UKC

Popped on a load earlier today. The machine (Indesit) got half way through a cycle stopped. After much swearing and panicking I was able to recover the half washing soaked clothes.

I then had to drain the machine manually. All good fun so far. Tried popping it on for a quick test spin all i'm getting is the door lock light flashing.

Had a quick read online its scary how much some of the repair bills are.

Had a look on ebay and found there to be a few working second hand Miele's for the average repair bill cost.
So would you have someone have a look and try to fix the problem or replace with a used Miele?

In reply to goldmember:

If it was mine I'd have a google/ask on a few forums to try to find out the problem and check the parts cost online and how easy it would be to replace then decide from there what to do. Buying a second hand one could also end up costing you if it turns out to be a lemon. Good luck, hope you get it sorted

In reply to goldmember:

There is a mountain of information online about washing machine repair. There are also really good online spares suppliers.

Here is a youtube video of a repair to a door interlock fault.

As the video points out, it is a good idea to use photographs to record how things go back together. With phone cameras it is so easy to record every step of the job.

In reply to goldmember:

The first thing I'd check is that the filter or drain isn't blocked. That would stop the machine half way through the wash cycle if it reached the end of the wash phase and couldn't pump out the water. It may be something as simple as fluff stopping the pump impeller. They're usually designed to be accessible from the front of the machine.

In reply to Jim Fraser:

thanks guys just took out the door interlock this along with the wires are burned and melted!

Now to lift the lid to see if the main board is damaged

In reply to goldmember:

Now to lift the lid to see if the main board is damaged

It's probably got two boards.
If so, the one at the top is basically just for the display and function buttons. The main one, will be around the back accessed via a panel.

In reply to FactorXXX:

so do i need to take the lid off?

In reply to FactorXXX:

The lid is off.

I think the main board is fine, just my melted wires and broken interlock.

I think if i replace with
http://www.apart4u.co.uk/parts/c00085194/door-interlock-idc-hl-c00085194
and
http://www.apart4u.co.uk/parts/c00271423/cablage-motor-wash-d-rain-pump-mod...
I could be back in the game soon!

In reply to goldmember:

so do i need to take the lid off?

You might as well as it's easy to do and by doing so you can see inside the machine. The fault might well be with the Console PCB - loose wire, etc. It also gives extra light if you need to delve deeper into the machine at a later stage.
Depending on the model, the display will give you a fault code. The LCD type will display an Fxx code and the LED only type will flash their LED's in a certain sequence. I'm pretty sure the fault codes can be found on the Internet for the Model No of the machine. In this case, it will probably say that the Door Lock is knackered...
If the Console PCB looks OK, have a look at the Main PCB around the back for obvious signs of damage around the connections - Be careful, even with the machine turned off, there is a risk of shock due to capacitors being used. Leave it for at least 30 minutes before putting your hands inside.
If there's no obvious damage there, I suppose changing the door lock is a cheap repair and if it works, all well and good. Just hope there isn't an underlying problem causing it...
I'm not a Washing Machine Repair Man, so take anything I say at your own peril!

In reply to goldmember:

The lid is off.
I think the main board is fine, just my melted wires and broken interlock.

You appear to have fixed it whilst I was writing my rambling reply to you!
Hope it works!

In reply to goldmember:

You could probably replace the burnt parts, but please try to find out why they burnt in the first place. If they simply failed, then all well and good, but if another failed component caused them to overheat, then you need to find it as you have a fire risk. Your home and life are worth more than a washer any day.

At the very least if you fix it, keep an eye on it for a while just to be sure.

There is however deep joy in bringing machines back to life. Good luck.

Thanks folks. Any idea what could have triggered to blow? the machine is about 5/6 year old. with no previous trouble.

I'll watch that machine like a hawk once repaired!

In reply to goldmember:

I assume there are no current recalls on that machine for fire risk faults?

In reply to goldmember:

It's a 5-6 year old indesit... it's what they do.

Mine has taken to not doing the spin at the end of a cycle - I need to manually trigger it.

In reply to Jim C:

The recent one is for dryers - too much lint build up can lead to it touching the heating element

In reply to balmybaldwin:


Ask firemen about tumble dryers!

In reply to goldmember:

Perhaps the OP's breakdown was caused by a fretting cable and a short-circuit?

I had a Hoover, which I had repaired so many times that I knew its workings pretty well. The most frequent causes of "failing to operate" were the carbon motor brushes and the water level sensor. I think I got 17 years out of it before noticing that wiring fixed inside the case had fretted and fretted and the isulation was wearing flat along its length and was about to go through to bare wires. That was when I called time on it and dumped it, with much sadness.

In reply to goldmember:
People think it's crazy holding on to my 20 odd year old service machine but it's things like this which put me off upgrading. She's just got a new door seal and a new lick of paint and that's the only maintenence she's had in her lifetime. It's going to be difficult to get parts when things eventually start to go, unfortunately I didn't have the foresight to start stocking up parts when they were discontinued.

Thankfully I'd learned my lesson by the time they stopped making parts for the Dyson DC01 and snapped up a new motor and some of the chasis components quite cheap for when they eventually break, so much to my girlfriends displeasure we'll be rocking the original Dyson for many many more years to come.

In reply to Sharp:
I had a Dyson. Excellent machine. Never had any trouble in 12 years. Then it sprang a leak. That was the end for an old friend. Couldnt get anyone to look at it. No parts available for a 12 yo dyson.
Bought a cheap hotpoint. Its crap. Broken down twice in two years. And its sooooo slow. And why does it only have a cold water inlet?
You really do get what you pay for

In reply to goldmember:

I'd chuck it.

I know that people seem to cream themselves over "my appliance is X decades old" but reality is that every time you use that old machine you're wasting huge amounts of water and electricity compared to a newer machine not to mention the benefits of modern wash programmes an features.

What to get?

First thing I'd look at is the guarantee period.... 3 years minimum 5 years best, 10 years SILLY see above.
Second programmes and features. Our washing machine can be pre-loaded with 30 odd washes worth of detergent and conditioner so it'll auto take as much or little as needed for the load size i.e. lots of savings.

Brand.... whatever you fancy based on the above.

In reply to PaulTanton:

>why does it only have a cold water inlet?

Legal requirement apparently.

In reply to Sharp:


Yup, I'm one of them. If you can look through the penny pinching meanness of keeping it you'd realise that (as I've already said) you and the environment are paying for it with every wash you do.

In reply to goldmember:

Replace the interlock plug with covered spade connecters - make sure they are in the right order( onto new interlock), Check that there isnt a leak from the door seal onto the interlock.Should be hunky dory after that repair, otherwise the control board down at bottom right is goosed - an expensive repair (BER as we say in the trade, beyond economic repair).Remember when working on the machine to unplug from the mains.

In reply to Indy:

It seems that you are another victim of manufacturers 'newspeak'. They are in the business of selling washing machines and there has been oversupply for many years so they make them crappier so they last less time - they keep the sales figures up. Its a mature market so its all about cost cutting at the same time giving you all the environmental guff about there products. They couldnt care less about all the short lived appliances being scrapped and the cost of this, also for every 3 washing machines bought there is about a cubic metre of polystyrene waste going straight to landfill. Smoke and Mirrors and plenty of snake oil from manufacturers.

In reply to Removed Userjess13:

Manufactures produce what people buy and if people like you are buying cheap and nasty then that is what manufactures will produce. As you your very self said "They [manufacturers] are in the business of selling washing machines" In your world if you buy a cheap and nasty washing machine that breaks down 3 days after the guaranty your first thought will of course be "Gosh must go and buy ANOTHER one from that manufacturer"

A property I bought last year had a Beko washing machine which we used 3 or 4 times. It was loud, took ages and the wash was so so not to mention the crap spin leaving clothes wetter meaning more time and expense in the tumble dryer but hopefully not one of the cheapie ones that burn the house down.

In reply to goldmember:
8 out of 10 times it's motor brushes, 1 out of 10 it's a jammed drain pump, both reparable by anyone who knows which end of a screwdriver to hold.
The other 1 out of 10 I've never come across.

In reply to Indy:

You will only get quality in the upper price range the rest are fighting a price war hence the decline in quality of build and components. To counter this they talk about 'environmental benefits' and put some 'buzzers and bells' on - larger drums up to 11kg but they dont beef up the mechanics to take the extra load,fancy displays (cheap leds). They've all moved on to the extra Warranty malarky - £170 a year- what a rip off, it makes your £200 washing machine into a £370 machine with a 2 year guarantee. You will get a better deal buying a more reliable upmarket machine with no extra Warranty -most of these come with 2 year guarantee anyway. As for the OP if the repair works I would keep the machine, why 'chuck ' it.

In reply to Removed Userjess13:

I've recently bought another Hotpoint after a 20 year old one finally died. It wasn't expensive but wasn't dirt cheap either. Having found it easy to repair that and allied brands because of the good spares system, it seemed the sensible way to go. Most of them are going to have a minor failure because of brushes, microswitches, or door seals long before they start throwing bits of bearing about, so I value good spares availability and signs of good configuration control. Not shy with the tools fortunately.

In reply to goldmember:

Those interlock swi5ches are a terrible design, because when they fail, they seem to go very short circuit, and take out wiring, as you've found. They really should be protected by a fuse, which is rated to protect the wiring (generally what fuses are for). But they aren't...

I replaced the interlock on my old Hotpoint (aka Indesit), and had to repair a track on the control PCB that had acted like a fuse and had blown. It was easy to find... I should have stuck a fuse in the board to protect against future damage, following my own advice above. But...

In reply to Fredt:

My history of Hotpoint repairs (two machines over 30 years):

- blocked water level pressure switch
- replacement brushes (twice)
- door interlock
- all three arms of drum spider corroded through (required new element, new spider and new drum front, but I bought a new such of brushes and bearings at the same time...)

Surprisingly, even though I live in an area of very hard water, the element was spotless after 15 years, and only needed replacing because the unsupported drum wore through it. And the drum front housing. New parts are still readily available and relatively cheap; the spider was about £20, iirc).

In reply to Indy:


Can't really agree with that I'm afraid, not sure how much it cost when it was new but over its life clearly very little per year and a significant money saving as supposed to penny pinching. As for running costs if I was putting on lots of washes every week for kids/family etc then perhaps it would add up. My yearly electricity bill in total isn't even close to the price of some new washing machines and I'm not metered for water. I'm no economics expert but I really don't think I'd save any money buying a new one.

As for the environment id rather keep and repair old stuff than have new parts shipped half way around the world every couple of years, replace the thing every five with a new model built in a developing country by children with whatever plastics are used in its construction and rare metals used in its electronics and touch screens then launch the thing in land fill once one comes out with WiFi.

That's not aimed at you btw but the environment argument is often misguided imo, in the west were all ripping the environment to pieces with every breath we take, I make myself feel better with my old washingmachine and others make themselves feel better with their new washing machine but in reality were talking about a drop in the ocean. I drive and buy stuff in plastic, those two things dwarf the damage my one wash a week does to the environment.

In reply to Sharp:

I'm minded to agree. Electric motor and heating element efficiencies haven't really improved dramatically in the last twenty years. And I'm not entirely convinced about huge water savings. For my low use, with mostly 40C cycles, I suspect keeping my old machine going is more environmentally friendly.

In reply to goldmember:

Washing machines and in particular microwave ovens have capacitors that can hold a very high voltage well after the power has been turned off.

Use extreme caution.

In reply to DancingOnRock:

old parts out and new ones in. Jobs a goodin! very happy!

In reply to goldmember:

We've just had exactly the same issue.

A year or two ago the heater went, I replaced it but is went again, so we had a year of cold washes (the temperature setting dial has to be set to the lowest otherwise it just sits there).

We ended up getting a Beko £219 from AO and it's great, we can have conversations in the kitchen while it's spinning at 1500 rpm, we had to shout with te old one.

In reply to goldmember:

To those with Dyson washing machines - I have an aquaintance whose hobby / beer money generator is repairing dyson washing machines, he can fix yours when they go, alternatively will buy them off you for spares. He says unlike most machines, they're actually properly engineered and popular with people who do serious washing (rugby kits, horse blankets etc.). Don't wash delicate things with them though, the contra-rotating drums rip them up because the fine material can get past the seals. Cotton items are no trouble.