our old zanussi Fl1032 washing machine has started tripping the RCCB on the consumer unit on the hotter washes only, from this I assume its the heater element that's on its way out. can anyone confirm my suspicion or offer any other idea's as to what it could be? If it is the heater element I assume its on the bottom of the drum, is it an easy fix?
Paul
Easy enough if you like that sort of thing. When the instructions say "loosen the nut/bolt and withdraw the element", this should be replaced by "swear loudly and hack at rubber grommit with a Stanley knife before patching wounds at casualty". Apart from that, it is an easy job.
Sometimes mineral insulated heating elements get a bit damp. This can be fixed by sticking it on a 90C wash whilst plugged into a non-RCD circuit. If this doesn't fix it, replace the element.
However, the fact that it only happens on the hot washes could indicate a different problem. For example, most washing machines only hot fill on 60C+ washes. If there was a live-earth fault on the hot fill valve or associated wiring/circuit board track, then this would blow the RCD every time you did a 60C wash.
Christian.
Simple way to test it is to remove the connection from the heater, both of them, and insulate and secure them. If you dont have the ability to do it safely dont do it.
Regards, NT
Thanks for the replies so far, had a look underneath the machine tonight and could see nothing that looks like the heater element, on the base of the drum there are two connector's at a guess possibly a thermostat. looking at the pictures of the element it looks quite large so I am assuming it is fixed either at the front or the back of the drum. at another guess I would say its at the front? next step is to try and get the outer case off, any tips appreciated??
Paul.
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