Most Economic Service Of Prestige Induction Cooker Model PIC 1.0
This Induction Cooker (hereinafter referred to as ‘IC’ for the sake of brevity) belonged to the mechanic who occasionally services my car and it was picked up by me on my visit to his garage. He told me that he wanted to give the IC to his son who has gone to another city for higher studies. The IC was reportedly lying unused for a very long time and even though it was getting on, none of the function switches worked.
Since the mechanic did not want to spend too much on getting it repaired and only wanted it to be just functioning, my hands got tied and I realized that I cannot carry out the usual preventive measures as these would exceed the budget limits the customer had. Anyhow, I brought it home and opened the cover just to confirm the expected dust and dirt inside, as it was a twelve year old IC lying unused for many years. You can see it yourself:
I am sharing only two of the pictures, as these are enough for you to judge.
Then took almost an hour to clean up the boards, fan leaves and cabinet covers using various brushes. Finally the boards looked fit enough to do servicing:
Since the front panel had a lot of fungi and the press to on switches were almost all found open, I replaced the 12 switches. One LED was found rusted and I replaced that too along with the 100uF/16V cap on it. Then cleaned the board thoroughly using IPA and brushed it clean. The mother board was also cleaned using IPA. I re-assembled the boards and applied power, keeping a pot of hot water on top. The on/off and other function switches worked.
But temperature up and down did not work. The water got boiled and that was what the customer wanted. After a couple of such trials, I closed the covers and kept it back in my car for delivery to him. Mission accomplished with limited satisfaction getting added to the collection, as it had scored the entry marks! (LOL)
This article was prepared for you by Parasuraman Subramanian from India. He is 76 years old and has more than 30 years’ experience in handling antique equipment like Valve Radio, Amps, Reel Tape Recorders and currently studying latest tech-classes conducted by Kerala State Electronics Technicians’ Association. He has done graduation in BBA degree, private diploma in Radio Engineering and retired as MD of a USA company. Presently working as Consultant to Hospital and other institutions.
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Albert van Bemmelen
January 11, 2026 at 11:31 pm
Since limited time is all we have it was good not to have wasted too much time on this old cooker after getting it cooking again.
Parasuraman S
January 12, 2026 at 8:51 am
Yes, dear Albert! The cooker is reported to be functioning well even now, which is a surprise for me! Many thanks!
Mark J
January 12, 2026 at 1:44 am
Parasuraman good job on the repair. I have never had a chance to work on an induction cooker yet.
Parasuraman S
January 12, 2026 at 9:57 pm
I wish and pray that you get a chance soon, dear Mark!
Yogesh Panchal
January 12, 2026 at 2:30 pm
Good job! Sir
Even good brands use poor quality switches...which later leads to a drop in sales of that product after customer reviews.
Parasuraman S
January 12, 2026 at 9:58 pm
Yes, very true! Many thanks, Yogesh Bai!
MP
January 12, 2026 at 7:53 pm
A certain shoe repairer dislikes bargaining. When he politely tells you that your shoes cannot be repaired with less than one doller, he means exactly that. But when you continue bargaining he accepts to commence repairs and he is paid his dues on completion. But after one week of using the allegedly repaired shoes, they get tone again. Thats the moment that one realizes that the shoe repairer meant business by saying less than one dollar was not worth the shoes repair. Sometimes we may think that we are using our wits to get out of a bad situation but end up being taught a lesson by people we think that we can easily outsmart. You certainly cant claim to have been ripped of your money. When you go back to him complaining about the shoddy repair, he reminds you of what he clearly said in other words that, "things dont work that way". Cheap is expensive, mechanics are also aware of the consequences of cheap shotcuts. Next time he might not be as lucky though.
Parasuraman S
January 12, 2026 at 10:01 pm
Since this cooker is used in a place around 500Kms away, it is not likely to revisit me. What probably would happen is the student would insist on getting a new one, if this goes bad, which I might never come to know! As far as I am concerned, the shutter is down and that is it! Many thanks for your detailed comments!