Troubleshooting & Diagnostics Flashcards
7 cards from real CAR practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Troubleshooting & Diagnostics flashcards as text
A refrigerator's ice maker stops producing ice but the water dispenser works normally. What component is MOST likely at fault?
Answer: Ice maker module or thermostat
Since the dispenser works, water supply is adequate; a faulty ice maker module or its internal thermostat is most likely preventing the ice-making cycle.
During appliance diagnosis, you measure 0 ohms resistance across a motor winding. This reading indicates:
Answer: The winding is shorted (dead short) internally
Zero ohms across a winding indicates a dead short where insulation has completely failed, allowing direct contact between winding layers.
A dryer drum tumbles but there is no heat in an electric model. After confirming the breaker, what is the NEXT component to test?
Answer: Thermal cutoff fuse
A blown thermal cutoff fuse interrupts the heating circuit while allowing the motor to run, so it is the primary suspect when tumbling occurs but heat does not.
An appliance shows burn marks around a capacitor terminal during inspection. What is the CORRECT action?
Answer: Document and safely discharge the capacitor before recycling
Burn marks indicate the capacitor has failed catastrophically; it must be safely discharged first to prevent electric shock before handling or recycling.
A washing machine fills with water but immediately pumps it out without washing. This symptom suggests a fault in the:
Answer: Water level (pressure) switch
A faulty water level switch that fails to sense water allows the machine to drain immediately because it never signals the control that sufficient water is present.
During a refrigerator diagnostic, technician finds the condenser fan is not running but the compressor is. What is the LIKELY result if left uncorrected?
Answer: High discharge pressure will cause the compressor to overheat and fail
Without condenser fan airflow, heat cannot be rejected from the condenser coil, causing discharge pressure to rise and the compressor to overheat and eventually fail.
A technician is diagnosing a refrigerator with both frost-free and cooling failures. After finding the defrost timer stuck in the defrost position, what is the expected symptom?
Answer: Compressor is locked off and unit warms up completely
A defrost timer stuck in defrost keeps the compressor off indefinitely, so the refrigerant cycle never runs and the unit warms to ambient temperature.