History Main / PercussiveMaintenance

** In ''The Cat Who Walks Through walls'', the protagonists manage to rent a car from a very, ''very'' low cost rental agency and proceed to fly to the moon (they were already in space and the car's a spaceship). Being a budget rental, everything goes wrong as they try to land. At one point the computer (which controls the rockets) fails. The husband hits it. No go. He hits it again. No go. His wife hits it hard enough to crack the casing. It comes back on. (Briefly.)

** The game's (fanmade) "manual" (as accessed online) is actually a manual on the Sentry, an automatic gun. The directions included for upgrading and setting up a sentry are all [[ExpospeakGag elaborate cover-ups]] of "hit it with your wrench".

* In ''SpaceQuest V: The Next Mutation'', the SCS ''Eureka'''s Chief (and only) Engineer Cliffy (that's "Clifford" to you) fixes things by whacking away at them with a wrench or kicking them. Given that the entire ''Space Quest'' verse runs on the RuleOfFunny, this makes total sense.

* Inverted in ''[[VideoGame/WingCommander Wing Commander IV]]'', during the cutscene where Pliers (ship's mechanic) has found a disc of unknown purpose in a captured Dragon (to the characters, that is -- the players know it as a Flash-pak, a bomb capable of burning out a entire capital ship if it hits ANYWHERE on the hull). He doesn't know what it is, so he drops it on the deck, while everyone around him dives for cover -- when it doesn't explode, he then picks it up and resigns himself to some actual work.

** ''Battlefield: Bad Company'' has a ''Drill.'' Yes, you '''''drill''''' health into tanks and jeeps. As long as you know the drill.

* In a {{Marvel}} ''TransformersGeneration1'' comic, a two-bit crook finds Megatron, whose cyboneural circuits have been knocked loose in an earlier issue. The result is that Megatron has no free will, and will simply do whatever anyone else tells him. The crook embarks on a crime spree, but when he goes to confront his old boss, he drops Megatron -- conveniently reconnecting his circuits, allowing him to {{take over the world}} once again.

** A ShoutOut to Han's repair method is given in the film ''[[{{Film/Fanboys}} Fanboys]]''.

* In ''{{Commando}}'', Cindy couldn't get the seaplane to start. Then John Matrix pounds the controls to get it running. "Works everytime."

** The novelization of the episode takes it a little further -- his foot actually ''hit the control'' he was missing on the unfamilliar control panel. One wonders why Starfleet didn't replace the control consoles when they took over the station.
*** It was the pilot and the Cardassians had left the station in a MESS. They were lucky that the transporteer was even working.

** And in a later episode, a characte slaps around an atomic bomb in order to get it to explode. This is presented as a good thing.

* Inverted in ''[[WingCommander Wing Commander IV]]'', during the cutscene where Pliers (ship's mechanic) has found a disc of unknown purpose in a captured Dragon (to the characters, that is -- the players know it as a Flash-pak, a bomb capable of burning out a entire capital ship if it hits ANYWHERE on the hull). He doesn't know what it is, so he drops it on the deck, while everyone around him dives for cover -- when it doesn't explode, he then picks it up and resigns himself to some actual work.

* You can play ''Savage: The Battle for Newerth'' entirely with melee if you want to. It's problably done to keep things simple. Building, repairing structures, mining and claiming spawn flags are all done with melee. The people at newerth.com at some point said they were thinking about adding different animations for the different actions depending on what you're aiming at but they never got around to adding it.

* In an episode of ''{{Pucca}}'' Abyo try to do this with a kick, searching to repair a problem with the time clock of the Master Soo's temple, [[spoiler:which because the dragon was sleeping (it was the main mechanism of the clock), it was causing a [[GroundhogDayLoop day loop]], which only Garu could detect]], but he couldn't repair the problem. Their two attempts caused [[spoiler:that the time was going to forward and back respectly]]. Then, the Master Soo came and with a punch he can solve the problem with the clock... or well, [[spoiler:until that Pucca came later, but that's another story]].

* In ''[[VeggieTales The Ultimate Silly Song Countdown]]'', the machine used to tally the votes occasionally breaks down, and Pa Grape uses a wooden mallet to fix it. At one point, he has to hammer it so much that Mr. Lunt and Larry have to improvise a song in the meantime, and they use his "percussion" (and a chinese takeout menu) as inspiration.

** This is, believe it or not, one of the many ways to ([[ItOnlyWorksOnce temporarily]]) cure the [[HeroicRROD Red Rings of Death]] on [[{{Xbox 360}} Xbox 360s]].

* One of the first things to try when clearing a weapon jam is to simply smack the magazine, which it is also reccomended you do before loading the magazine in the first place. A few good mag taps on a rock before loading will do wonders for a weapon.

* ''FredFlintstone'' is a master TV repair man, providing he has his club.

* The short story ''At the Rialto'' by Connie Willis involves a group of Quantum Physisists at a convention. An overhead projector isn't working and one scientist explains that "it needs its fractal basin boundaries adjusted". She proceeds to whack it twice and it works.
* Robert Heinlein was an old-school engineer; he loved this trope.
** In ''The Cat Who Walks Through walls'', the protagonists manage to rent a car from a very, ''very'' low cost rental agency and proceed to fly to the moon (they were already in space and the car's a spaceship). Being a budget rental, everything goes wrong as they try to land. At one point the computer (which controls the rockets) fails. The husband hits it. No go. He hits it again. No go. His wife hits it hard enough to crack the casing. It comes back on.

** Claudia uses this method in one episode, and mentiones it by name, in order to get the holographic display projector to work properly.

* Used in ''{{Film/Alien}}S'' by head-smacking: "Drake, check your camera... [bash] that's better".

* AceVentura also had to do this while his [[MyCarHatesMe problematic car]] was under attack by
an angry man.

----

[[folder: Advertising ]]

* A running gag in an early episode of ''Digimon'', and used with some success when Tai fixes Andromon.

** Also attempted in "Togemon In Toy Town", where Izzy's computer is acting up. Both Tai and Agumon say that all it needs is a good whack and charge at Izzy, who then moves out of the way causing Tai and Agumon to CrossCounter one another.

* And Rena from ''HigurashiNoNakuKoroNi'' "fixes" a sulking Mion the same way, saying it's how she fixes her TV.

* This is part of the reason why the LupinIII crew keeps Goemon around.

* [[{{Sola}} Matsuri Shihou]] does this. [[spoiler:But it is understandable because she is ReallySevenHundredYearsOld.]]
* In JojosBizarreAdventure, Jotaro kicks a scooter to start it up.

* In ''{{Zone of the Enders}}: Dolores, I'', the titular character, a HumongousMecha RobotGirl, [[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan applies this to herself]] when she inexplicably throws a jealous fit after James recovers a female enemy pilot.

* The whole premise of {{Hikkatsu}} is centered on this, where geomagnetic abnormalities have let to a complete technological breakdown, with various electronics, vehicles and appliances going berserk, and after his martial arts master is killed by a runaway construction vehicle, the main character tries to turn PercussiveMaintenance [[MartialArtsAndCrafts into a martial art.]]

[[folder:Comics]]
* A 1970s comic strip titled ''Campus Clatter'' included one incident where the college's new computer was malfunctioning. The genius student and a professor discussed possible high-tech fixes, but an ordinary guy suggested it needed "a good swift kick!" and applied one. The computer began running perfectly -- and printed out the words, "Thanks, I needed that!"
* In a 1960s installment of ''Our Boarding House,'' Major Hoople successfully repairs his old TV by using "the BSKK method: Bang, Slam, Kick, Kick."

* ''{{ElfQuest}}': The Rebels #3 [[http://www.elfquest.com/gallery/OnlineComics/RB/RB03/DisplayRB03.html?page=19 page 19]] and 20.

* ''{{Back to the Future}}''

** Averted at the beginning of the movie, when Marty smacks the time circuits and they stay dead. Played straight in Part II, when Doc hits the time circuits to stop them from glitching.
* AceVentura also had to do this while his [[MyCarHatesMe problematic car]] was under attack by an angry man.

* The ship's boiler in ''TheAfricanQueen'' has to be kicked vigorously every morning to get started.
** Charlie explains that this is caused by a screwdriver stuck inside. He admits he could open the panel and remove it, but he leaves it in there because [[PercussiveTherapy kicking it is kind of fun]].

* At one point in ''{{Film/Flight of the Intruder}}'', the navigation computer in the protagonists' [[CoolPlane A-6 Intruder]] attack jet flakes out. Tiger Cole claims that the [[AllThereInTheManual manual says]] to "kick the damn thing" to get it to start again. {{Justified}} in that the likely cause for that computer to fail is for the internal gyroscopes to get stuck, with the kick knocking them loose again.

* Towards the end of ''[[TronLegacy TRON: Legacy]]'', [[spoiler:Kevin Flynn and Sam Flynn are sneaking around in Clu's "Rectifier" [[hottip:*:giant ship that brainwashes programs into being a mindless army]]. [[ActionGirl Quorra's]] been captured, so Sam goes to rescue her while Kevin steals a [[CoolPlane Light Fighter]]. There's a {{Brainwashed}} program standing guard, so Kevin sneaks up behind it and fiddles with its Identity Disc so it would allow him access. It doesn't work. Frustrated, he bops the program on the head. [[CrowningMomentOfFunny It works]].]]

* In {{Splash}}, when Tom Hanks gets stranded on the boat, it doesn't start until he opens the casing and whacks it with a hammer. At which point it promptly fires up, lunges forward, and pitches him overboard.

* On ''{{Saved by the Bell}}'', AC Slater could use this to make lockers open.

* ''{{Shadow the Hedgehog}}''

* In the 3D Fallout games, a common jam animation involves the player character whacking the malfunctioning weapon.
* [[{{Portal2}} Wheatley]] seems to take this method of hacking. For example, he attempts a "manual override" on a "docking gate," which is actually a ''wall'', by slamming Chell's relaxation chamber into it.

* A regular enough practice in ''GirlGenius''. Very few [[MadScientist "sparks"]] are subtle, especially when they're in a hurry.

* In the ''{{Gorillaz}}'' universe, the mechanic Murdoc hired to work on Plasic Beach insists on repairing the malfunctioning devices with a frying pan. Unlike most examples, he doesn't want to get the things to work in the first place -- he's just a lazy guy who's hoping to get more cash out of it, as he eagerly explains in the Plastic Beach adventure game on the official site.

* Averted on ''{{Beavis and Butthead}}'' when the title duo try to get their TV working again with numerous kicks. Pieces fly off, but that's all that happens. Due in part to a citywide power outage they don't notice.
* In ''{{The Penguins of Madagascar}}'', Skipper tries to smack a malfunctioning flashlight. It works... for all of about three seconds, and then fizzles out again.

* Lampshaded in the ''{{Phineas and Ferb}}'' episode, "Hide and Seek" when Dr. Doof tries gets his IncrediblyObviousBug working by after repeatedly hitting his monitor.

* Apollo 14: While running through the pre-PDI checklist, Al Shepard and Ed Mitchell noticed that the abort light had come on, indicating that the computer had gone straight into abort mode. If this happened during the actual burn the computer would abort the descent and that would be mission over as there'd no longer be enough fuel for another attempt at landing. They got the light to go out by tapping on the console with a pen. Of course this was only a temporary fix, and a more elegant solution requires some in-flight reprogramming of the guidance computer (By tricking it into thinking it was already in abort mode it would not monitor the status of the abort button). The moment is recreated in the Apollo 14 episode of ''From The Earth To The Moon''.

*** Best way to deal with step 7 is: "START WORKING YOU PIECE OF MOTEHRFUCKING SHIT OR I SHOVE A AXE IN TO YOU AND BURN YOU ON A CROSS!!!!". Usualy works. At least when you stand up to pick the said axe.

* Banging the top with a closed fist sometimes does wonders with old CRT screens that have a recurring 'picture suddenly compresses into a single horizontal line' issue. This is also the officially recommended way of dealing with aperture grille displays when their thin vertical wires stick together.

* In ''{{Ratchet and Clank}}: Up Your Arsenal'', BigBad robot MadScientist Dr. Nefarious has a habit of having screaming outbursts that make his circuitry overload causing him to freeze in place and broadcast [[SoapWithinAShow a random soap opera]]. The problem is easily solved by someone (usually Lawrence) whacking Nefarious in the head (an act that Lawrence calls "the best part of (his) day"), after which Nefarious proceeds as if nothing had happened.

* [[https://twitter.com/#!/BandJokesPlanet/statuses/82968522036215809 Familiar enough among musicians to become a joke.]]

* The whole premise of {{Hikkatsu}} is centered on this, where geomagnetic abmormalities have let to a complete technological breakdown, with various electronics, vehicles and appliances going berserk, and after his martial arts master is killed by a runaway construction vehicle, the main character tries to turn PercussiveMaintenance [[MartialArtsAndCrafts into a martial art.]]

* The whole premise of {{Hikkatsu}} is centered on this, where geomagnetic abmormalities have let to a complete technological breakdown, with various electronics, vehicles and appliances going berserk, and after his martial arts master is killed by a runaway construction vehicle, the main character tries to turn PercussiveMaintenence [[MartialArtsAndCrafts into a martial art.]]

* In one episode of ''MacGyver'', starting a car this way becomes a RunningGag.

* ''TheWhiteboard'': Doc demonstrates the procedure, in the June 1, 2011 strip.