Xsbank
Guru
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2013
- Messages
- 3,791
- Location
- Canada
- Vessel Name
- Gwaii Haanas
- Vessel Make
- Custom Aluminum 52
A lesson I learned from my father and my youthful attempts to get myself reliably back and forth to university in my 1958 Pontiac Pathfinder. I realized this was very à propos to boating and I was reminded of this long-lost lesson this morning when confronted with a central vacuum in my house that refused to shut off.
What is the very first thing you do when confronted with a stuck solenoid? No, it's not disconnect the power, it's not pull the breaker, it's not panic because the guests will be here any minute (although my wife was beginning to show signs of same, flapping her hands, her voice higher than she can usually achieve in choir practice), what you do FIRST, is smack the solenoid with a screwdriver handle. Absolutely first. If that doesn't work, smack it again, harder. If that doesn't work, get a bigger screwdriver. If THAT doesn't work, go back to the first three rejects and cut the power.
When I unplugged the vacuum, tore the top off it, read the number on the solenoid, ordered a replacement on the internet, screwed up the order, cancelled the order, got refunded for the order then did it all again, I thought of the solenoid now sitting on my kitchen table. I got out my drill, drilled out the rivets, pulled the sucker apart and just as the top came off, the welded contacts made a small noise (sort of a "ha" sound) and popped apart.
Aarrgghhh!
It was then that I remembered the screwdriver-handle-rule (as important as other shop rules like not hitting your thumb with the hammer or not trying to hold that piece of bar stock in your hands when you use the drill press) and realized I had wasted a morning screwing with the relay when I should have just smacked it (smacking things with a screwdriver handle has many other uses in life, such as some reasons you might come across in a Walmart parking lot).
So remember this simple but very important rule when confronted with an electrical machine that will not shut off (sometimes it also works if it won't start, too),
Smack It With a Screwdriver Handle First!
What is the very first thing you do when confronted with a stuck solenoid? No, it's not disconnect the power, it's not pull the breaker, it's not panic because the guests will be here any minute (although my wife was beginning to show signs of same, flapping her hands, her voice higher than she can usually achieve in choir practice), what you do FIRST, is smack the solenoid with a screwdriver handle. Absolutely first. If that doesn't work, smack it again, harder. If that doesn't work, get a bigger screwdriver. If THAT doesn't work, go back to the first three rejects and cut the power.
When I unplugged the vacuum, tore the top off it, read the number on the solenoid, ordered a replacement on the internet, screwed up the order, cancelled the order, got refunded for the order then did it all again, I thought of the solenoid now sitting on my kitchen table. I got out my drill, drilled out the rivets, pulled the sucker apart and just as the top came off, the welded contacts made a small noise (sort of a "ha" sound) and popped apart.
Aarrgghhh!
It was then that I remembered the screwdriver-handle-rule (as important as other shop rules like not hitting your thumb with the hammer or not trying to hold that piece of bar stock in your hands when you use the drill press) and realized I had wasted a morning screwing with the relay when I should have just smacked it (smacking things with a screwdriver handle has many other uses in life, such as some reasons you might come across in a Walmart parking lot).
So remember this simple but very important rule when confronted with an electrical machine that will not shut off (sometimes it also works if it won't start, too),
Smack It With a Screwdriver Handle First!
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