Appliance Service Technician Job Description
Introduction to Appliance Repair Education
Career Guide for Home Appliance Repairman, With Training Requirements Information
Appliance Technicians provide customer assistance regarding repairs, upgrades, installation, and operation of each of the manufacturers' products. Additional responsibilities include performing basic functionality testing on units, as well as diagnosing, conducting repairs, and cleaning multiple types of laundry and kitchen appliance products like dishwashers, ranges, and ovens. Visually inspect appliances, and check for unusual noises, excessive vibration, fluid leaks, or loose parts to determine why the appliances fail to operate properly. They also use service manuals, troubleshooting guides, and experience to diagnose particularly difficult problems. Technicians disassemble the appliance to examine its internal parts for signs of wear or corrosion. Learn to reading schematics, follow wiring diagrams, and use testing devices such as ammeters, voltmeters, and wattmeters to check electrical systems for shorts and faulty connections.
After identifying problems, the home appliance technician replaces or repairs defective belts, motors, heating elements, switches, gears, or other items. Technicians tighten, align, clean, and lubricate parts as necessary. They use common handtools, including screwdrivers, wrenches, files, and pliers, as well as soldering guns, and special tools designed for particular appliances. Including repairing appliances with electronic parts, they replace circuit boards or other electronic components, thus knowledge of fundamental electricity is essenital.
Learn the fundamentals of refrigeration to repair refrigerators, and window air-conditioners, and to give correct diagnostic appraisal. Technicians must use care to conserve, recover, and recycle chlorofluorocarbon (CFC), and hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) refrigerants used in the cooling systems, as required by law. Technicians conserve the refrigerant by making sure there are no leaks in the system; they recover the refrigerant by venting it into proper cylinders; and they recycle the refrigerant with special filter-dryers, so that it can be used again. Federal regulations also require that home appliance technicians document the capture and disposal of refrigerants.