The machine wouldn’t start… then I found the “fuse sandwich”
Posted by filco86@reddit | talesfromtechsupport | View on Reddit | 77 comments
I got called to check a vending machine that was acting completely crazy. It wasn’t dead, but nothing worked properly. The controls were all over the place, it kept checking the boiler, but wouldn’t actually start anything.
It was a pretty big coffee machine, so I expected some clear fault. I start going through everything — power, wiring, pump, boilers, sensors — but nothing really made sense. No obvious issue, yet the machine was basically unusable.
So I start tracing everything back more carefully.
Eventually I get to the power input area and notice the fuse looks… off.
I pull it out, and that’s when it hits me.
It wasn’t really a fuse anymore. It was wrapped in aluminum foil like some kind of “fuse sandwich”.
Turns out the customer had “fixed” it instead of replacing it.
So instead of blowing like it should, it kept letting unstable current through, which ended up damaging the control board and messing with the machine logic.
What could have been a cheap fix turned into about a 400€ repair.
All because of a “quick fix”.
dickcheney600@reddit
They wrapped the fuse in aluminum foil? That's a burning example of how not to fix things.
filco86@reddit (OP)
Yeah 😄
It “worked”… right up until it didn’t
FrequentWay@reddit
Quick and emergency fix works the day you need it. Gotta remember to replace with the real thing later.
Jabbles22@reddit
You also need to know when it's OK to use such a fix and when you should just shut it down. The fuse for your windshield wipers blows when when on high. It's the middle of the night, it's raining you need to get home go ahead and bypass, don't use high and pull the fuse when you get home.
Fuse blowing due to high amps but you have no idea why on something like a vending machine. That's not a situation where you should bypass the fuse and walk away.
dickcheney600@reddit
Actually, I would take the fuse from something I don't need that night, even if it's a higher number, that's better than completely removing the protection by bypassing it. Replacing the fuse with tinfoil is a good way to literally start a fire, and as such I can't imagine ever considering that an option.
LupercaniusAB@reddit
Best I ever saw (in a photo, fortunately, not personally) was in a 3 phase 100 amp service, one of the 100 amp fuses had blown, and I guess that they didn’t have anymore on hand. So it had been replaced with a large…screwdriver.
weirdal1968@reddit
There is a tiktok pump technician I watch on Facebook. One time he found three redbull can sized fuses in the bottom of a cabinet so investigated. In the power cabinet he found buss bars bridging where the fuses should have been.
StorminNorman@reddit
This guy finish his videos with "and thats pretty cool!" or similar?
weirdal1968@reddit
That's somebody else.
DUVMik@reddit
he should have followed this handy guide sheet
https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/2sxuux/fuse_replacement_guide/
LupercaniusAB@reddit
That screwdriver was way overrated!
CatsAreGods@reddit
I guess the owner...screwed themself!
25toten@reddit
Nothing is more permanent that a temporary solution.
that_one_wierd_guy@reddit
the reverse is often true as well.
nothing more temporary than a permanent solution
25toten@reddit
you've got a solid point.
i work in it, its common place to fix problems with solutions that are not neccesairly designed to be permanent. There isnt enough hours in a day to do everything perfectly right.
filco86@reddit (OP)
Yeah, exactly that 👍 The problem is it buys you time, but if it doesn’t get properly fixed right after, it quietly turns into a much bigger (and more expensive) problem later.
Temporary fixes are fine in emergencies… as long as they actually stay temporary.
Kuddel_Daddeldu@reddit
Yeah.
I wrote a software package, over a long weekend, as a favor to a friend. It was supposed to last a year or so to bridge the time until a "proper" solution could be sourced. Now they asked me to help them spec and project-manage a replacement... after 16 years. Not because it does not work but because nobody knows how long the underlying technology will be supported.
paulcaar@reddit
Ah yes, you touch it you own it.
avu3@reddit
That the underlying technology was supported for 16 years is remarkable. I'd leave it keep going. Its earned the right at this point.
rezwrrd@reddit
There's nothing more permanent than a temporary solution! Either it's permanent because you never bother to go back and fix it, or it's permanent because it causes something much, much more expensive to fail.
FadeIntoReal@reddit
If the fuse gave its life for a legitimate short, the “no-blo fuse” gave enough current to complete the damage the short began. And enough current to potentially start a fire.
I’ve seen dozens of these cases. None turn out well.
Head_Razzmatazz7174@reddit
Yep. Duct tape those loose items and then head for the store for the part you need.
nighthawke75@reddit
I would STOP right there, call for an fire Marshal, or electric inspector and watch as they condemn the electrical pending a full replacement to restore it back to code.
You can tack two more zeroes to that repair bill.
dickcheney600@reddit
The electrical in the building? Commercial machines like this usually have their own internal fuses, would a machine that plugs in fall under the electric inspector's jurisdiction?
Future_Direction5174@reddit
The heating failed in our offices. Emergency supplemental heaters were supplied. I was seated near an electric fire and I noticed that the plug was “smoking”. I unplugged it and called maintenance.
The 13amp fuse in the plug was a rolled up piece of aluminium foil….
BZ2USvets81@reddit
Back when a lot of houses (here in the US) had fuses instead of circuit breakers, I heard of many people who advocated putting a penny in when a fuse blew to get power back to the circuit. Of course, that was when pennies were mostly copper.
Adinin@reddit
Years ago when I was looking at houses to buy, one that I found still had that wiring throughout the house. The home inspector specifically said that it would probably raise the home insurance for exactly that reason. People were prone to replacing the fuse with a penny, and made it much more likely that something would go catastrophically wrong and cause a fire.
BZ2USvets81@reddit
No doubt. I know I have been in houses like that but if I ever lived in one it was when I was a kid.
himitsumono@reddit
Our place is > 100 years old, had all knob & tube wiring, DC switches (early on, some parts of our city had DC electric) and four, count 'em, FOUR 15 amp circuits. One of which served only a floor outlet in the living room. So three circuits.
Fridge kicks in while the microwave's running. Time for a new fuse.
Funny, I never seemed to have pennies in my pocket.
that_one_wierd_guy@reddit
I remember the occasional story about using a .22 bullet as a car fuse
fsteff@reddit
One of those fuses with acoustic alarms.
BZ2USvets81@reddit
IIRC, Mythbusters did a piece on the story.
Rathmun@reddit
I believe they concluded that while it can break skin, the lack of any barrel at all meant that the .22 bullet was not life threatening.
IFeelEmptyInsideMe@reddit
I haven't heard it for car fuses but it's close to the right size for some fuse slots and it will give you an alert when it blows.
Knitchick82@reddit
That’s one of my favorite Darwin Award stories!
filco86@reddit (OP)
Yeah, that’s one of those old “fixes” that sounds clever in the moment but is honestly pretty dangerous 😅
A fuse is supposed to be the weak point on purpose. If you replace it with a coin or foil, you basically remove all protection and the problem just moves somewhere else in the system.
I get why people used to do it though—no spare fuse, need power back fast. But yeah… definitely one of those “works once, regrets later” solutions.
TimTowtiddy@reddit
There's nothing as permanent as a temporary fix that works.
nullpassword@reddit
Went to fix a commercial refrigerator at a store...walk in, lights are flickering.. refrigerator is rebooting.. registers are rebooting.. get to looking.. a mouse had shorted the main power.. I was like above my pay grade, call an electrician that can kill power to the whole store..
bakugo@reddit
Thanks ChatGPT
gromit1991@reddit
Fuses are included in circuits to rupture on excessive current not unstable current.
Fryphax@reddit
You didn't start with the fuses?
filco86@reddit (OP)
Don't start checking the fuses on a vending machine when all those components are powered on! 😅
LittleCodingFox@reddit
Kinda like how all "temporary workarounds till we can fix it properly" in programming usually end up being permanent!
filco86@reddit (OP)
Exactly 😅 “Temporary fix” usually just means “we’ll deal with the consequences later”
LittleCodingFox@reddit
Honestly if I was given the bandwidth and time I would never have to do that but half the time we're on a strict time schedule or the changes are too big so we can only do so much! This is why tech debt tasks are incredibly crucial!
Alpha433@reddit
Remember, the most permanent fixs are temporary.
K1yco@reddit
So many customers who demand "permanent fix" don't understand this and claim they are band aid fixes. By their logic replacing tires is a bandaid fix since it doesn't stop you from ever having to replace them in the future
ryanlc@reddit
There nothing so permanent as a "temporary workaround".
Alpha433@reddit
Couldn't remember how the saying g went, thats much better than what I wrote.
ryanlc@reddit
I found the phrase here in this sub years ago. I've since used it MANY times at work to explain why I won't do something "just for now".
Alpha433@reddit
Yup. If I know 100% that I will be returning right away, and there is absolutely no danger to doing something, I might make a workaround if the need is great enough.
That said, I avoid if at all possible the "just get them running" type fixes.
No, I will not just splice the psc fan to power because the cooling terminal on the board broke, I will get them a new board, because if anything happens, I dont want to be responsible for a broken fan as well.
No, I will not plate over a broken condenser fan on a multifan rtu so it will work, because I know your cheap ass will not actually replace it, and then when you never approve or call us back for the repair, we will have to address the other issues this "temp fix" has caused.
Truck-E-Cheez@reddit
https://i.imgur.com/d7US9aT.jpeg
AdreKiseque@reddit
A vending machine or coffee machine?
OldGreyTroll@reddit
Probably both. One of those vending machines that spits out tiny paper cups of "alleged" coffee. Really bad alleged coffee.
Polenicus@reddit
Sometimes they also have a 'hot chocolate' button that dispenses a cup of bad ideas in case you don't like coffee-adjacent drinks, or there is a child nearby you need to abuse.
nymalous@reddit
I used to work at a Sears back during the last century, and we had one of those coffee/tea/hot-chocolate vending machines in our breakroom. The hot-chocolate was... consumable. And sometimes it was all I had time for on a cold day. Or else all I could afford.
MissRachiel@reddit
Did yours also do chicken broth?
I worked for a banking call center in the mid 1990s. They had a "you're never too sick to work" attendance policy. You could always tell when the crud was going around because the area where the cup fills was coated in drifts of yellow bouillon powder.
We thought we might see some relief when the hardass old VP retired, but the new guy's nod to employee health was to put a pill vending machine on the wall near the hot drinks machine: ibuprofen, acetaminophen, some generic menstrual symptom remedy, and single bandaids wrapped like condoms so they'd vend individually.
I left that place for my first paid tech job. Tech support around the turn of the century was wild. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot of stuff.
nymalous@reddit
I don't know if it dispensed broth, but it certainly didn't vend any pills or bandaids. Just the thought makes me shiver involuntarily (is that redundant? Is a shiver every voluntary?).
MissRachiel@reddit
Some people can shiver on purpose to give themselves goosebumps, just like some people can glance at a bright light to make themselves sneeze.
Bodies are weird.
I'm not sure how much traffic the pill vending machine got, although I sometimes heard people complain when it was out, so it must have had some users. I certainly wouldn't have trusted anything out of there. A pair of generic Tylenol wrapped like a condom just does not inspire confidence.
nymalous@reddit
I mean, I guess if you feel bad enough...
filco86@reddit (OP)
A Necta coffee vending machine
dinnerbird@reddit
I looked that up and they're about 7 grand a pop. Ouch
tilrman@reddit
It's expensive to get pop from a coffee machine. Just get the coffee instead.
coffeebugtravels@reddit
Well played!
dinnerbird@reddit
I roped myself into that one, didn't I
filco86@reddit (OP)
Specifically, a Necta Canto Lavazza! A top-of-the-line machine
ChooseExactUsername@reddit
That's a rather large machine. I was imagining something like a Jura machine.
SteveDallas10@reddit
Yes. A coffee vending machine.
mycatpartyhouse@reddit
Some coffee machines are coin-op. Self serve in a hospital corridor, for example. They're big and bulky.
Cook_your_Binarys@reddit
Obviously they have not used steel scourer/sponge bits to bridge a ripped cable for your laptop which then just melts every 2-3 hours suddenly when it's overwhelmed.
Melt = surge caught = problem solved.
filco86@reddit (OP)
That’s a new one 😅 At that point it’s less “repair” and more “temporary survival strategy” I guess it technically works… right up until it doesn’t 😄
Laser_defenestrator@reddit
Did you get confirmation from the actual customer that they did this? I have known some coffee/caffeine addicts who might have implemented this fix on their own, on a machine they didn't own, just to get their fix.
filco86@reddit (OP)
people get very motivated when coffee is involved
bobthunicorn@reddit
Why must there be AI slop in every conceivable corner of the internet?
skawn@reddit
I think it's more that AI was trained on the slop found in every conceivable corner of the internet so now, it all appears to be AI slop when you're just looking at the standard run of the mill slop.
maceion@reddit
This would open them to unlimited damages if some one was injured, and their insurance company would walk away. A very dangerous liability situation.
filco86@reddit (OP)
A Necta coffee vending machine