replacement

Repairing a Samsung Dryer (DV42H5000EW/A3) – No Heat

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About a month ago my dryer stopped… drying. It wasn’t slow to dry. There was no heat. None. This lead me to conclude that it was most likely the heating element or one of the sensors attached to it. Now, up to this point I had never actually replaced one, but after doing some research it didn’t seem to be too difficult. Before going this route I checked to determine if I had a warranty on the dryer but it turns out that I did not. In addition, even if I had a three year warranty it would have expired five days prior!

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Replacing a Shark Navigator Power Cord

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This post contains Amazon Associate links. If you purchase something through them I may get a small commission, which helps cover the hosting costs for this blog.

OK, this is one of those rare posts in which I’m going to just state that this is a repair that you probably shouldn’t do if you don’t know what you’re doing because if you frak it up you could start a fire or even kill yourself.

But if you are comfortable with electricity and do have some idea of what you’re doing this is a relatively straightforward fix.

A few years ago I purchased a nice Shark Navigator vacuum. At the time we had two dogs. Well, puppies actually, and the same day that I bought the vacuum one of the puppies chewed through the power cord when I stepped away for just a moment. Fortunately it wasn’t plugged in at the time. Unfortunately I could not find a replacement cord and so my only option was to cut out the section from where it connected to the vacuum up to just past the break where the puppy had chewed it. The connection point can be accessed by removing some screws and a plastic plate from the bottom of the cannister along with some additional screws; make sure to reconnect the stripped wire sections properly in there.

Finally, after a few years I was able to find a full-length replacement cord and thus I’m no longer forced to frequently unplug and replug the cord into different locations. The cord for my Shark Navigator model is the HQRP AC Power Cord for Shark Navigator Lift-Away Pro NV355 NV356 NV356K NV357 NV355CS NV356KCS NV356E Upright Vacuum + HQRP Coaster, which cost $17.95 (and an additional $9.95 shipping charge).

Updated 04/18/2018: I haven’t had any problems with the replacement cord. It’s worked great since it was installed.

Service Battery Notifications and Trackpad Problems (13-inch Macbook Pro, Mid-2010 Model)

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The first problem began with an apparent inability to charge my wife’s 13-inch Macbook Pro (Mid-2010 model). She began receiving battery status warnings as well. At the time I only suspected a software problem so I reset the SMC, which appeared to have resolved the problem.

Several weeks later my wife starting having problems with her Trackpad again, but this was a new problem. In addition to the Trackpad not responding properly, the right side was visibly raised and the ability to ‘click’ the Trackpad simply wasn’t possible.

I powered off the system, removed the bottom screws, and immediately discovered the problem:
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5000mAh Extended Battery for Nintendo 3DS

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In the above photo the size of the replacement, extended battery is shown next to the 3DS.

The Short Version: I purchased a 5000mAh Li-on Extended Battery for the Nintendo 3DS for about $20 via Amazon. It significantly increased the charge capacity of the device. I found the larger bulk of the entire system to be an acceptable trade-off for the extra play time this battery provides.

This week I decided it was time to replace the factory battery in my Nintendo 3DS. It wasn’t because it failed to maintain a charge but simply because it didn’t last as long as I would prefer. Now, I wasn’t draining the battery from playing games. In fact, most of the time I drained it simply by leaving it in stand-by but not on the charger. However, I also wanted to upgrade the battery because I thought I might begin playing the system more frequently and that it would be nice to not feel tethered to a power cable when I’m at home.

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