Lever does not stay down

Well.
Heres my two bob...
I've tried to repair one of these toasters today.
It would intermittantly work, eg led lights would work, and the toaster would actually stay down.
Most of the time however, no lights, no toast staying down.
By removing the power cord and re plugging it in, occasionally the leds would light, then the toaster would work, until it stopped again.

FIRST A WARNING! YOU CAN KILL YOURSELF IF YOU PULL APART A TOASTER, THE VOLTAGES ARE DEADLY, IF YOU DONT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING DONT OPEN IT! GET AN EXPERT OR GET A NEW TOASTER.

I pulled it apart, which was a pita as they used 8x non standard screws on the bottom.
On the pcb board where all the leds are, there is a large 18 pin chip, labelled MCU.
I believe that this is the culprit, as all diodes, resisters, caps seem OK. The thermister is ok.
By shorting two of the pins on the mcu, the leds would light up, and the toaster would actually keep the toast down, and therefore work.
However, the B**stards at Russell Hobbs have chosen not to label that chip, or have ground off the label, to make it harder for people like ourselves to repair.
Plus the fact that they use security type screws to keep us out.
This should be criminal, as it just encourages waste.

For futher info, I shorted pins 4 and 5 briefly, (ie looking at the toaster, the 4th and fifth pins on the top/far side of the pcb board, counting from the right hand side).
When I short these pins the toaster leds light and it works, not a permanent fix however.
Anyone know a suitable replacement for the MCU in this unit?

Buy a new toaster.

After a week or two return the broken toaster to the shop saying it won't work and ask for a refund.

Good luck!

HERE IS THE RESPONSE FROM RUSSELL HOBBS!!

Thank you for your email concerning your Russell Hobbs Glass Toaster,
model 10617.

We have noted your comments and are sorry to learn of the problems that
you have encountered with this appliance.

We must however advise that we do not have Service agents for our
products and we are therefore unable to ascertain the precise cause of
these problems until we have had an opportunity to inspect the product
in question in our Service department at Wombourne.

May we suggest that you return the product to them, for full
examination?

The correct procedure for returning a product under guarantee is via the
original place of purchase, which should then forward it to Wombourne on
your behalf.

If you are returning a product via the place of purchase then please
ensure that your retailer clearly marks the outer packaging and any
paperwork for the attention of Mrs Pauline Morris at the address shown
below. Failure to do so could make traceability of the parcel virtually
impossible.

Alternative, if the item is outside the guarantee period, or you are
unable, for any reason, to return it to your retailer then you may
return it direct with the onus of posting on the sender.

Should the latter apply, please pack the product carefully, enclosing a
covering letter giving brief details of the problems experienced and the
approximate date of purchase and send the parcel to: - Salton Europe
Ltd, Returns Dept, Heath Mill Road, Wombourne, Wolverhampton, WV5 8AQ.

We would also recommend that proof of posting be obtained from your
local Post Office when returning a product direct.

Once the product has been received it will be fully inspected and if its
failure has been caused by any defects in manufacture or materials and
the product is still within the guarantee period, then it will be
repaired or replaced free of charge, under the terms of our guarantee.

If the product is outside the guarantee period and the reason for its
failure is due to fair wear and tear, requiring the provision of spare
parts then we will advise you of the cost to restore this to full
working order.

Alternatively, if repairs cannot be affected, or the product is
uneconomical to repair, then a replacement product will be offered with
a discount of up to 60% off our recommended retail price depending upon
the age and condition of the one returned to us.

If any charges are to be made these will be notified to you by way of a
quotation for your acceptance prior to the repair/replacement being
carried out.

Please note: - although the faulty product must be sent to our Wombourne
address with a covering letter, any further correspondence regarding
this or any other matter must be sent to our Head Office at the address
shown at the top of this letter or alternatively, you may contact one of
our Customer Service Advisors by telephone on 0845-658-9700 or by e-mail
to [email protected].

Yours Sincerely

Miss L Adderley
Customer Service Advisor

This is the stupidest site that I have ever seen. I couldn't understand what the SH$%# the answers are because of the adds . . . bloody giddy idiots...