Sunday 15 June 2014

Washing machine won't spin

Another of the jobs I attempted on my recent visit to Jubilee was to get the washing machine working better. For quite some time it has refused to enter the spin dry mode. The motor obviously works as it moves the drum round during the wash cycle - it just doesn't want to spin rapidly when it gets to that part of the programme.

This is the machine: a Candy Aquamatic Aqua 1000T. For some reason the previous owner fitted this on a shelf about three feet off the floor, so access isn't easy. I managed to remove the top, and disconnected the pressure switch to test it. I've had one of these devices - in a different machine - fail on account of the narrow hose becoming clogged with soapy crud. This one, however, seemed to be perfectly all right.

Searching the internet for others' problems with this particular machine drew a blank, but I got one or two useful general hints. One of these was to check the brushes, although I would have thought that if the brushes were dodgy then the motor wouldn't work at all.

I couldn't get at the brushes with the machine on the shelf, so I have left this problem for another day. I took some measurements with the intention of knocking up a wooden frame for resting it on to make it easier for me to get at the underneath without having to balance it on my knee. It's too full of concrete for comfort!

3 comments:

Davidss said...

I've had the 'washes normally but no spin' problem, with a washing machine in a 'brick boat'. Like you I found on-line comments that suggested 'motor brushes'. Like you, I was sceptical, but over several attempts I proved the idea correct!!
The brushes are either worn down or stuck in their holders. 'Stuck' can be through a build up of carbon dust, or corrosion, or a combination of both. Don't be surprised if it takes more force than you would think reasonable to free them off. If they were stuck, don't just 'clean' them, 'polish' the sides of each brush, and the insides of the holders. Needle files are useful for both operations. I even used a dry lubricant intended for bicycle chains.
When in failure mode it seems the brushes will pass the low current for normal operation, but not the higher current required for spinning.

Good Luck.

Halfie said...

Davidss, thanks, that's really encouraging. Next time I'm on the boat I'll attack the brushes with fresh vigour...

Deepa S said...

Thank you for the post. The most common problems faced with washing machine is washer or dryer not spinning and the other common problem is water draining. I am in this field for more than 10 years working in LG service center Chennai and posts like these do help us to learn more. Thanks again.