A couple of years ago, because I’m old and my feet/legs are continually cold, my other half bought me a Dreamcatcher electric throw, so I can sit there like an old man with a blanket over me, but it’s heated. Then she bought another for herself (and, also for friends and family).

They’re great. We use them regularly, and during the work on the house last year when doors were open and the heating was off, they were a lifesaver.

Then one broke, then the other one broke.

Both the same- the controller (PET-CON-2 or PS7G-H/L) was completely dead. Checking the mains fuse revealed nothing.

A quick search on the Internet revealed you could buy a controller, for £20, but it also revealed this Youtube video from Brian J Wright.

Now, the video does the thing I hate about Youtube instructional videos; there’s a lot of talking to get to the point, but to be fair, it does tell you the fix, Brian clearly knows what to look for.

There’s a 102 degree C, 2A thermal fuse, closely nestled under a plastic cover, between two resistors, and sure enough, it was open circuit.

In the picture below, the fuse is the white component just below the slide switch, between 2 resistors.

A quick purchase on Amazon of some tri-wing screwdrivers and a pack of thermal fuses, and some careful work with a soldering iron (obviously, overheating thermal fuses would be bad!) and we both have heat again, for less than the cost of one new controller (and I have some screwdrivers for the next annoying bit of electrical or electronic kit), and there’s a bit less e-waste.

I strongly suspect the failure was caused by allowing the controller to sit under the throw itself.

[edit]
The one blanket failed again, and blew the fuse again. Connecting the other controller gave an error display. Subsequent investigation showed something has come adrift inside the blanket and there’s a coil of heater element jammed in one corner, so that one is scrap. I’ll re-repair the controller so we have a spare.

[edit 2]
The other blanket developed a fault too :-(. I wonder if this was the cause of the fuse popping?