开云体育

My problem like this was with a dishwasher. A good one - I’ll name names;
it was a Miele. A design feature that was quite good was that the intake
valve for the water supply was external and located right at the water
supply line. That way, if the line itself failed while the machine was off,
it would not result in flooding since the water was off at the source, not
in the machine. The valve had a cable that went back to the controller.
What failed was that valve and it failed in a safe mode - water off. I
called the US Miele folks and asked if I could purchase the part. The part
number was not readily visible on the valve so I asked if I could purchase
the service manual. The immediate answer was “no” - they only supplied
service manuals to their authorized service centers and personnel. I then
asked if I could have someone service it and they told me to call the local
service center and gave me the number. I called them and they asked from
whom I bought the dishwasher. We had gotten it through the contractor Who
was renovating our kitchen and this had been at least ten years prior to
the failure. I had no idea from whom the contractor bought the machine and
I told them how we got it. Their reply was that they would not service it
if it was not sold through one of their authorized dealers. I explained I
was not asking for warranty service and I would be glad to pay for the
service work. Still, they said they would not service it - no exceptions. I
wound up buying a new dishwasher.

One question I have learned to ask when I purchase a new appliance if
whether or not I can purchase a service manual for it. If the answer is
“no” then I look for a different manufacturer. If nothing else, the service
manual is helpful in narrowing down the source of a problem. There is
little more frustrating than having a service person come out to fix
something and then telling you they don’t have the necessary part with
them. It usually means another delay and sometimes having to take time off
work for the second visit. The service manuals are also useful in helping
determine what you may be able to fix and what you cannot. It turns out
that even if I had been able to purchase the valve for the Miele that a
special crimping tool is required - a tool they made or had made.

Wa have had multiple failures of our HVAC system - usually the heating
side. It is a gas furnace, so I am reluctant to replace anything in the gas
handling side of the system. But they did supply a service manual. The
controller board has an LED that flashes diagnostic/error codes. When I do
call for service, I tell them what the code is (or I look it up myself in
the manual). This way, they almost always have the correct parts with them.
It turned out that the problem was not in the furnace itself - the pressure
in the gas line was higher than their spec. We found this out when we had a
backup generator installed - the installers told us that our gas line
pressure was high and likely higher than the spec for our furnace. They
then asked if we had problems with the gas valve in the furnace failing -
we had; that was the major source of the failures. They recommended that we
have the HVAC folks put a regulator in the gas supply line for the furnace.
The HVAC folks did that and we have not had problems with the heating since.