Washing Machine experts.

[busastars]

I'm sure there are a few Washing Machine expert DIY'ers on here so here goes.

My washing machine decided to trip out the house, flipped the trip back and next day put a new fuse in the plug.

Ran the machine again on a low 30 degree wash and worked fine, even turned it through the cycles on the dial to see that the motor spun on fast cycle.

Next day ran the machine again on a 30 degree wash and tripped out again.

The motor seems fine, no burn smells, marks and rotates smooth. My thought is the heating element has come to the end of it's life and shorting out completely.

Anyone got a few hints and tips for me, any good way of pre testing the heater, it's only a Beko and probably about 5 years old. Always repaired other machines but that was always door's, suspension etc. Shame to throw something away for what could be a simple fix.

Cheers

 

[rtbcomp]

I've seen a washing machine trip an RCD because the element was worn through due to some coins getting into the wash.

Try disconnecting the heater and running the machine to see if it still trips.

 

[busastars]

Cheers rtbcomp, sounds like a plan. it's not a new all singing and dancing machine so should run a program without the heater.

Looking on ebay a new heater is only around £10-20, allot cheaper than £160 for new machine and kinder to the environment as we all throw away to much stuff these days.

 

[Chickenjohn]

Washing machine repairs are not that hard once you work out how to get the back off.

I changed the bearings and seals on my 10 year old machine in 2008 and it's still going strong (and quiet!).

 

[PTvor]

Also check for leaks which can cause shorts and bits of wire which have vibrated against something and the insulation worn through.

A lot of problems like this aren't solid and only happen when the machine is loaded so that it vibrates a lot or the water happens to dribble onto a live part.

 

[busastars]

Just got back from running it with the heater unplugged, ran fine for a while on fast spin, filled and emptied water etc then towards the end heard an electrical pop, still was running but just turned it off.

I'll have a look else where for any shorts but looking like it's fubared in my hands. Rang a few people this morning, everyone said just buy a new one mate,,,,,bearing in mind there advertising repairs,,,,,how do they manage to earn a decent wage like that. My guess is they would sell me one....

 

[tigler]

Also look at the mains suppressor capacitor, will be directly across the mains somewhere, check in the area of the mains lead and where it connects.

 

[rtbcomp]

One of dangling heater leads didn't catch anything did it?

 

[PTvor]

Some repairs are very hard or can't realistically be done. Controller boards are a good part of the cost of a new machine. What's more you can't find any circuit diagrams or details on them. With some of the cheap machines, you can't change the bearings, you have to change a whole assembly because they are spot welded together, not bolted. Once again the assembly is most of the cost of a new machine.

I imagine that repairers make their money changing door seals and interlock switches, or working on warranty repairs, or dearer machines like Miele where forking out £150 for a repair makes more sense.

As you say, you can get a new one for £150 or less if you look on line, and certainly for £200, so while it's always worth having a good look for simple faults, there's only so much time it's worth investing.

Meanwhile the dirty laundry is piling up.

I wouldn't give up yet and I'd guess this is a simple fault, not the controller or anything expensive. It's just a question of tracking it down.

 

[Tin Can]

slugs - read on

I know you guys will find this hard to believe, but my other half came in from work and said a work collegue had come in late one day the other week as she had to wait for the washing machine 'repair man' to come out to repair her machine. Anyway the 'repair man' took whatever panels off to access the circuit/control board and found a slug shorting out parts of the board. He even showed her the offending beast and said its not the first time this has happened. May not be the answer to your post but its worth mentioning to any readers of this post - Mark

 

[gordon stephenson]

I had problems a long time ago,turned out to be the water pump seal leaking, Didn't drip but sprayed out a very fine mist that tripped the RCD,

 

[Lawnmowerboy]

Let these guys fix it...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fPi8w4h-NY

My neighbours love me for fixing their machines. keeps me in good stead when running things with all the noise

 

[Highway_Star]

Of no help whatsoever, but of some amusement;

When my late father retired, my mum was still working. No way was she going to stand for him reading the paper all day long while she slaved teaching children. So she used to set him household tasks. The first of which was to repair a weep from the 20 odd year old Zanussi washing machine (it was actually the original 'appliance of science' for those of old enough to recall the advert). The weep was coming from the drum bearings, which it turned out where worn. So the old man headed off to the local parts emporium and procured a bearings and seals kit.
Now you'd like to think a man who had refuelled Nuclear reactors, who designed submarines, who'd specified refit facilities, who had built, repaired and accurised firearms and who'd repaired countless household mechanisms and overhauled the odd engine in his time wouldn't have too much trouble changing 2 bearings and seals on a simple washing machine...

But you'd be wrong. Somehow or other the weep was now a gush, which got all over the drive motor. The house at that time had re-wireable fuses, so the wiggly amps kept on wiggling, until my dad, sat reading the paper with a well earned brew, became aware of the acrid pong of frying electrics.

Sensibly, he turned it off. Then phoned me to see if a washing machine would fit in the back of Range Rover, as he had to get it replaced before my mum got home. Which we managed. It was fully 3 days before she noticed that her Zanussi was now a Bosch.

Similar events unfolded around the dishwasher, but it all came to head when he was left with instructions to defrost the fridge/freezer. For some reason intelligence and reasoning had vacated him, and he started chipping ice out of it with a blunt chisel. Not that blunt as it penetrated the wall of the freezer and the gas started to vent out. Calmly the old man opened the back door (which the freezer is beside), and closed the kitchen door as he exited to the hall, then sat down with the paper, thinking he'd give it time to finish venting before doing anything more about it. Well the nosy old git across the road spotted this trail of smoke emanating from my parents house, and called the fire brigade. Who duly turned up with 2 appliances and a pump ladder. My dad sat there looking out the window wondering where the fire was...... Thankfully the fire crew saw the amusing side and used it as an exercise, with BA sets they lifted the freezer outside and left it there to continue venting.
To say my mother was not amused was something of an understatement. I now think though that the old ****** was at it, as mum stopped giving him chores to do after that.

 

[eil]

Just got back from running it with the heater unplugged, ran fine for a while on fast spin, filled and emptied water etc then towards the end heard an electrical pop, still was running but just turned it off.

I'll have a look else where for any shorts but looking like it's fubared in my hands. Rang a few people this morning, everyone said just buy a new one mate,,,,,bearing in mind there advertising repairs,,,,,how do they manage to earn a decent wage like that. My guess is they would sell me one....

You got that reply because its a Beko, £160 for a machine thats lasted 5 years that is £32 a year I would say its done remarkably well for you. I personally wouldn't buy anything made by Beko in fact I wouldn't have anything Beko if it was offered to me for free.

 

[rtbcomp]

I've scrapped a few Beko appliances and wouldn't spend my money on one either, I'd accept one as a gift though!

 

[PTvor]

I'm not so sure. I have some friends who are just scrapping a Bosch condenser dryer because the controller board has gone TU and a new one is at least half the price of a similar new Bosch dryer. It's only been used a couple of times a week. I have other friends with a Beko washer still going strong after five years. It's used about three times a week.

I know someone else who has just splashed the better part of a grand on a Miele, which will probably outlive her.

If my 20 year old Zanussi washer died I'm not sure what I'd go for. When it developed a problem a couple of years back I was eyeing up blowing 500 notes on a Bosch. It would help in the choice if fixing it when it was out of guarantee didn't involve access to secret information.

In the case of this Beko, I suspect the fault is something simple like the supressor cap Tigler mentioned or a short and maybe a £20 part to get it back running. I certainly wouldn't spend more than £20 on it.

 

[Highway_Star]

A common failure on control boards is PSU caps, just like Tv's etc. You can often fix the board for a couple of quids worth of bits. Another favourite is mains tracks that have vaporised, usually thanks to something like a door switch that's had water in it.
The Bosch that was bought during my recollection above developed just such a fault, door switch failed taking the live to earth, which blew tracks off the board. Bosch engineer quoted a stupid sum for a new board, so my mum bought a new one. I soldered some wire over the track damage, replaced the door switch (£20 or thereabouts). That was maybe 10 years ago, it's still going strong, as I type in fact.

 

[PTvor]

I had to solder wire over burned tracks on the motor controller board on my Zanussi. That was a short caused by a leak. I think a new board was £100 or so. Furthermore, if you buy one there may be a fault which you haven't spotted which causes the next one to die straight away.

It's well worth having a good go at fixing them before giving up and buying a new one.

 

[busastars]

Been right through the machine today and nothing seems out of place or any evidence of shorts.

Short of changing parts out costing money, time & a nagging wife I will bite the bullet.

I know Beko are cheap, my mum had one just the same for over 10 years and now a friend has got it, still running ( not local enough to try swapping parts over ). For £160'ish I can get a new one so hey ho it will save me another job on my long list to do.

Cheers guys