Indesit washing machine hangs

[Rob Graham]

Our Indesit WG820 washing machine seems reluctant to enter the spin mode. I took the back off to see whether a belt was worn out, but no. I wiggled a few connections to see if they were a bit corroded and tried it and it worked. So I put the back on again and it didn't work. I turned it to the second part of the cycle where there's another spin and it spun - but only after a longer than expected wait. In other words, it seems to me that the controller is OK but the bit that it controls is iffy. Something's causing it to hang and I don't think it's mechanical.

It pumps out OK and when it does spin it spins properly, not hesitantly.

Does anyone have any ideas for me to go on?

Rob Graham

[Ian Jackson]

In message , Rob Graham writes

Your problem rings a bell with me. Do you live in a hard water area?

Some of my problems with washing machines have been with the pressure / fill level sensor switch. This is connected to the drum (near the bottom) by a plastic tube, and responds to the pressure inside - effectively measuring the amount of water in the drum. With mine, the connection to the drum was all 'gundged up with grot'. A good 'poking out' fixed things.

One of the symptoms was that the machine kept filling past the correct level. Another was that it wouldn't spin after the water had been pumped out of the drum.

I think this happened on two occasions. The effect is to confuse the controller, and it doesn't know when it should proceed to the next stage of the cycle.

I've also (twice) had troubles with the temperature sensor. Again, if the correct signals aren't sent to the controller, things don't work.

I don't think that any of my washing machine problems were actually caused by the controller itself.

[Chris]

When mine started to be intermittent on spin it was the motor brushes. I could sometimes coax it into life by tilting the machine slightly and it also seemed to spin OK when I'd taken the load out. It eventually gave up the ghost so I took the motor out - found the brushes were pretty much worn out.. Plenty of online sources for them - I used espares.co.uk and found them very good (I don't get commission from them!)

Chris

[Woody]

Usual problem is the water level (pressure) switch which is telling the brains that the drum is not empty so it does not spin. The device usually looks a bit like a modern single-diapraghm car horn, about three inches or so diameter and often attached to the wash drum (that is the outer drum) by two pipes as it senses both low and high water levels. It may have two or three wires connected.

They are usually relatively inexpensive but can be a b*gg*r to fit.

[Rob Graham]

It looks as though you and Ian are driving down the same road - water level sensing problem. How can I tell if the water level switch is OK or not, other than by getting a new one and seeing if it works?

[Rob Graham]

Ah, but the thing is, spinning is fine if it actually gets to spin. It seems to lack the signal to do so from time to time, though.

[Ian Jackson]

Before worrying about whether the switch is faulty, first check that the connections to the drum aren't blocked. With mine, it was VERY obvious that it was the spigot(?) - where the pipe was attached to the drum - was blocked solid. [One way or another, hard water causes no end of problems.]

The switch (which will be mounted well above 'high water mark), is driven by the air trapped in the pipe. It contains a diaphragm which activates a microswitch.

If you suck and blow (hard) on the connecting pipe, you might hear the switch click. If so, it's probably OK.

The switch should not leak air. If you suck, you should be able to stick your tongue to the pipe (held by the vacuum). If the vacuum doesn't hold, there's a leak, and it's faulty.

It's unlikely that the switch contacts are faulty. They carry very little current, so probably won't have burned out. If you can get the switch clicking, you should be able to do a simple make-break continuity test with a multimeter - or even a bulb and a battery.

But definitely check first for a blockage.

[romic]

It was brushes that used to cause that problem with me. Whenever I got spin problems, I'd check the brushes and every time the brushes had worn. Replacing them did the trick. This was on a Hotpoint and it used to get through no end of brushes.

Check to see if your machine has brushes or has a brushless motor.

Hotpoint and Indesit are the same company, as are Creda etc.

Roger

[Rob Graham]

Thanks for your excellent help here, guys.

I've now had a chance to look at the machine more thoroughly and find that

(a) There is next to no crud in the pipe leading to the pressure switch (b) the pressure switch appears to be OK (c) the motor brushes are fine.

So I'm not really sure what is wrong with it, and anyway, SWMBO has been using it over the W/E with no problems. So it was either a temporary aberration or the pressure switch is not as OK as it seems to be. So I'll see what happens and if it does it again I'll change the pressure switch.

Rob Graham

[Mr Pounder]

Just buy a new one for less than 200 quid.

Mr Pounder

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[Joh]

Worth checking the door catch/switch. we had similar and were a bit stumped, but that's what it was in the end/