Electric Iron not Heating Up or not Working Right
If you go to use your Electric Iron and it does not work you may be wondering what could have gone wrong. Actually there are only a few things that can go wrong with this handy little appliance.
The first thing to check is to make sure that you actually have electric power getting to the steam iron. Many times the problem is simply caused by a tripped circuit breaker, a faulty outlet, a worn or broken plug on the end of the cord, or in some cases, a fuse that is in the plug. Another common problem is for the cord of the clothing iron to break at the point where it enters the handle of the iron. By checking that you have power actually getting to the internal parts of the electric iron, you eliminate one set of common problems.
Next you need to check that the power is getting to the heating element. For the power to get to the heating elements of the iron it needs to go through the power switch and the thermostat. On some irons the power switch will be included in the iron thermostat and on others the on/off switch will be a separate switch. In either case you will need to make sure that there is continuity, or the ability for the power to flow through the switch and thermostat to get to the heating part of the iron. The thermostat is just an on/off switch that works on the temperature of the base of the iron. So whenever the iron is cold the thermostat should be closed, allowing the power to flow through it.
If the power can get to the heating element of the iron, then it should get hot. If it is not, then the heating part has failed. Sometimes, when this happens it will short out and cause the fuse to blow or the circuit breaker to trip. Many times though, the element will just simply burn out or break so that the circuit is open and the electricity cannot flow through to make the element produce heat.
If your iron is getting too hot or not hot enough then the problem will almost always be in the thermostat. Sometimes it may be a simple thermostat calibration problem, but it also can be that the thermostat simply will not work properly anymore.
This should give you a basic troubleshooting guide for home electric irons and steam irons. As you can see, there are not many parts that can fail and troubleshooting the few parts that can fail, is relatively simple with a basic electric meter.
