Home Repair forum - Range hood: Shorted out?

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Range hood: Shorted out?

Jane Doe

2005-11-11, 1:21 am

I have a relatively new (about 2-3 years) range hood like this:
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/prod...pid=02255223000

It has 3 light settings (halogen) and 3 fan settings. The middle light
setting was on and the fan was not. I bumped it (BARELY!) and the light
shut off. I tried pushing the light buttons but the lights didn't come
back on. If I press any of the fan buttons, the green indicator light
above the button(s) does light up, however the fan does not start.

I'm no electrician, but this sounds like a short to me. If that's the
case, should I be concerned--from a safety standpoint--about it? I mean
until I can get someone out to look at it. Electricity scares me
because I don't know anything about it, so sorry if this sounds like a
really dumb question but I just want to be sure that there's no risk of
fire leaving it in its current state. There's no way to unplug it, and
the only way I can shut the electricity off to it is to flip the circuit
breaker that controls everything on that entire wall.

On a separate note, what the heck could've caused a short? It's not
like it gets moved around a lot! It just sits there.

Thanks in advance!

Tim Fischer

2005-11-11, 1:21 am

A "short" is when the hot wire is touching a neutral wire (or ground). This
would cause the breaker to trip immediately (and usually a small flash-up
with charring and black carbon at the source).

You don't have a short, you have an open. Either an internal connection is
loose, or you have a bad component, probably a switch.

Opens *can* be dangerous, but if you switch off everything it's probably ok
for a short time (the real danger of opens is of there's partial contact
under load). I would get it looked at, though.

-Tim

Jane Doe

2005-11-11, 1:21 pm

Tim Fischer wrote:
> A "short" is when the hot wire is touching a neutral wire (or ground). This
> would cause the breaker to trip immediately (and usually a small flash-up
> with charring and black carbon at the source).
>
> You don't have a short, you have an open. Either an internal connection is
> loose, or you have a bad component, probably a switch.
>
> Opens *can* be dangerous, but if you switch off everything it's probably ok
> for a short time (the real danger of opens is of there's partial contact
> under load). I would get it looked at, though.

Thanks for the explanation, Tim. So am I correct that what I need is an
appliance repair person and not an electrician?

Also, I wonder if you can clarify something for me. After I posted my
message last night, and before reading your reply, I got to wondering
about shorts. It occurred to me that if there's a short, wouldn't the
entire appliance be affected by it? In other words, using the range
hood as an example, wouldn't a short prevent ALL of its features from
working? Recall that the fan's indicator lights -do- come on, while the
fans and halogen lights do not.

Tim Fischer

2005-11-11, 6:21 pm

"Jane Doe" <no.spam@bogus.isp.com> wrote in message
news:S14df.468$c27.392@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net...
> Thanks for the explanation, Tim. So am I correct that what I need is an
> appliance repair person and not an electrician?

Yes, particularly since you say part of the appliance is still working.

> Also, I wonder if you can clarify something for me. After I posted my
> message last night, and before reading your reply, I got to wondering
> about shorts. It occurred to me that if there's a short, wouldn't the
> entire appliance be affected by it? In other words, using the range hood
> as an example, wouldn't a short prevent ALL of its features from working?
> Recall that the fan's indicator lights -do- come on, while the fans and
> halogen lights do not.

But remember, we are NOT talking about a short. We're talking about an
'open'. Basically, some wire connection has come loose inside (or a
component is broken causing the same symptom).

-Tim

spamTHISbrp@yahoo.com

2005-11-11, 7:21 pm

I have that range hood. I had that problem. I think its a defect.

The center bulb contacts get flattened and need to be pulled away from
the base a little so that it will make contact with the bulb. I have a
small flat-head screwdriver with the end bent 90deg. just for this!

I also had a problem because the bulb sockets pop out of the
sheet-metal housing very easily. I had to take the hood apart to put
them back in.

Treat it gingerly! And kill the breaker before fixing the contact.

Dave

spamTHISbrp@yahoo.com

2005-11-11, 7:21 pm

Hmm, they both shut off? Could still be the same thing... I've seen
stranger co-incidences in my time!

Dave

Jane Doe

2005-11-11, 11:21 pm

>>Also, I wonder if you can clarify something for me. After I posted my
[color=darkred]
> But remember, we are NOT talking about a short. We're talking about an
> 'open'. Basically, some wire connection has come loose inside (or a
> component is broken causing the same symptom).

Yes, I know, but I'm just saying in general, if an item has a short, is
it possible for some features to work while others don't? I mean once
power has been restored after the initial breaker-tripping that you
described. It doesn't SEEM like it'd work that way, but like I said I'm
no electrician! :-)

Thanks again for your input.

Jane Doe

2005-11-12, 12:21 am

spamTHISbrp@yahoo.com wrote:
> I have that range hood. I had that problem. I think its a defect.

Really? Wow...that's a little disconcerting. I wonder if Sears knows
about this and, if so, if they're willing to do anything to remedy the
problem.

> The center bulb contacts get flattened and need to be pulled away from
> the base a little so that it will make contact with the bulb.

But that just begs the question: How the heck does that HAPPEN? It's
not like anyone's touching or moving any of the internal parts.

> I have a
> small flat-head screwdriver with the end bent 90deg. just for this!

Thanks for the tip! Maybe I'll bend one of mine like that.

> And kill the breaker before fixing the contact.

I don't know much about electricity, but that's one thing I DO know! :-)
Thanks for your help, Dave.

Tim Fischer

2005-11-12, 12:21 am

"Jane Doe" <no.spam@bogus.isp.com> wrote in message
news:F3ddf.684$s14.70@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net...

> Yes, I know, but I'm just saying in general, if an item has a short, is it
> possible for some features to work while others don't? I mean once power
> has been restored after the initial breaker-tripping that you described.
> It doesn't SEEM like it'd work that way, but like I said I'm no
> electrician! :-)

If the short still existed, the breaker wouldn't reset (it would immediately
re-trip). If it had cleared, it could have caused other circuit problems
(including an open), or maybe things would appear normal. The real question
is what caused the short?

My kid was playing with a remote control car the other day, and was whipping
the antenna around. it happened to hit an outlet with a plug in it -- and
POOF. The antenna evidently hit both prongs at once -- short circuit time.
The breaker actually didn't trip, instead the antenna acted like a fuse and
broke into 3 pieces (one break at each prong). No other damage, though,
except some nasty char on the outlet...

-Tim

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