Have you done any ridiculous fixes?

[Cardboardtubeknight Cardboardtubeknight]

The classic dad, a strange creature, proclaiming the famous "I can fix it!" while doing something only Mcgyver would be proud of. Just did that at my job, not to out myself, so it got me wondering: anyone else put human ingenuity to the test? It doesn't even have to be an actual object, it could even just be a medical thing. One time I "fixed" the tv by smacking it with the very table we were going to use for cards since the tv was messed up. Still proud of that.

 

[Clippy]

One time I "fixed" the tv by smacking it with the very table we were going to use for cards since the tv was messed up.

Percussive maintenance aka the Fonzie Touch works 100% of the time 50% of the time. It's always worth a try first before opening the device, especially with old electronics that were built to outlast your entire bloodline.

 

[qw90700]

One of my proudest fix is regarding me refrigerator.

One day it just stopped being cold. Told the situation to a guy who fixes such stuff. He said "ah yes X part may be broken and Y part may need to be fixed" and the price of the fix was almost as much as a new refrigerator. I said fuck it and used my programmer experience of troubleshooting.

I simply turned it off and waited for a day. I noticed refrigerator leaked lots of water under it like it melting. I was like "WTF". It had nothing in it for it to melt, but it kinda told me that probably its pipe was so frozen or something the cold air couldn't reach to its inside or something like it was filled with ice that was melting now. So I did wait for a week just to be sure and turned on the refrigerator. The motherfucker started to work as good as the day I bought it. I think this shit happened like a decade ago but it still works ok. IDK what was its problem, but if it does the same shit again I know what to do lol.

 

[Dany28]

No

 

[CaptainToad]

One of my proudest fix is regarding me refrigerator.

Just did a similar thing with my dishwasher. It has a touch panel that I could hear was getting phantom presses when running and sometimes it'd be a power button press so it'd turn off mid-cycle. I look it up and it seems like a lot of people have this issue. They recommended unplugging it or turning off the circuit for 30 minutes. I tried that, but it didn't work. I took off the front panel, which was easy. I reseated the two wire connectors on the front panel and boom: it's been working perfectly for a month or so.

 

[Kamako]

My washing lines are currently held together by thick garden strimmer wire.

 

[What's His Face]

One day my oven stopped working. Since it's electric, I decided to buy a new control panel online. Once it arrived I opened the old panel, took a ton of photos of the wiring, then started the replacement. It was a good thing I took photos as three wires were the same colour save for a thin coloured line that was impossible to see except at certain angles - a deliberate "self-fix trap" by the manufacturer. Since I had photos from every angle possible I was able to connect everything correctly.

Post automatically merged: Thursday at 4:26 PM

My washing lines are currently held together by thick garden strimmer wire.

Ah, forgot that my washing machine lid sensor snapped in half and is held together by a zip tie. Red neck fixes!!

 

[Yousef]

The classic dad, a strange creature, proclaiming the famous "I can fix it!" while doing something only Mcgyver would be proud of. Just did that at my job, not to out myself, so it got me wondering: anyone else put human ingenuity to the test? It doesn't even have to be an actual object, it could even just be a medical thing. One time I "fixed" the tv by smacking it with the very table we were going to use for cards since the tv was messed up. Still proud of that.

They may sound like a weird example but this is my steam deck as a whole. I had a long, long, LOOOOONG line of tech issues with it.
How did I fix them all?
I turned off “quick boot” and “quiet boot”. …….. that’s it.

 

[bjork]

The screw fell out of my glasses once and I spent way too long trying to get it to fit back in. The frame was somehow bent so it wouldn't align right. So I finally gave up and just stuck a staple through the hole and bent it around so it wouldn't scratch me. Worked perfectly for a long time.

 

[Matricks]

I kindof hardcore "fixed" my chipped teeths with a dremel with flexible extension, trimmed and smooth out the rough edges, better than the "is it safe" dentist.

 

[poppy_]

not a "rediculous" fix but a couple years ago i used to browse ebay looking for cheap consoles in disrepair. i picked up an original xbox with a couple issues, the console would randomly shut off / power on, and there were leaking capacitors. these are both common issues so there are tutorials on how to fix them. the traces i had to solder to are about the width of a human hair so its delicate work, but the fix worked and the console still works perfectly to this day. :D

before and after of the capacitor replacements!

 

[Anim8rDude Anim8rDude]

My lawnmower has been nothing but trouble. The pulling rope ripped like 3-4 times already & disassembling that thing just to fix the rope is like one of the worst experiences ever. The coil thing is a nightmare. That's the real fix part.

The stupid fix part is that sometimes the lawnmower just doesn't start because it doesn't get the fuel it needs. Narrowed down that it's a problem with the carburetor. The solution? I whack that part with a wrench. Works every single time, I'm not even kidding, smacking it is like giving it the touch of life!

 

[Bakuma1997]

My rabbit Oswald R.I.P had his home covered in mosquito cloth, it worked, until he realized he could get out simply scratching it, it made an hole big enough for him to crawl, the crazy fix comes from me managing to create a double layer patch out of the same Mosquito cloth, sewn with thick string and presto, it lasted until we could install a wood door, i miss you little nibbler

 

[ZEGA ZONIC]

I never fixed anything.

 

[qw90700]

My lawnmower has been nothing but trouble. The pulling rope ripped like 3-4 times already & disassembling that thing just to fix the rope is like one of the worst experiences ever. The coil thing is a nightmare. That's the real fix part.

The stupid fix part is that sometimes the lawnmower just doesn't start because it doesn't get the fuel it needs. Narrowed down that it's a problem with the carburetor. The solution? I whack that part with a wrench. Works every single time, I'm not even kidding, smacking it is like giving it the touch of life!

Damn I hate those machines. Instead of a lawnmower in the army I had a bad experience with brush cutter machine that was left there for decades without replacement to avoid "unnecessary cost" so to make it work you have to do tons of specific things every time that simple part change couldn't fix it. The work around was kicking it, if it doesn't work cleaning the whole oil system and kicking it lol.

 

[Anim8rDude Anim8rDude]

Damn I hate those machines. Instead of a lawnmower in the army I had a bad experience with brush cutter machine that was left there for decades without replacement to avoid "unnecessary cost" so to make it work you have to do tons of specific things every time that simple part change couldn't fix it. The work around was kicking it, if it doesn't work cleaning the whole oil system and kicking it lol.

Also sounds exactly like my old brush cutter/weed wacker lmao. The fuel powered ones are absolutely terrible, I swear they don't even work half the time. Not to mention the noise & exhaust the come from the darn thing! The only real fix for those is to toss it out & get an electric or battery powered one instead!