Electric Blanket Repair?

[outdoorsman310]

I have a biddeford? electric blanket i was given a few years ago as a gift and one day it just stopped working. it has a digital controller and 4 connections to the blanket. the main heating wire had about 80 ohms of resistance but the hair thin wire that tags along on the outside of that has no continuity. does anybody know what this wire is for? I am guessing it may be some sort of over protection device? does anybody know how these systems work? none of the leds or anything come on at all.

 

[G_P]

Check inside the controller for a fuse.

If the broken wire is in the blanket itself, ask yourself if you want to be sleeping under something that could possibly catch fire.

 

[outdoorsman310]

the fuse is good. I wouldnt really want to use it now but I wanted to diagnose the problem

 

[KANSASBOY]

After what happen to me when i was a kid i would not try to fix it. had one short out and catch on fire with me in bed got lucky no one hurt , just lost the bed thank god for Fire Extinguisher

 

[Charles (in GA)]

There used to be a company that repaired them. They would separate the layers and do whatever was necessary. With the advent of cheap Chinese ones, I'll bet they went out of business. Might do some google searches.

The control works by simulating the heat of the blanket around a thermostat. It basically has a small heat element in the controller and the thermostat responds to that heat. On mine, you can heat the clicking of the thermostat as it cycles on and off, and same if you turn it up or down. (I'm talking a 30 to 40 year old blanket here).

Charles

 

[knuckleduster271]

sounds like a bad idea to me unless you wanna go down in a blaze of glory like michael jackson doing a pepsi commercial

 

[Charles (in GA)]

You might contact them about repairs..........

http://www.biddefordblankets.com/

They have a five year warranty.

Charles

 

[fomocoforrester]

I recently threw a 3 year old blanket away because the LEDs stopped working and I couldn't figure out how to fix it.

To the naysayers - it's not about economics or risk - it's more about the satisfaction of restoring something that's broken to a safe working condition.

 

[G_P]

Start by checking if the controller is putting out voltage.

 

[CJshop]

I wouldn't use it at all. Had one went to work to get a call that my house was on fire. It shorted out and caught the house on fire. Lost everything. Carl

 

[e-tek]

I wouldn't use it at all. Had one went to work to get a call that my house was on fire. It shorted out and caught the house on fire. Lost everything. Carl

Ouch. Sorry to hear that. I sometimes think of this as we love our 'heaters'. I have one on my chair and one in bed. Mrs E-tek has one in bed. Her's has an Auto-Off function but I made sure to buy mine without.

I always notice that they fray/fall apart at the cord/pad area quickly.

 

[Jere]

Yeah those things are disposable, only meant to last a couple of seasons, and then they become fire hazards. That is explained in the directions on all the E blankets they sell now. A lot of the heating element wire tends to break when the blankets get folded up. They aren't meant to be laundered either which seems like common sense but I guess that isn't always that common.

 

[kyferez]

These Biddeford electric blankets have a fuse and a white thermal fuse. The thermal fuse is often what fails. Simple replace it with one from amazon, part number SM110A1 for one that will take a little more heat before it blows.

Images are at this link (I can't post full URL, so copy and paste)
imgur.com/a/UcKFUiA

 

[b-boy]

I'd toss it and get a new one. I'd be uncomfortable using one after any attempted repair.

 

[got2boostit2]

I'd toss it and get a new one. I'd be uncomfortable using one after any attempted repair.

Same here, because the handicapped wife uses one 24/7/365 I may wash them a few times but rotate in a new one every 6 months or so. Peace of mind IMHO,

 

[DakotaMan]

These Biddeford electric blankets have a fuse and a white thermal fuse. The thermal fuse is often what fails. Simple replace it with one from amazon, part number SM110A1 for one that will take a little more heat before it blows.

Images are at this link (I can't post full URL, so copy and paste)
imgur.com/a/UcKFUiA

Interesting first post. Welcome to the forum.

 

[jhelrey]

This thread is 5.5 years old...

 

[Marctrees]

This thread is 5.5 years old...

Doesn't matter.

For those that understand the benefit of using Advanced Search the value remains.

Marc