Lidl centre isle - warrantee returns

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Phone call this morning from Germany - a nice lady from Lidl to say they were sending a replacement unit out by courier, did I want white or black. She sounded slightly American, so I asked her where she was from and she was Canadian, moved to Germany. I was asked to keep the faulty item for six months, in case of more issues, then recycle it.

I'll do better than that - I'll pull it apart, find out why it went bang and perhaps repair it as a standby or a 'give-away'.
 
I'll put my DIYNOT crypto currency on it being either metal vs plastic gear interface or bent shaft.
 
I'll put my DIYNOT crypto currency on it being either metal vs plastic gear interface or bent shaft.

I wouldn't - it died with a definite electrical type bang, rather than a mechanical one. I would make a guess at a suppression component having failed and has possibly taken the plug fuse out. It didn't trip the kitchen MCB though. I will delve deeper, when I get the inclination.
 
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I bought a pair of Goretex lined leather walking boots with a 2 year guarantee. They leaked after about 20 months. The shop gave me the option of a refund or a replacement pair. The store assistant said if I had the refund and bought a new pair, I'd get a fresh guarantee (maybe he would also get a 'sale' too) so I took that option.
Just as well I did. 15 months later the new ones leaked. Sent them back to the manufacturers last Friday and today I received another pair. :)

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Still not got around to investigating the failed item - busy with a Raspberry Pi programming issue, but the replacement full kit arrived from Germany on Wednesday, tested and working. Wendy now claims she could smell a burning smell, when we were using the failed one. She declined to have one of my wonderful omelettes for todays dinner, instead she made a booking at a local eatery for the evening meal.
 
I bought a belt sander from Aldi centre aisle a few years ago. Had it about 6 months and suddenly it stopped working, (it did have something to do with me dropping it), so I took it back and said it had just stopped when I was using it. Manageress took it from me, got a lad to bring a new one, refunded the 'broken' one and gave me 10% off the purchase price of the new one, complete with a new 3 year warranty. It's now been working on a regular basis for about 4 years.
 
I've just got around to investigating the motor/drive unit. Not easy to get in, plastics held with screws and tightly sprung together. Small pcb, DC motor, rectifier and a triac speed control, plus pot. No obvious signs of anything having let the smoke out, even under a lens and fuse not blown.
 
Those middle aisles are dangerous. The crap I have come away with that I didn't need, just because it was a bargain.

I must confess, I used to abuse Argos 16 day money back guarantee where if I needed a tool or device (Hedge trimmer, Grinder etc), Pop down, use tool and return. Cheaper than hire a tool. Not sure if they still offer the same promise.
 
I've just got around to investigating the motor/drive unit. Not easy to get in, plastics held with screws and tightly sprung together. Small pcb, DC motor, rectifier and a triac speed control, plus pot. No obvious signs of anything having let the smoke out, even under a lens and fuse not blown.
Is there a cooling fan of any description? Maybe jammed or slack on the shaft? (Assuming any vent holes are clear).
 
Is there a cooling fan of any description? Maybe jammed or slack on the shaft? (Assuming any vent holes are clear).

Nothing like that, the unit has no air vents anyway. Commutor looks new too, not a mark on it. I'm guessing the triac has failed, but when I heard the crack - I assumed there would be obvious circuit damage.
 
Nothing like that, the unit has no air vents anyway. Commutor looks new too, not a mark on it. I'm guessing the triac has failed, but when I heard the crack - I assumed there would be obvious circuit damage.

A quick update, now I have got to the bottom of it....

It uses a DC, direct drive motor, bridge rectifier feeding two speeds, plus a variable speed, all controlled with a tiny 8amp thyristor. Fused on the pcb by a 1.6amp fuse which I hadn't at first spotted, or checked, because it wasn't an obvious fuse style. I rather expected the thyristor had failed, but testing it without power, it seemed OK.

The fuse had blown, replaced that then testing it, it ran with a lot of sparking in the motor. Obviously not the thyristor, the speed control worked fine, just the motor. A bit of testing of the motor showed up the problem was shorted turns - so scrap.
 
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