My first washing machine repair!

[TonyDuell]

Oh absolutely. I can remember (about 40 years ago) buying untested transistor radios, etc from shops in the Edgware Road, or from Proops, and being very upset if they worked when I put batteries in them. I didn't want a radio, I wanted a puzzle to solve.

Incidentally, I have no idea what the fault was with the washing machine that started this thread, but I have found that very often you can repair rather than replace a 'module' no matter what the manufactuers say. Sometimes all that is needed on a water control unit or similar are a few standard O-rings. If your time is cheap (or like mine worthless) it can be the sensible thing to do.

[threeseven]

In my case the water distribution unit is relatively complex. It has a motor which actuates various linkages through gears, switches etc. Also the casing was heat welded together.
I did contemplate having a nose inside but the priority was getting the machine back in working order asap for my mum.
I visit twice a week and only have limited time to work through my various tasks so the uncertainty that I could repair the existing unit in a relatively quick time, if at all, dictated that I just replace it.
The failed unit is in the garage so I might have a look inside to determine the cause of failure.
Due to this incident I recalled that I stripped down the machine the AEG replaced and I still have the control board! I had the motor until a few years ago but a friend nagged me for it as he wanted to make a metal polisher.
I'll dig out that control board out of curiosity.

[Zelandeth]

Good on you for having a go and getting it running again.

I was staggered a couple of months ago when asked to look at a friend's tumble drier which had died, and I discovered that it was absolutely jam packed full of electronics, not limited to but including an ATMega32 on what I think was the main control board. I couldn't help but feel that this was a certain amount of overkill for a humble tumble drier. Especially one which didn't have any fancy displays, a million buttons or touch screens or anything which would need something like that to drive it.

Never did figure out what had happened, but there had been some overvoltage/flashover somewhere which had nuked virtually every bit of silicon in the machine. Sadly there was so much damage that it was impossible to have any hope of tracking down what had actually happened - and suffice to say that I had to admit defeat and declare the machine BER.

I did get myself some pipework, a load of good quality high temperature silicone covered wire, a handy little sump pump and a centre-tapped 3kW heater block which has proven a handy ballast for a couple of experiments, so at least bits of it live on. Would have had the motor as well but couldn't get it out without completely stripping down the chassis. I guess that's what I get for spending a childhood taking things to bits and watching Scrapheap Challenge.

It's always nice to have a go at something like this and to win though, think it's just the mindset of people like us!

Likewise a couple of months ago my finding a petrol lawnmower at the side of the road, and seeing it as a challenge rather than a bit of rubbish. Couple of days later and three quid of parts later, it was up and running like a dream and I had a smile on my face.

[AC/HL]

As I understand it, the newer machines from the Manufacturers often Lauded in the past, whilst still being at a premium price, are not what they once were. Modern economics may have intervened, for better or worse. If you have an old stalwart, and are able to maintain it, fair enough, but you can't blame people for going with the flow. C'est la vie.

[G6Tanuki]

Manufacturers - even 'premium' brands - have always occasionally produced duds [look at the sad history of HMV and their "1807" TV in the immediate post-WWII era]. Then, as mentioned, there is 'brand-trading' where a company goes bust and someone else buys the brandname then sticks it on other gear [Who actually makes Maytag or Whirlpool appliances these days?]

When it comes to appliance repairs, 'hard' parts like bearings and belts are very often 'commodity' items but again these come in different qualities and are subject to extensive offshore brand-counterfeiting [just because the bearing-box says SKF or Timken or NSK on the box doesn't mean what's in the box was made by them] - developing a good relationship with a local industrial-bearings supplier is worthwhile as they'll often help you match your failed part to something they have in their catalogs, often at a far-lower price than 'manufacturer supplied' parts too.

Electronics are more of a problem - trying to identify a triac on a charred circuit-board is not my idea of fun. Mouse-chewed insulation or water-level-sense pipes are usually obvious and easy/quick to fix, however.

But there again for something like a washing-machine I'm never really that interested in fixing them if the fix is going to take much time. My last waashing/machine/tumble-drier/fridge were scrapped while they still worked (not perfectly, they had a dose of the rumbles-and-screeches) simply because the kitchen was being refurbished and the old machines wouldn't fit the new units neatly.

[Maarten]

European Whirlpool appliances are mostly still made by former Philips factories. Some series are developed and produced by Bauknecht (I think mostly tumble dryers and a few types of washing machines), others are developed and produced by IRE (the former Ignis works). Fridges are from IRE as well, also Whirlpool corporate headquarters is in an old IRE location. Some of the more expensive microwave ovens are still manufactured in Norrköping, Sweden as far as I know.

I would buy their fridges and microwaves without a doubt, but I don't know about their washing machines.

[threeseven]

Had a poke at the failed part and it was the actuator motor, OC.

[jjl]

Originally Posted by Zelandeth

I was staggered a couple of months ago when asked to look at a friend's tumble drier which had died, and I discovered that it was absolutely jam packed full of electronics, not limited to but including an ATMega32 on what I think was the main control board. I couldn't help but feel that this was a certain amount of overkill for a humble tumble drier. Especially one which didn't have any fancy displays, a million buttons or touch screens or anything which would need something like that to drive it.

I design control systems for a living. I haven't designed a tumble dryer or washing machine, but if I were called upon to do so, my first choice would be to consider using a single chip microcontroller with suitable peripheral functions.
My company sells some 10s of thousands of units of products a year, each unit using one or more microcontrollers with functions that would suit a washing machine e.g. several digital I/Os, 1 or 2 A/D converters, a motor drive etc. Such a microcontroller may cost, perhaps £1 each in these volumes.
It's very hard to argue against the use of devices that can interface directly to the power devices for motor drives, panel switches that can be fitted or not, displays that can be fitted or not etc.

John

[mark pirate]

It looks like I will need to have a go at repairing my Indesit WM12X washing machine. it is a built in type, so a replacement machine would cost over £300!

It must be around seven years old now. Although still working fine, it sounds like the drum bearing is on it's way out
I guess this will entail a lot of dismantling (and swearing!). I will find out what the replacement parts are likely to cost.

Mark

[emeritus]

We are fortunate to still have a local white goods repair shop, run by two brothers. When my the motor-driven mechanical timer on my mother's then- 15 year old Hotpoint failed (beyond repair due to a bad contact on the spade terminal that switched the heater element having cooked the surrounding plastic housing) they confirmed that a replacement was still available from Hotpoint at just over £100 (plus VAT), but sold me a second-hand one for £20 (with 6 month guarantee) that saw her out.

[Beobloke]

I'm an electronic engineer by trade/qualification and a fiddler by nature so I can only applaud all the people on here who are keeping these old-timers going.

However, every time I've changed a washing machine for something newer, the replacement machine has never failed to wash quicker, quieter, more efficiently and use less detergent, water and electricity.

Consequently, I'm afraid to say I wouldn't bother personally...

[threeseven]

Undoubtedly true but it takes a long time to recover any cost saving of a new machine by virtue of it's cost. More viable for a family though as their usage is much higher.

[trsomian]

One of the reasons I will try to keep my nearly 30 year old Hoover going is that is a hot fill machine, whereas nearly all modern ones are cold only fill. Having a water heating solar panel, hot water is nearly free, so heating cold water in the washing machine is expensive

[Beobloke]

Originally Posted by trsomian

One of the reasons I will try to keep my nearly 30 year old Hoover going is that is a hot fill machine, whereas nearly all modern ones are cold only fill. Having a water heating solar panel, hot water is nearly free, so heating cold water in the washing machine is expensive

Actually, this is one thing that does puzzle me about modern machines. Although they use much less energy than their older counterparts, they are invariably cold fill only. Surely they'd use even less if they had a hot fill, too?

[dave walsh]

I'd wondered if this cold fill only move related to the volume of European imports as I understand that countries [such as Germany?] have a cold wash tradition with appropriate detergents. Or maybe it's something to do with direct feed plumbing systems "abroad" without storage? I've no real idea No change there. When I bought my last washer and found there was only a cold input, I thought I'd been duped at first until I realised it was pretty much the norm these days. Only recently, I could only convince my wife that the state of the hot water did not influence putting on a wash by demonstrating that the tank was still very hot despite all the W Machine usage [by me] that was going on!

I very much admire anyone who can ingeniously keep old technology going as described. It's really satisfying and I've managed a few things my self but not white goods and not where I'm unlikely to be around safety wise to keep an eye out!.

I bought a new tumble dryer in Rammy last year and the old one [which had lost heat not good re a dryer] was immaculate inside after 15 years. I did some work and research on it but the elements seemed ok despite not heating up. I was on the Internet at the Library and had to have it running while testing back at the house, it was all a bit much as I ran out of time so had to buy a new one. I was very unhappy about this though.

As for the earlier comments re washers and getting long term guarantees etc I'm afraid I haven't the patience for all that especially as there doesn't seem to be so much of a difference if you buy cheap and cheerfull. Maybe I've been lucky or don't give them the hammering that some people seem to. What you get from a low priced high tech import these days was only available through very high end machines eg Zanussi years ago. They said their technology was out of this world in the space ads but so was the price

Dave

[Station X]

This thread has now reached the end of the final spin cycle.