Find a fridge's uneven cooling came from dusty condenser coils with NotebookLM
- Posted
- by Anu Joy (Android Police)
- Last checked
- Method:
- How we verify
Evidence: Article or interviewA newsletter, journalist or interview account of what happened.
Context: The writer notes NotebookLM didn't show diagrams from the sources, so they still had to open the manual for part locations.
Beginner-friendlyNo logins, payments or coding needed. Low risk: paste the prompt and you should get something useful.
Outcome
Anu Joy built a NotebookLM notebook for their refrigerator from the manual, the invoice, repair guides, YouTube videos and Reddit threads, then asked why the fridge section wasn't holding temperature evenly. It listed common causes such as blocked vents, shelf obstructions and worn door gaskets. After ruling those out, Joy found the condenser coils coated in dust, cleaned them, and watched a thermometer show the cooling stabilising within about half an hour.
Agent
Prompt Original prompt
Exact prompt as published in the source.
The freezer is fine, but the fridge section isn't holding temperature evenly. What could be the problem?
Try this in:
Sends the Original prompt shown above. ChatGPT and Grok open with it filled in, and ChatGPT may send it straight away. Gemini opens empty, so we copy the prompt for you to paste. Every button also copies it.
Opens in a new tab. We don't see what you send.
These links are only a shortcut. We're not affiliated with OpenAI, Google or xAI, and your results may not match the source.
Optional stronger version
Our rewrite with extra checks. The poster didn't test it.
Run this task now, exactly as written below. Everything you need is here, so start straight away and only stop if something required is missing or a rule below tells you to. Goal: Answer my appliance question using the manual and repair sources I've saved, and give me a short list of causes to check in order. Fill in before running: - Appliance and model: [MODEL] - Sources added to the notebook (manual, invoice, repair guides, videos, forum threads): [SOURCES] - Symptom: [WHAT'S HAPPENING] - What I've already checked: [CHECKS] Safety first: if this involves gas, the electrical panel or mains wiring, structural work, or anything that smells of burning or gas, stop and tell me to call a licensed professional. Rules: - Base every suggestion on the saved sources and say which one it comes from. - Rank causes from easiest to check to hardest. - Tell me how to confirm each fix worked (for example, with a thermometer). - If the sources disagree or don't cover it, say so. - Check facts that can change (prices, opening hours, dates, availability, rules) against the official source, and tell me anything you couldn't verify. - Remind me to unplug the appliance before cleaning or touching anything at the back. Output: A ranked checklist of likely causes with the source for each. You'll know it worked when: the appliance is back to normal, or I know which check comes next. Before you finish: re-read my goal and constraints, check your answer against each one, and list anything you assumed or couldn't confirm.
Source
https://www.androidpolice.com/notebooklm-avoid-unnecessary-service-calls-save-money-on-diy-repairs/
Related cases
- Fix a 2002 furnace from a scanned paper manual with ChatGPTRecreated promptEvidence: Described by poster
The previous owners had left the 25-page paper manual for the poster's 2002 heating system. The poster scanned it with a phone app, uploaded the PDF to ChatGPT, worked through a diagnosis with it and says they fixed the furnace themselves.
ChatGPT · Personal · Source date:
- Narrow down why a gas dryer takes three hours with a ChatGPT video chat before calling a repair companyRecreated promptEvidence: Described by posterBeginner-friendly
When a dryer took three hours to dry a load (normally 45 minutes), Lisa-Anne Chung showed ChatGPT the model number, the parts that weren't working and the pipes at the back over a video chat. It identified the model from a photo, walked Chung through checks such as whether the burner glowed and listening for clicks, gave a shortlist of likely causes, and suggested Sunnyvale repair companies via Yelp with a fair diagnostic fee. Chung says they had a solid hypothesis in about 10 minutes and could talk knowledgeably when they called a repair company.
ChatGPT · Personal · Source date:
- Fix a dead freezer with a £10 wire after Grok's voice-and-camera mode found a known faultRecreated promptEvidence: Described by posterBeginner-friendly
When a freezer stopped working, Marc Landers gave Grok the make, model and problem. Grok had them turn on voice and camera mode, open the door, remove the top hinge cover (no tools needed) and point the camera at a wire it said was a known fault for that model. Grok gave the price and an Amazon link for the part; the £10 wire arrived next day and took five minutes to replace, instead of paying a repair technician.
Grok · Personal · Source date: