A first-person, immersive look at a day of repair work

A repairman’s day: a Soaiy speaker “blamed on me for the battery” misunderstanding (batteries put in wrong, voltage measures fine) → a twist and it plays; a kid’s toy silent when unplugged = dead battery; an old stove with weak water feed gets a steering motor first (nobody tells me it’s unfixable); a camera that won’t charge (alternating red LED: battery or water-damaged board) → a good cell fitted, “overkill”; a Dongcheng kit pack with high-temp fish paper shows voltage, charging at 9W 1.7A, red LED steady

Opening: a customer blames the boss for not fixing a battery problem — “you’ve got me wrong, have a Zhonghua on me” — the Soaiy speaker shows volume as soon as it’s twisted, turns out it just wasn’t charging; Bluetooth / radio modes fine, no mic mode so Bluetooth is right; voltage measures 3.67 vs 0.7… “this battery is fine; just one volt on the other, that’s a big gap, go buy two batteries”. The kid’s thing works plugged in but not unplugged = the battery inside is dead and won’t charge, swap it and OK; the cable burned and was replaced before, the socket is discolored and needs replacing too, hang on. The old stove has run seven or eight years and is hard to fix; weak water feed is a common fault, try a steering motor first, give up if that doesn’t do it; the board is aging; two motors (rotation / water feed), and a bad water motor upsets the steering too; people often fail to fix things, take them apart and bring the pile over. Soaiy follow-up: “you didn’t even put the batteries in right, you’ve got me wrong” — measured voltage for ages, all normal, small screw fitted, done. A camera with no charge and won’t take one: check for charge current, long unused, the alternating red LED flags two faults — battery bad or water in the board; battery seems more likely, it’s fairly new with no water damage; fit a good cell — “give it unlimited learning opportunities; this cell is a bit wasted in there, overkill, an absolutely good cell”. Dongcheng pack: high-temp fish paper for insulation against cell-to-cell shorts, voltage present, LED steady not blinking, charging at 9W 1.7A; red charge LED steady; bye, kid. Comments: please tell us the fault causes and how you test / fix; a noodle machine unused for ages won’t charge, fixable?; a cordless vacuum won’t run; address; honest repairman.

Outcome

Steps7 steps · click a frame to jump

1. 
   1. Soaiy speaker “blamed on me” misunderstanding; plays on a twist; Bluetooth / radio fine

   The customer blames the boss for not fixing the battery problem — you’ve got me wrong, have a Zhonghua on me; a twist and it shows volume; turns out it just wasn’t charging; Bluetooth and radio modes work.

   00:00 – 00:29
2. 
   2. Kid’s device silent unplugged = dead battery; burned cable, discolored socket

   Works plugged in, silent unplugged — the battery inside must be dead and won’t charge, swap it and OK; the cable burned and was replaced before, the socket is discolored and needs replacing too, hang on; don’t use cotton swabs.

   00:36 – 00:58
3. 
   3. Soaiy battery voltage comparison: big gap, go buy two batteries

   No mic mode, so Bluetooth is right; batteries measure 3.67V vs just one volt, a big gap; go buy two batteries.

   01:03 – 01:31
4. 
   4. Seven-year-old stove with weak water feed: steering motor first, give up if not; the unfixable ones arrive in pieces

   The old stove is hard to fix, weak water feed is a common fault, try a steering motor first and give up if it doesn’t help; the board is aging; steering is off, level 3 runs the wrong way; two motors, rotation / water feed, and a bad water motor upsets the steering too; people often fail to fix it, take it apart and bring it over, and don’t tell me, leaving me to guess.

   01:24 – 02:11
5. 
   5. Soaiy follow-up: batteries in wrong, voltage normal, screw fitted, done

   Looks fairly new; the battery problem blamed on me again; you didn’t even put the batteries in right, you’ve got me wrong, have a Zhonghua on me; fit the small screw; measured voltage for ages, all normal, no sound; done.

   02:13 – 02:38
6. 
   6. Camera won’t charge: alternating red LED = battery or water in the board; good cell fitted, “overkill”

   Camera has no charge and won’t take one; check for charge current, long unused; the alternating red LED flags two faults: battery bad or water in the board, battery more likely; fairly new, no water damage; give it unlimited learning opportunities, this cell is a bit wasted in there, overkill, an absolutely good cell.

   02:46 – 03:45
7. 
   7. Dongcheng pack: high-temp fish paper insulation, voltage present, charging 9W 1.7A, red LED steady

   Dongcheng; high-temp fish paper insulates against cell-to-cell shorts; voltage present; check how many volts; LED steady, not blinking; 9 watts 1.7 amps; red charge LED steady; OK, thanks, bye kid.

   04:05 – 04:52

Bill of materials

Measured on camera

Creator’s tips

• An alternating red LED flags two fault classes; check the battery first, then water damage on the board 03:00
• Fish paper is high-temp and prevents cell-to-cell shorts 04:05
• Weak water feed on an old stove — try the steering motor first, give up if that fails 01:31

Pitfalls

• The customer put the batteries in wrong and blamed the repair 02:13
• Customers take things apart themselves, bring the pile in and don’t explain 01:45

Li-ion safety

Quotes