A 1987 Whirlpool tech sheet told me to hit the control board, and it worked

Luna Kim · 2026-10-02T18:30:04.479465+00:00

I was cleaning out a dead tech's garage in Tucson last month and pulled a folded service sheet out of a 1987 Whirlpool washer manual. In the troubleshooting chart, under "control board unresponsive," it lists a step I had never seen in 20 years of fixing appliances: "firmly tap the board and retest." I laughed at it, then tried it on a dryer in my shop that had been sitting dead for three weeks. Two taps with a screwdriver handle and the thing fired up like nothing was wrong. A retired Whirlpool guy later told me those old boards had solder joints that would crack from heat cycling, and a good whack would bridge the gap just long enough to work. I still replace the board when I can, but I have used that trick maybe a dozen times to get someone running until the part comes in. Did any of you old timers hear about this while it was still common practice?

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A 1987 Whirlpool tech sheet told me to hit the control board, and it worked | Appliance Repairers - Opinions Matter