Vieille biologiste avec un tropisme pour le DIY, la récup’ dans les poubelles, le minimalisme et les chats.
Fan de Fantasy et de SF, cinéphile et musicophile éclectique , ex-gameuse depuis Steam, libriste.

Ancient biologist with soft spots for DIY, dumpster diving / upcycling, minimalism and cats.
Fan of Fantasy and SF, eclectic cinema and music lover, ex-gamer since Steam. FOSS advocate.

  • 0 Posts
  • 14 Comments
Joined 1 year ago
Cake day: June 14th, 2023
  • PeutMieuxFaire@kbin.socialtoAsk Electronics@discuss.tchncs.de•Mixer makes loud pop when powered on
    4·
    1 year ago

    Hi there,

    Based on the experience I gathered in repair cafes:

    • Some old power switches generate an arc (spark?) when flipping them. Cleaning their insides with an “electrical contact cleaner” spray can sometimes help.
    • Defective electrochemical capacitors do NOT always swell or leak. If it is worth it swap them all for new ones (We sometimes desolder what we think are good ones from dead appliances to be re-used).
    • All domestic appliances around here (France) have an “anti surge” (?) capacitor soldered just after the power cable and power switch. If I understand it correctly, its job is to prevent a “parasitic” current spike to travel back on the domestic electric network when the equipment is switched on. That’s the one I would replace in priority to see if it fixes your problem.

    Disclaimer : I have no degree in electronics / electrical installations. Take what is above with a grain a salt as I might be dead wrong.
    Always unplug the appliance from the mains before tinkering and discharge ALL the capacitors which are on the 110 V /220 V side of the electronics before touching the PCB on which they are soldered.

    Good luck with your repair. It would be nice and helpful if you have a chance to post some pictures :)

  • PeutMieuxFaire@kbin.socialtoTechnology@beehaw.org•Mozilla flunks 25 major car brands for data privacy fails
    1·
    1 year ago

    Thanks! Knowing that what I might be searching for would be somewhere under the dashboard is a good first step.

    Then I am not an engineer nor have any experience in electronics BUT I know from my dad that taking the dashboard apart is not an easy task. If I would succeed I do not know what I would be looking for… Would tan antenna look like a piece of wire? Or could it be embedded in the ‘copper’ circuitry of a PCB? Do cars use regular SIM cards like the ones found in phones or would they look different?

    The maintenance manual would probably be a good place to start before trying to put anything apart.

  • PeutMieuxFaire@kbin.socialtoTechnology@beehaw.org•Mozilla flunks 25 major car brands for data privacy fails
    12·
    1 year ago

    For recent cars I am afraid you are right. My current and “old” car has a built in navigation system with the map on an SD-card. No need for a connection to a smartphone - which I do not own. Therefore I suppose it is not communicating with the manufacturer.

    Then, someone in my family with a more recent car got several “firmware updates” out of the blue, hinting to a ‘permanent’ connection to the manufacturer.

    I have the feeling we need to start organizing and claim a “right to disconnection”. Having the car dial for help after a crash is one thing but what Mozilla’s report describes is at another, much higher level.