for stronger contact pressure.



Clean the flat cable contacts with isopropyl alcohol or contact cleaners such as Deoxit.

 

Reconnect the flat cable making sure the direction (black lines) is the same as before.



LCD Monitor Recap Acer AL2216W

Many electronics made in the early 2000 were affected by the capacitor plague where electronics had a high rate of failure with capacitors made from Taiwan. One of the LCD monitors from that era is the Acer AL2216W. The picture below shows one of the electrolytic capacitor bulging and corroding in the controller. You will need to replace 11 capacitors in this board. You might be tempted to replace the bulging capacity only but the others will eventually fail. So, it is easier to replace all of them at the same time while the iron is hot. Please note that electrolytic capacitors has a polarity and you will need to connect the positive side of the capacitor to the positive marking on the board.

Be careful while working with high voltage electronics. Especially with the large capacitor of the power supply. You might want to discharge it prior to working on the board.

 



Inside a Power Conditioner Belkin PureAV PF30

Here is the inside of the power conditioner Belkin PureAV PF30.

There are 3 filters with their own choke and caps.

1. High current for Amp.
2. Audio Filter for Tape/CD/Reciever.
3. Video Filter for VCR/DVD/Cable/TV