Our washing machine has started acting up, the rotary control is turned to the program required then pulled out to start machine. It ticks away and rotates slowly until one particular position being a slowish spin which it does just before picking up speed for a faster spin then rinse etc etc. Problem is it stops at the slow spin and will stay there spinning away, if I manually click the dial round a fraction it continues and completes the program normally. Any suggestions? A spray of WD40 perhaps?
It sounds as though one of the switch panels in the timer unit is faulty, and when the programmer gets to that spot and waits for the switch signal, it just doesn't arrive.
One test I'd like you to try though before I say that the timer is at fault. Remember that the machine will have live power in it when doing this test, so don't touch anything else except the thing I'm going to tell you about.
On the back of the timer unit you'll see two metal disk shaped things. These are the motors that actually make the timer turn in the sequence it should. In the middle of the motors is a little silver coloured pin. This is actually the end of the thing that spins in the middle of the motor.
Now. What you need to do is take the lid off the machine and look on the back of the timer unit for the two motors that I've described above. Once you know what you're looking at for sure, turn the machine on to a normal wash cycle and allow it to go through as normal. When it gets to point where it is sticking I need you to put your finger on the middle pin of the motors, do each one in turn and remember not to touch anything else but one finger to the middle pin of the motors. You should feel both of them turning against your finger. If one of the motors isn't turning, or even vibrating, then you need to turn the machine at the plug, not the timer unit leave it as it is and turn the power off at the plug / socket on the wall.
Once you have the power off you can take the motor out of the unit by pressing the spring clip away from the centre slot and letting it loose. The spring clip is the metal strap that holds the motor to the timer and looks just like a strip of metal with a hole in the middle that you put your finger against the middle of the motor. You can't miss them really.
When you get the motor off the timer unit you can lay it on top of the timer and switch the power back on at the plug. Stay clear of the machine again while you do this. You should now be able to see if the motor is actually turning if its lying on top of timer unit. If it isn't then click the timer on one click like where before to see if the motor starts to turn. If it does then the timer unit is faulty and needs replaced. If it doesn't then the motor could be at fault and you need to remove the other and swap them around to see if the same fault is apparent with the other motor.
If the timer still sticks when you swap the motors around then the whole timer itself is at fault and needs replaced.
Could it be the water level sensor on the back of the drum. On our washing machine, and I think most, there's a pipe which runs from the bottom of the back of the drum up to a pressure sensor mounted higher up. Ours started stalling just before spinning. The cause of the problem was the tube connector at the bottom was full of soap scum thereby fooling the machine into thinking the drum had not drained. It took me about 10 mins to fix. I have been told this is a common fault on automatic washing machines and gives unscrupulous engineers the opportunity to charge the price for a broken controller and gives them a perfectly good spare for free.
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