History Main / PercussiveMaintenance

* ''Manga/{{Doraemon}}''

** The early chapter that introduces the Time Cloth (one of the series' most recurring, frequently-used gadgets) have Nobita and Doraemon watching the Nobi household's old, cranky television set, and the screen finally fuzzing up causing Nobita and Doraemon to celebrate "finally, they're getting a new TV" only for Nobita's mother, Tamako to come over and land a chop on it's side, fixing the screen. At which point a frustrated Doraemon decide to just take out the Time Cloth and de-age their TV set to brand new. Tamako even lampshades the trope briefly, "You just need to know ''where to hit''."

* Smacking a failing flashlight against your palm can get it to full power again for a short time

* Deconstructed in, of all things, ''VideoGame/WarioWare Get It Together!'' Smacking game bugs in a game world seems like an awesome way to deal with them. [[spoiler:However, the whole reason the game took place is because Wario tried doing this in the "real world" to fix bugs that were a result of his own sloppy programming. It unfortunately made things worse, as the game subsequently sucked everyone up once he got it 'working' again, and when everyone finds out, they're pissed, complete with 5-Volt-esque fury stances.]]

Also known as "Technical Tap", "Ape Mechanics", "Electronic Abuse", "[[Series/HappyDays Fonzarelli]] Fix", "[[Anime/CowboyBebop Spike Spiegel]] School of Repair", "[[Series/TopGearUK Clarkson]] Clang", or "Emergency Repair Procedure #1", this is a method of repairing malfunctioning devices by hitting 'em really hard. This is a case of TruthInTelevision, as many people will often do this with malfunctioning machinery, frequently with mixed results.

* One segment in ''[[Animation/TheMindsEye The Gate to the Mind's Eye]]'' features a pair of [[FacelessEye disembodied eyes]] breaking their TV by jumping on the remote, which causes the TV to rapidly change the channel. In a cringe-inducing move, one eye floats up beside the TV and bodyslams it back into operation.

* In [[https://notalwaysright.com/thats-what-we-call-a-technical-tap/291249/ this]] ''Website/NotAlwaysWorking'' story, a Naval engineer blows his top when he sees someone do this on a gauge in a nuclear submarine, and requires a proper troubleshooting and repair report. The report says "In accordance with the manual, [[ExospeakGag gently mechanically agitate the equipment]]."

* In ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'', Touma meets Mikoto for what he thinks is the first time when he just lost ¥2000 (roughly $20) to a juice vending machine. She gets her supply of beverages by kicking the shit out of the machine. She explains it with the mechanics having rusted due to age, he explains it with the constant application of violence. Then, to regain his lost money, she [[ShockAndAwe hacks]] the machine, bombarding them with cans.

** In the episode "Bender Should Not be Allowed on TV" a Antonio Calculon Junior breaks down. Someone comes by and hits him on the head a couple of times. it didn't work.

Compare PercussiveTherapy where a character hits things solely for their own emotional benefit, rather than the proper functioning of whatever they're hitting, and HaveYouTriedRebooting, another common way of fixing malfunctioning technology. Contrast PercussiveShutdown where the hit is intended to ''stop'' a thing from working. Compare and contrast HealingShiv, a weapon or technique designed specifically to heal and repair things attacked by it. For use on life forms, see the DopeSlap, GetAholdOfYourselfMan, {{Facepalm}}, BeatTheCurseOutOfHim, or DontMakeMeTakeMyBeltOff.

* In ''Film/TheMalayChroniclesBloodlines'', the main character performs this trope on the Archimedes Heat Ray - a 16th-century ''laser'' made of BambooTechnology (basically, hundreds of reflective mirror shards attached to a giant wooden frame for concentrating light). And it ''works''!

* Related to destructive repair techniques is "Baking" (officially, "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflow_soldering reflow soldering]]"), a delicate and highly technical process of getting a video card with screen artifacting to work again by literally baking it in a 380F oven for 8-10 minutes. [[http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=606658 Of particular interest to Nvidia 8800 and 9800 owners]]. This works because official way of mounting a BGA chip on a board is baking it in a special oven, and some formulations of the modern leadless solder have a tendency to crack under repeated thermal stress, disconnecting the chip's pins. Re-baking the board in a home oven restores any disconnected solder joints the chips may have.

** [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gashapon_machine.jpg Capsule vending Machines like this]] can usually be fixed by tapping between the lock and the turning knob. Over long periods of use, the path coins travel to engage the gears gets worn down. Tapping/punching said area can shift the coins over small imperfections in the path. Experienced users can usually tell how far the coin has traveled just by sound. Tapping/jiggling the entire machine sometimes works if the capsules are on the larger side(greater tendency to get stuck). They're designed to prevent free-play by tipping though, as there's a large spring which blocks the exit port unless you turn it the proper way.

-->'''Conrad''': Tap it.
-->'''Cat''': Listen, kid. You can tap it with a hammer. It ain't gonna change.

-->'''Officer 1:''' Hey. Is this your vehicle?\\

--->'''Kira:''' Is the proximity system working?
--->'''Dax:''' ''(smacks console, something whirrs)'' I think so.

--> '''Alec:''' Anyway, [[{{Irony}} let's get on with th- on with - sh - sh - on with]] - on - sh - sh - sh - sh - show - on with - sh - sh - sh - sh - show - sh - on with - on with - '''*THUD*''' - on with the show.

* In VideoGame/MegamanLegends Megaman is stuck in an electrical trap and the Bonnes come over to free him. Tiesel looks over the trap and asks Tron how to stop it. She responds by giving the trap a swift kick, which works.

* In VideoGame/MegamanLegends Megaman is stuck in an electrical trap and the Bonnes come over to free him. Tiesal looks over the trap and asks Tron how to stop it. She responds by giving the trap a swift kick, which works.

** In the 2021 remake of ''Anime/DoraemonNobitasLittleSpaceWar'', TheDragon Dracorl had the heroes cornered in his battleship, too heavily-armed for Nobita and friends (even if they're giant-sized at the moment due to the Shrink Light's effects wearing) to fight from up close. Just then, Nobita and friends are ambushed by several of Dracorl's tanks and drones, at which point they retaliate by grabbing several of Dracorl's machines and pounding on them, causing them to misfire and take down Dracorl's battleship.

* An early ''Manga/{{Doraemon}}'' chapter that introduces the Time Cloth (one of the series' most recurring, frequently-used gadgets) have Nobita and Doraemon watching the Nobi household's old, cranky television set, and the screen finally fuzzing up causing Nobita and Doraemon to celebrate "finally, they're getting a new TV" only for Nobita's mother, Tamako to come over and land a chop on it's side, fixing the screen. At which point a frustrated Doraemon decide to just take out the Time Cloth and de-age their TV set to brand new. Tamako even lampshades the trope briefly, "You just need to know ''where to hit''."
* An example that doesn't involve technology shows up in ''Anime/DoraemonNobitasDorabianNights'', when Sinbad, Doraemon and Nobita tries spying on the escaped slaver, Abdil, through Sinbad's magic Pool of Visions. The pool suddenly gets fuzzy, and Sinbad hits it's sides with his staff, so it becomes clear again. But then it starts getting fuzzy once more - cue Nobita, Doraemon and Sinbad hitting the whole thing simultaneously, to no avail. Nobita even lampshades "this thing is like an old TV!"

* ''WebComic/SaturdayMorningBreakfastCereal'': [[https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/punch "Punch"]] explains that the modern day is so stressfull because modern technology isn't fit to be punched any more so you can't take out your anger on it when it doesn't work.

* ''WebComic/SaturdayMorningBreakfastCereal'': [[https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/punch Punch"]] explains that the modenr day is so stressed because modern technology isn't fit to be punched any more so you can't take out your anger on it when it doesn't work.