WASHING MACHINE HELP!
Warning - always disconnect appliances from the power supply before beginning your maintenance!
It leaks water from the door...
It turns slowly and there are flashing blue lights underneath it...
It goes off with a tremendous bang and flash from somewhere round the back...
It is leaping round the kitchen like a dalek on a pogo stick...
It won't fill up - but I can hear water going in...
Nothing happens when I switch the machine on...
Indesit Evolution WE 16 - F10 Error...
So it's flooding your house...
The water supply into the machine goes through an electrically controlled valve just inside the casing where the red and/or blue hose is attached. Try switching the machine off, either on the machine control panel or at the wall socket (this should cause the valve to close). Take care...if you are really awash..to avoid electric shocks. Switch off the mains supply to the house if necessary...that's the big switch on the fuse box near your electricity meter. (Print this page and find a torch first!) Then, go back and unplug the wretched machine. After that, it's probably OK to put the main switch at the fuse box back on again providing water hasn't got into the house wiring.
What ? Water is still pouring out? The water supply to your machine probably comes through a red or blue (or both) plastic hose(s) ...trace that back until you find the other end , where there should be a knob you can twist a quarter turn to cut off the water supply. Or there may be a red wheel on a valve which you can close by turning clockwise.
Still flooding ? If you are sure that the water coming out isn't just the last of the water that was already in the machine, you'll need to turn off the water coming into the house. Somewhere under your kitchen sink is the place where the water supply pipe (called the Rising Main) usually enters the house. There is usually a tap called a stop-cock there which turns off the water supply into your house. Turn it clockwise (when facing the bit you turn) to turn it off....Hint - when opening it afterwards, open it fully, then turn it back a quarter turn. That way, the next time you need to turn it it will turn both ways, and you will know that you can't turn it the "wrong way" and break it off.
Oh no there isn't...well then you probably have a stop cock elsewhere, outside, in your garden or street, under a 5" square cast iron plate and a few feet down (mind the toads!) where you can turn the water off using the "tommy bar" - a T-shaped tool about 4 feet long with a "claw" on the end which you last saw years ago in the garage. The valve at the bottom of the hole has a ridge along the top, which is the bit that you turn. Clear the muck from it and turn it 90 degrees ( a quarter turn) either way to cut off the water supply to your house. It is sometimes very hard to turn.
So, having stopped the flow, was the escaping water clean or sudsy?
This should indicate whether it is coming from the feed pipe before it enters the drum (clean) or from a leaking pump hose or main rubber seal (sudsy).
If it is clean...If the water coming out looks like clean water, as opposed to sudsy water from the washing process, it could be a feed pipe from the electrically controlled valve leaking. This is usually a small rubber pipe about 1/2" (12 mm) diameter, which runs from the electrically operated inlet valve to the plastic drawer or box on the front where you put the washing powder in. On the way, it sometimes passes the big concrete block bolted to the machine to keep it steady while spinning, or one of the powerful springs which hold the drum away from the casing. You will almost certainly need to take off the back cover and the top cover from the machine to get access. Look at this pipe and see if it has worn through where it has been rubbed by the spring or the concrete block. If so, you will need to get a length of replacement hose from your nearest repair shop. Try to take the old pipe with you - you will need to take it off anyway, unless you can get a couple of joining adapters to insert a short new length where the damage was. If the damage is very close to one end, you might just be able to cut the pipe back to the damaged bit and reconnect it as a shorter pipe, but the manufacturers are not usually that generous. Don't make the new pipe so short that it gets tight when the drums heaves forward - push and pull the drum around on its springs to make sure it is slack at all times, then tie or tape it out of harms way so it doesn't wear through like the old one did.
If it is sudsy...then it is probably coming from a damaged main seal or one of the bigger pipes down near ground level.
Check the main rubber seal. This is the grey rubber thing that connects the pretty outside box of the machine with the inner chamber where the drum goes round. Get a torch and examine it carefully for tears and holes. Feel in the groove at the bottom - you'll probably come out a few coins better off, you might also find nails and other sharp objects in among the disgusting grey gunge. These may have caused the rubber to be torn, or there may be a tear elsewhere. If you find one, you will probably need to buy a new seal from your local spares shop. The seal is usually held on by a couple of huge worm-drive (Jubilee) clips, which may also need to be replaced if too rusty to re-use. When fitting a new seal, spread a little soap or washing up liquid on the seal surface which touches the casing, to allow it to slip on easily. Make sure it is not twisted before tightening up the new retaining clips, and make sure the clip tightener is easily accessible - not round the side where you can't get a screwdriver at it.
If it is just the part of the seal where the glass door presses which has been torn by the zip on those jeans as you stuffed them in, and only a small amount of water leaks out from the door itself, you may be able to repair the tear with "Superglue". Read the safety instructions on the glue bottle. Both sides of the tear must be cleaned and dried, and after applying a few drops of the superglue you will need to press and hold the two sides of the tear together for about a minute, carefully aligned so there isn't a difference in levels. Think about how you are going to do that without getting it on your fingers, before you start. Two pairs of pliers, maybe, with a trace of oil on the jaws to prevent any surplus glue sticking the pliers to the seal? When you have successfully fixed the tear, leave it for half an hour before wiping off any excess glue or closing the door. Put a smear of soap or oil on the glass door where it touches the repaired area of seal, before testing your workmanship by using the machine. This should prevent any sneaky drops of glue from bonding the glass door to the newly repaired seal!
Door seal OK? "Yes but it still leaks through that area"...well, carefully check the "glass" door, where it presses against the seal, for anything stuck to it, especially at the bottom. Wipe it clean with a damp cloth.It could be a damaged or perished hose down at the bottom. Pull out the machine so you can tilt it back onto a cardboard box, or a friend , or anything that prevents it falling completely onto its back.You may need to disconnect the water supply (blue and red) and waste (grey, ribbed) pipes to enable this. Be sure to turn off the valves first. Underneath, there should be a collection of black rubber pipes about 2 " (50 mm) diameter which are the entrails of the machine. OK, looking at the intestines of your machine try to work out which tube comes from the washing drum and goes to the (usually) black thing with a little propellor on the end, which is the pump. This will have two big rubber hoses coming and going, held on with spring clips. One of these will go to the drum where the washing takes place, and the other will go to the place on the back of the casing where it is connected to the outlet hose which goes to your drain or connection to the kitchen sink waste pipe. If these are letting the water out, you will need to get a replacement hose from the spares shop. If you are old enough to have a bicycle puncture repair outfit, you could try using that, but the repair probably won't last long. To remove a spring clip, squeeze the sticky out bits together with a pair of large pliers, or Mole grips or similar; this makes the clip's size get bigger, so it goes slack - now slide it along the hose away from the thing they are connected to. When refitting, add a smear of soap to the inside of the hose to help it slide fully on to the short plastic stub pipe on the pump or whatever it is connected to.
It won't pump out...
Washing children's clothes or other smalls? Could be a sock (that's the favourite) has got out of the drum and blocked the system. First though, check the filter. Somewhere on the front of the washing machine, down near ground level, you will see a little door hiding a circular thingy which can be removed with (usually) a partial turn to the left. DON'T touch it until you have a bowl or basin or some other way (towels, floor cloths, cut-off plastic lemonade bottle, etc.) of collecting the water - several litres - ready to put in front of it...ready?...then twist to the left and pull out slowly. You might be rewarded with a semicircular trough container a variety of things you thought you'd never see again (nor want to) and a child's sock, or some other hapless creature..PLUS... much of the water in the washing machine. When it's all over, clean out the plastic thing you pulled out, taking care to clean the sealing gasket or rubber ring if there is one, and replace it, turning it the opposite way to lock it in again.
That didn't make any difference?...
Well, it was worth a try. Now you have got to get at the underneath of the beast. Pull out the machine so you can tilt it back onto a cardboard box, or a friend , or anything that prevents it falling completely onto its back. Underneath, you should be able to see a collection of black rubber pipes about 2 " (50 mm) diameter which are the entrails of the machine. You may need to disconnect the water supply (blue and red) and waste (grey) pipes to enable this, as described above. Be sure to turn off the valves first. OK, looking at the intestines of your machine try to work out which tube comes from the washing drum and goes to the (usually) black thing with a little propellor on the end, which is the pump. A give-away tip is to try gently to turn the propellor on the outside of the pump. If it won't turn round, then you can be pretty sure the pump has bitten off more than it can chew. The pump will have two rubber hoses coming and going, held on with spring clips. If you have a large pair of pliers, hens legs, or a Mole Wrench, you can squeeze the ends of the spring clip together and pull it back along the rubber hose a few inches, away from the pump. It can be tricky as the clip will keep jumping out of the pliers jaws. Once done, you can ease the rubber hose off the connecting stub pipe on the pump to reveal the culprit grey sock (or worse). Joy? Remove the blockage and check for more with your torch. Sometimes there are more socks in the rubber pipe, and something else stuck in the pump itself. Pull it out with the pliers if necessary. Try to feel for foreign bodies by squeezing the rubber pipes. When you think you have it all cleared, clean the end of the grey ribbed outlet hose that goes to the drain and try blowing through it. If that prospect appals you, use some disinfectant and wrap a hanky over the end of the hose. There should be no noticeable resistance when you blow, and the air should come out at the end of the hose near the pump. The little propellor should turn easily, and you should be able to see something turning inside the pump too. If all seems well, reassemble by retracing your steps.
It turns slowly and there are flashing blue lights underneath it...
Warning - always disconnect (unplug) electrical appliances from the power supply before starting your examination!
...most washing machine motors have "brushes" - chunks of carbon 1/4" (6 mm) or more square and maybe 1" (25 mm) long which carry the electricity to the bit of the motor in the middle which goes round. These brushes run inside square metal guides or tubes, and are held in place by springs. The carbon slowly wears away and eventually isn't long enough to make a good electrical contact with the copper "commutator". That's when the blue lights appear, along with reduced motor performance. The carbon brush usually has a bit of very supple copper braid bonded into the outer end, which is usually connected to an electrical terminal. The best course of action is to figure out how to remove one of the old brushes, and take it along to your spares shop. Even if the shop doesn't have brushes for your exact model, they will probably have some that are the same size. The carbon compound is similar to pencil lead, and you can sand and cut it if necessary. Be careful to note, if the end is not square but chisel-shaped, which way into the holder it should go. That's why I suggested you remove only one brush to start with. Once you know what you need to know, you can carefully remove the other brush and find out! That should have fixed the blue lights, and I can only hope that the copper commutator - the metal cylinder with slots in it that the brushes push onto - wasn't too badly damaged. I don't know how to fix them.
It goes off with a tremendous bang and flash from somewhere round the back...BACK TO MAIN PAGEWarning - always disconnect appliances from the power supply before removing covers...yet it still seems to work! When this happened to my machine I eventually traced the fault to a shiny metal cylinder about 4" (100 mm) long inside the casing just where the mains electrical supply comes in. This cylinder was, in my case, a "capacitor" designed to minimise electrical interference. I couldn't see anything wrong at first, but then I noticed a thin black line down one side - a crack in the capacitor's metal container. I replaced the capacitor with a new part and all was well. (To tell the truth, my machine worked fine without one for weeks, but the telly wasn't too pretty when the washing machine was on, so I'm not recommending that.)
It is leaping round the kitchen like a dalek on a pogo stick...
That heavy chunk of concrete (or cast iron) has finally let go of the drum casing. If you look inside the back of the machine, you might just see it lying there on the floor. There might be broken mounting brackets you can get welded back on, or bolts you can replace, depending on what has failed. I welded mine myself 7 years ago, and it is still going strong. Your mileage may differ!
If the weights have not fallen off, it is possible that the springs holding the drum centrally in the casing have come off, or broken. You may be able to get new spares, but I always got my parts from the scrap yard. These springs are extreeemely strong...take care when trying to remove or fit them!
It won't fill up - the water just seems to go straight out again...
This happens if the outlet hose - the grey ribbed one that goes to the drain, is not raised up enough at the back of the machine. Most makers suggest that it must rise up at least 2 feet or 600 mm otherwise, you're right - it just goes straight out again. This is more likely to happen if the hose goes straight to the drain, rather than via a connection on the kitchen sink pipework. Check round the back of the machine - there is often a curved pipe support near the top of the back of the casing - if there is one, make sure the outlet (waste) hose passes over the top of it.
It won't fill up, full stop...
Check that you have a cold water supply elsewhere in your property - like the loo. If that is OK, check that the inlet hose is connected, and the valve turned on. Set it to the start of the wash programme when you would expect it to fill with water and switch it off at the wall socket. Switch it back on again and listen for a click near the back of the machine - if the electrically operated inlet valve is working you should hear something. If you can, and if you are satisfied that there is water getting to the back of the machine, perhaps the valve, or that little gauze filter where you screw on the water supply hose, is blocked. I can't think of any other reason for it not filling! Except - if the local water supply has been interrupted for repairs - your main stop cock may be clogged with grit - go and open it fully - then turn it back a quarter turn.
Nothing happens when I switch it on...
Make sure the door is properly closed - give it an extra push - there is usually an interlock system to make sure you can't start it up with the door open! If absolutely nothing still happens, no lights come on, nothing at all, first check the fuse in the plug.While doing so, check that all the terminals are screwed up tightly. The neutral terminal (in my experience) has the greatest tendency to come loose. This is usually manifested by golden brown scorch marks around the terminal inside the plug, and perhaps a burned off end of the wire. If you don't have a multimeter to test the fuse (its resistance should be virtually zero), try a different fuse of the correct rating (usually 13 Amp). If necessary , remove one from another appliance that you know works. If it still doesn't work even with a fuse you know to be good, try putting the plug in a different socket. If it still doesn't go, suspect the cable or connectors inside the machine casing. Remember, always disconnect the plug from the socket before attempting electrical investigations. By now you should have located the problem!
Indesit Evolution F10 Error...
I've had mine for about 4 years and it has only had light use. One day it stopped in mid-cycle with an F10 error code flashing on the lcd display. Bummer! I read the instruction book which told me that there was a problem with the cold water supply. I dragged the machine out and checked the hoses, disconnected them, checked the gauze filter - everything OK. I then spent several hours Googling around the various forums, all of which were lists of questions without answers. I evetually emailed the Indesit / Hotpoint service hotline, and after a few days got a reply telling me that the problem was with the pressure sensor, which could be replaced if I booked an engineer visit for a mere £90. Thanks Indesit! I checked the pressure sensor just under the lid of the machine - it's got a black rubber tube about 1/4 inch diameter going into it. After removal I was able to blow into the plastic stub tube and measure the resistance of the contacts. When I blew into it there was a click as the relay contacts switched over and one pair of terminals changed from open to closed while the other changed from closed to open. No problem there, it seemed. Several more hours of Googling came up with one person's experience that they found a fault on the main circuit board where a copper track had been burned off due to poor protection. I turned my machine onto it's front and found the main pcb in a white plastic sleeve, tucked inside the casing down at the bottom just to the left of the motor area. I carefully removed the torx screws retaining the pcb holder, made notes of the places where the various connectors went and removed it. Getting the pcb out of the sleeve took another 10 minutes. Under a stereo microscope I found the burned track on the pcb and replaced it with a wire link. I put it back together and it works again. If you would like photographs of the pcb before and after repair, together with a step by step commentary, please email a donation to maintain my enthusiasm ;-)
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Disclaimer: These are reports of my own experiences with domestic appliances, placed here for you to ponder. Your machine may have the same fault as mine had, or may not. I hope my stories help you discover what may be wrong with your machines, and that you can learn how to fix them. But please, don't blame me if you do the wrong thing - I can't accept responsibility for other people actions!