Suggestions for diagnosing washing machine fault

Mee

Hi All,

My Indesit washing machine of 7 years has developed a fault (its first) and I wondered what websites others found useful for diagnosing and purchasing spares.

My W/M won't agitate or spin - will take on load and drain water only.

I opened the back to see whether I could spot an obvious cause. The fan belt is in place but I noticed lots of carbon/soot on the back.
Some of the websites I've checked suggest it might be carbon brushes. Before I take my W/M apart I thought I should check here for advice about fault diagnoses and parts.

I'm a little nervous about taking it a part so please be gentle...

Thank you

EssexExile

Carbon brushes is indeed a likely cause, it's probably worth getting a pair for about £10, if it's not that you haven't lost too much.

espares.co.uk, spares4appliances.co.uk, 4ourhouse.co.uk

Find a video on YouTube & don't forget to unplug it first!

CathA

I'll second that^^^, certainly sounds like the carbon brushes. I had that with my washing machine years ago, easy enough to change. Just be aware that they are easy to break.

Mee

EssexExile wrote: »

Carbon brushes is indeed a likely cause, it's probably worth getting a pair for about £10, if it's not that you haven't lost too much.

espares.co.uk, spares4appliances.co.uk, 4ourhouse.co.uk

Find a video on YouTube

Thank you for the websites. I have found one or two YouTube videos (including an Espares one) which have given me some confidence. Will watch a few more times before taking the plunge.

& don't forget to unplug it first!

Good reminder - did so before opening the back of my W/M the other night.


Any MSE ideas on buying a bolt wrench - I don't have one...?

tonyh66

before you buy brushes, can you rotate the drum by hand? if yes then it is probably the brushes. If no then it could be a seized bearing or a jammed drum and a slipping belt may have cause the 'carbon'.

Mee

tonyh66 wrote: »

before you buy brushes, can you rotate the drum by hand? if yes then it is probably the brushes. If no then it could be a seized bearing or a jammed drum and a slipping belt may have cause the 'carbon'.

Yes, drum does move freely by hand.
However, I did notice the belt whilst on the bolt was near the end of the bolt. Should it be at the beginning, or middle?

Given its age would it be wise to replace the brushes if worn?

Thank you.

poppellerant

Even if you spent £25 on brushes to get the machine running again, that has to be worth it over buying a new washing machine.

It is important that, after changing the brushes, you run the machine EMPTY on a nice long cottons cycle - feel free to use this opportunity to use citric acid (or other washing machine cleaner) on a boil wash. During this cycle the machine is going to sound tinny and will do so for a few more wash cycles. But it is important that you do only small loads until the tinniness sound has gone - this can take maybe 5 small, complete cycles.

Mee

poppellerant wrote: »

Even if you spent £25 on brushes to get the machine running again, that has to be worth it over buying a new washing machine.

It is important that, after changing the brushes, you run the machine EMPTY on a nice long cottons cycle - feel free to use this opportunity to use citric acid (or other washing machine cleaner) on a boil wash. During this cycle the machine is going to sound tinny and will do so for a few more wash cycles. But it is important that you do only small loads until the tinniness sound has gone - this can take maybe 5 small, complete cycles.

Thank you, I would have never had picked up this info. elsewhere.
I normally use white vinegar in place of fabric conditioner, and white vinegar & bicarbonate soda for a service wash - will that do?

poppellerant

Mee wrote: »

Thank you, I would have never had picked up this info. elsewhere.
I normally use white vinegar in place of fabric conditioner, and white vinegar & bicarbonate soda for a service wash - will that do?

I'm not quite sure about the bicarb, but the vinegar will help descaling and freshen the machine up.

If you have a Wilko in your town, you can buy citric acid for about £1.50 a box. I only use it once or twice a year and use the entire contents each time.

Mee

Update:

Just thought I would share some thoughts on what I learned from repairing my washing machine.

1. Do the prep and research – read model manual; follow basic health & safety guidance; make good use of the MSE forums and business chat services
2. If you have no Internet access at home copy video transcripts, and look for diagrams…
3. Think about how you’re going to disconnect your washing machine

- Know how to deal with the inlet hose and waste pipe connections (see your model manual)
- know about isolation valves and/or where your stopcock is.
- It's useful to have a blanking cap or two to hand for the under sink trap
- Remember to look for the water inlet hose seal - mine fell into a black bucket of the same colour!
4. Have screw/winch tools to hand especially if you need to remove the motor etc.
5. I found keeping all screws and bolts and connections in a tub makes life and reconnecting easier!
6. It took me a week to pluck-up the courage to remove the motor! When I did I wondered why I was so afraid…Part of the dithering was due to my concern about how I was going to get at the motor – I decided to follow the advice on one video about tilting the machine at an angle. I found a solid piece of furniture to lean it against. Of course if you have someone helping you that may be a better option. NB See videos and posts here about disconnecting the motor.
7. Beware the motor may drop to the floor when you unscrew it!
8. If you diagnose carbon brush failure and wish to replace them like me:
- note positioning of carbon brushes in situ – take photos/ mark, but there are videos out there…
- I remove one and checked if worn – I left the other in situ whilst I sourced replacements.
- note motor type (CESET; Welling etc.) as well as model of washing machine. NB. I checked with Indesit about the carbon brushes for my model of washing machine and asked how I could be 100% sure they were correct – they said I needed to check the type of motor. They could only supply ones for CESET motors - mine is a Welling motor!
- once I knew the motor type I found it a little easier to track down carbon brushes.
- I found buying the carbon brush holder sets at a reasonable cost and reliable delivery difficult. In the end I decided to buy carbon inserts only and via Amazon (cheaper RM postage). The latter is also problematic and I am not 100% convince they are of the quality of the ones they replaced and will last any length of time.
- check the slope and dimensions of the carbon inserts before buying.
- I found it impossible to source c/bs locally which is a great shame.
- I found re-fitting the motor a little tricky as I don’t have the best upper body strength even for my gender.
9. Refitting the fan belt has left me with bruises, and it seemed more difficult getting it on and refitting correctly than taking out the motor! I watched YouTube videos repeatedly on this aspect alone! NB See videos listed and posts here about refitting fan belts.
10. I ran a test spin (spin cycle) to check the fan belt was on properly (as advised in one YouTube video) and of course to check it was working!
11. Ran a daily wash/short wash to checked water connections were working for my own peace of mind.
12. Ran an empty cotton wash with critic acid (as suggested here) before loading again.

Cost
Blanking cap £1.29 (Wickes)
Bolt winch - £1.00 (Poundland) – useless – used a cycle tool instead.
Carbon brush inserts - £9.99 + £1.50 pp
Hours of dithering, watching videos, and hand washing (wear gloves if can, but can be too fiddly).

Websites I found useful:

For Advice

MSE Forum – thanks everyone.

How to Disconnect a Washing Machine (London Plumber)
[URL="Machineshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQKlCBxZdn0&list=PLnAHZbSarsyEH9JhyBqKCJL-UL0EsCpdt"]How to Replace Different Types of Carbon Brushes on Washing Machine[/URL] (how-2-repair.com)
An all-rounder and relevant to my model
How to replace washing machine motor carbon brushes C.E.SET Hotpoint, Indesit, Scholtes & Ariston (How-2-repair.com) excellent zoom-in shots and on refitting fan belts etc.
How to Replace the Carbon Brushes on a Hoover Washing Machine (eSpares)
Good explanation and zoom-in features
How to replace the belt on a Hotpoint WMA58 washing machine - the quick and easy cable tie method
Not tried personally, but plenty of comments from others…

NB. Most give good health and safety guidance, e.g. turning off electric connections, sharpness of door edges etc.

Purchasing carbon brushes

Ransom Spares

http://www.how-to-repair.com – good chat and email enquiry service

spares4appliances.co.uk
Had best match for carbon brush holder sets and competitively priced.

Indesit Services
Swift replies to emails and good chat service
Manufacturer of washing machine is not necessarily the most expensive, but may not have the part you need as was the case with Indesit. Indesit also use Hermes delivery service!

NB. Even the best websites have some really poor images and lack true dimension details.


NB Not sure why this text is italicised and have tried to correct.

EssexExile

I'm sorry, I can't resist - was the motor very heavy?