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How To Repair Wax Heater- No Power

By Jestine Yong on July 12, 2016

My wife complaint to me that the wax heater can’t be powered On.

So I had to open the unit for troubleshooting. On visual inspection I have noticed the main power cable connectors clips were out of the switch.

Hence I connected back the clips on the switch location and powered On the Unit. As soon as I “switched ON” the Unit; there was a big “Bang” noise and my house power main line tripped. My first reaction was to remove the plug from the mains and reset the tripper switch and my house power was back to the normal again.

So what went wrong? Again I started visualize inspection of the unit I found the unit main power plug pins were burnt because of short circuit.

Next, I tested the power cable for the shorting by “multimeter continuity test” but it seems working fine. I then dismantled the whole unit. I tested the heater coil with thermostat in series also OK. Then where is the problem?

I have tested the switch found and it was also ok. Still I am confused because there were no other components to check. I have connected everything back and decided to check the unit Offline (Without Power). When I tested the continuity on mains plug of the unit I am getting full continuity and that was a sign of shorting.

I removed the switch and again tested the continuity on the units main plug and the shorting was gone. When I googled for the switch information, I found that it was not a normal type of switch. It was a Rocker switch and the wiring diagram is as follows:

(I found this link at http://www.learningaboutelectronics.com/Articles/SPST-rocker-switch-wiring.php)

Now I understand that it was my mistake that had caused the loud bang due to wrong connection of the wiring. I reconnected the wiring and reassembled the unit and powered it ON. look what happened:

Unit was working fine because I could feel the heat by touching on the aluminium tub. The wax heater was back to the life again.

This article was prepared for you by Yogesh Panchal who works as a Computer Hardware Engineer in Mumbai India.

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Note: You can check his previous article in the link below:

https://jestineyong.com/lcd-monitor-with-hazy-display-repaired/

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Wax Heater Repair

18 Comments

Humberto

July 12, 2016 at 10:31 pm

Good repair Yogesh. Thanks for the information about the Rocker Switches.

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- Yogesh Panchal
  
  July 15, 2016 at 2:47 pm
  
  Humberto,
  
  Thanks for your comment.
  
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  Reply
Albert van Bemmelen

July 12, 2016 at 11:12 pm

Yogesh, thanks for the article. So even a simple switch can cause problems. These switches are if I am not mistaken also used in many Coffee Filter Machines. Were one position probably is for Powering the Filtering Heater, the second position for keeping the Coffee Pot Heater Element Powered on. While the third position is Machine Off. I have no Wax Machine but they resemble a lot like a couple of Baby Bottle Warmers I got laying around somewhere (; )

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- Gerald
  
  July 13, 2016 at 10:30 am
  
  Indeed it is a normal switch between 2 and 3. The third terminal (pin 1) is for the neutral as it is needed for the lamp inside the switch.
  
  Cheers,
  GM
  
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  Reply
  - Yogesh Panchal
    
    July 15, 2016 at 2:49 pm
    
    Gerald,
    
    thanks for info.
    
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    Reply
- Yogesh Panchal
  
  July 15, 2016 at 2:48 pm
  
  Albert,
  
  Thanks for the comment.
  
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  Reply
Parasuraman S

July 13, 2016 at 1:28 am

A totally different simple device,yet gave enough trouble!

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Reply
- Yogesh Panchal
  
  July 15, 2016 at 2:50 pm
  
  sir,
  
  Thanks for your comment.
  
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  Reply
suranga bandara, Suranga Electronics

July 13, 2016 at 2:30 pm

Mr-Yogesh Panchal,

Very Good Repair Job.
Thanks for This Article.

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Reply
- Yogesh Panchal
  
  July 15, 2016 at 2:50 pm
  
  Thanks Suranga.
  
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Anthony Paterson

July 13, 2016 at 9:12 pm

It should have been evident that a switch would be provided with a Line Voltage and its closure then passes this Line voltage to the load (wax heater) The earth you refer to cannot exist since the power plug has only two connections! Your earth is in fact the Neutral which provides a circuit for the neon and its dropper resistor. I think your article shows a dangerous lack of knowledge of basic electrics and why other posters should praise your efforts is beyond me. Apologies for sounding so critical however, you will never learn from those who give false praise.

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- Albert van Bemmelen
  
  July 14, 2016 at 6:14 pm
  
  Naturally the Author didn't intend to connect it to Earth connection either. But since he took the picture from the internetpage he found, he didn't make any mistake himself while connecting the Wax Heater he repaired.
  And since there are three increasingly accurate estimates of zero voltage references: Earth ground for a power system, chassis ground for a device, and signal ground for the very low voltage signals within a device, the Earth symbol is often used misplaced in a schematic.
  See: https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-chassis-ground-signal-ground-and-earth-ground
  
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ravi

July 14, 2016 at 12:31 am

Thank you sir for the information about the Rocker Switches. totally the article is informative.

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Reply
- Yogesh Panchal
  
  July 15, 2016 at 3:20 pm
  
  Ravi,
  
  Thanks for comment.
  
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Rudy Formigoni

July 14, 2016 at 5:26 am

I agree totally with Anthony's comments.I read all these stories & it amazes me how no body has killed themselves yet(not that we know of).In Australia,our laws are very strict on electrical safety so as to reduce the number of electrical accidents & fatalities.As an electrical tradesman,we have to do an apprenticeship for 4 years before we get our trades ticket,only then we are allowed to gain a contractors licence to work on equipment for the public.We have to have public liability insurance in place before a contractors licence is granted,this covers us to a degree in case someone gets electrocuted & there are also severe jail penalties for carelessness of workmanship.I don't know how these other countries around the world,where these authors come from,allow these sorts of people to work on mains voltage,especially when it is clear that they haven't got a clue what they are doing.I hope this story gets out there to make these people aware of how dangerous it is to "tinker "with mains voltages,for their own safety & for the safety of others.

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Peter Owens

July 14, 2016 at 11:09 am

Switches, particularly rockers are often a bit confusing.
I usually carefully check the mode of operation if I have any cause to suspect integrity.
We all make mistakes, amateurs, & electricians & we do not need a Holyier than thou lecture from a young pup not long out of his apprenticeship.

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Rudy Formigoni

July 15, 2016 at 5:15 am

Ok Peter,
I only referred to the apprenticeship as a means of explaining how long we are trained for in this field.I'm no young pup in the field,i've been an electrical contractor for 45years,i'm only trying to get the message across to these guys who obviously don't know what they are doing when it comes to mains electricity,to not play with it as you only have to make one mistake & the result could be fatal.I only wish after reading some of these articles that someone else would come forward instead of sitting back & give a bit of support to my "lecture" for the sake of electrical safety in the field no matter whether you are qualified or not.Mr Jestine Yong should have a bit of input here as this was originally his site for information on electronic repair of various equipment & training of students.

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- Yogesh Panchal
  
  July 15, 2016 at 3:05 pm
  
  Rudy,
  
  Feel proud to get the comment from these geniuses.
  
  Let me Congratulate! you for not making a single mistake in your entire technical life .
  
  I think these platform is provided for sharing success story as well mistake done while on job . i have shared my experience for new comers who can at-least skip the mistake and handle the job carefully.
  
  any way thanks for sharing your views.
  
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  Reply