washing m/c door interlock.

[Arthur 51]

Hi all. If the door interlock is removed will the machine still work?

Thanks.

Arthur

[gazz]

prolly depends how you remove it, if you just remove the mechanical bits and leave the wires dangeling, prolly not,

you may find the interlock mechanism also does the door closed sensor, so you'd need to ensure the door closed sensing bit still does it's job, and maybe add a resistor to the interlock wires to make it think it's still operating the solenoid.

i am most likely talking bollox by the way, i've never looked at the interlock bits in a washing machine, i have no desire to open the door whilst it's on my self, and i dunno why you want to either, but i'm guessing your interlock is playing up or something?

[Harry Stottle]

Most washing machine door interlocks break the live feed, acting like a switch, so if that switch is bridged out, the machine will work, but not safely, because with the interlock removed, the drum will spin, fill with water, heat, and flood with the door open, so not a good idea. Some interlocks also incorporate a lock mechanism that operates by water pressure, so the door cannot be opened whilst the machine contains water, and if the interlock is removed it leaves an open pipe which will leak water. Most, if not all, will contain a thermal delay to prevent opening the door whilst the machine is still spinning, this is to prevent someone diving in to remove the clothes when the cycle has finished, but before the drum has stopped rotating, which could result in a broken arm. The door interlock serves a very useful purpose, and with a new one only costing a few pounds, it must be a better bet to replace it than remove and bodge it.

[Arthur 51]

The problem I have is... Yesterday I did a wash followed by a tumble dry cycle. When long after it was finished, the door wouldn't open. I pulled the plug but it continued to be locked. I left it till this morning to try again..still locked. I then put the plug back in and still locked. I was too afraid to tell the wife. However, I went into the kitchen later to find the washing that had been stuck inside was now in the laundry basket. The lock had become released since I last tried it.

It did this to a lesser degree last week after a domestic appliance engineer changed the lock. before they left they let the machine run empty but after it finished it wouldn't open. I called them back the next morning and you know it...the engineer opened the door as easy as you like.

Arthur

[Harry Stottle]

If it does this again, just try firmly pressing the door in where the catch fits, then operating the catch again, some interlocks can bind and doing this can release them.

[Jon Fairbairn]

Another possible issue is that some machines have a delay after they stop before they permit the door to open. If it does, perhaps it's the delay timer that's on the blink?

[Dave Liquorice]

The door opened by itself and the washing made it own way into the laundry basket? I suspect "operator error" rather than anything wrong with the lock/latch. They can be a sticky, pushing the door closed against the rubber seal ensures there is pressure on the latch which can stop it releasing unless that pressure is removed by pushing the door by the latch.

[John]

My daughter's Hotpoint has a device that touches the belt - I guess it is to sense when it last moved - to start some sort of timer device. Not sure how it works but it could cause trouble.

[Harry Stottle]

This delay is/was usually due to a bi-metal thermal switch built into the interlock, when the cycle has finished, no power is fed to the lock and the thermal switch cools allowing the door to open. Now that the machines are more electronicised, this could have changed, but this is how it used to be.

PS electronicised fooled the spell checker, it couldn't even offer an alternative :-)

[Steve Walker]

And bloody annoying these delays are - our machine has a countdown timer and if you're waiting to put a second load in, you see it reach zero, the machine stops and it then won't let you open the door for another three minutes. Twenty seconds would be more than adequate.

SteveW

[Owain]

Must have been a Miele :-)

Owain

[Andy Champ]

I suggest you find a different way to help the missus around the house as obviously neither she nor the machine appreciate your efforts!

Andy

[Dave Liquorice]

On our old Hotpoint it was just a free swinging pecker that pushed against the belt. If the belt wasn't moving the pecker stayed vertical and mechanically allowed the door to open. If the belt was moving the pecker didn't remain vertical and the door could not be opened. There was an electrical interlock as well, so you couldn't open the door during a static part of the cycle.