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I last posted about this washing machine (John Lewis JLWM1202, PNC 91451711200) back in May 2024 as its 18 year old brushes had worn right down. Having replaced them (with a set of Qualtex CAR99 brushes bought from UKWG) all has been fine for the year, until today when the RCD tripped towards the end of a washing cycle. The washing machine was an immediate suspect, not just because little else was in use at the time but there was a noticeable burning smell (or more of a ‘hot rubber’ smell actually for want of a better way of describing it) emanating from around the machine. We think we’ve noticed the smell before but not thought much of it given the machine has been running fine.
Having pulled the machine out and taken the cover off there was nothing obviously burnt up top, although I did notice a fair amount of blackening around the machine which I seem to recall spotting when I replaced the bushes and put it down to carbon particulates from the ageing bushes.
The drum was free to turn and the belt looked in good condition.
Turning the machine over to take a look at the motor there wasn’t anything obviously amiss (to my untrained eye at least), although I again I couldn’t help but notice the area being very ‘dirty’ with blacker-than-black dust that was really quite staining to skin:
I did notice the motor feeling hot to the touch though, although it had just been in use for about an hour so perhaps that is to be expected?I decided to plug the machine in, put the machine on a spin cycle and discovered that the motor was seemingly struggling to turn:
[video=youtube_share;Q6Xt6P0RSZI]https://youtu.be/Q6Xt6P0RSZI[/video]
Again, the drum is free to turn and I can spin the motor shaft with my fingers easy enough (with the power disconnected of course!) even with the drum and belt still attached.
Is there anything jumping out that is obviously amiss here or something I should be inspecting more closely? I have yet to remove the bushes to see what their length and condition is like but surely given the first set lasted 18 years I would expect more than a year from the replacements? (For what it’s worth, usage is probably around 2 or 3 loads a week)
Could this issue be down to all the carbon buildup? I didn’t do anything in the way of cleaning up the motor when I replaced the bushes last year. Might the build up be shorting something out, and this not just impeding operation but also to the extent that it cause a short to earth hence tripping the RCD?
Would be more grateful for your thoughts.
As an update, I’ve removed the brushes and they seem okay insofar that they are making good contact and have around 20mm in length (they were 40mm when new so that’s quite some wear though?).
I cleaned up the commutator with some contact cleaner and a cloth, and lightly topped it off with some emery paper, refitted everything but still no joy. In fact this time I spotted some wisps of smoke from around the commutator which I doubt are the cleaner (it evaporates quickly) so I am assuming this is pointing towards a dodgy motor? Speaker of which, here’s the identification label for what it’s worth:
Apologies for the rapidfire posts here but there’s something about a broken washing machine (compared with, say, a dishwasher) that means added pressure to resolve.
In my haste to find a replacement motor and went I bought this one as it seemed almost identical to mine.
My markings:
ACC
Type 20584.514
AC-EL
CL.B/F
124213907
480/15000 RPMThe eBay motor markings:
ACC
Type 20584.514
AC-EL
CL.B/F
124213921
480/15000 RPMSo the only difference was the 124213907 vs 124213921 number which felt subtle enough to not be an issue, and hopefully just indicative of a minor design/manufacture revision.
I later then spotted that the electrical connector is slightly different, and that mine is a 10-pin whereas the eBay motor is 7-pin. These seems to marry up with the information in this service bulletin (about tachos/brushes, but it was the connector info mentioned in passing that was of interest). Do you think I’ll be out of luck?
I’ve requested a cancellation with the seller (it hasn’t been despatched yet, or I hope not anyway) and will see if they are happy to oblige. If I do end up having to have do you think I am completely out of luck? I could probably rewire the connector, or perhaps just swap the armatures over and cross my fingers?
From all you describe I’d be 99{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} sure the motor was toast.
K.
kwatt wrote:From all you describe I’d be 99{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} sure the motor was toast.
Thanks for your input, and as it happens I think your choice of the word ‘toast’ has been quite apt…
I took the motor out, took it apart but didn’t see anything obviously wrong (to my untrained eye at least).
It really was filthy with carbon build up though so I gave it a good clean (surprisingly easy compared to how hard it’s been to shift from my hands!) and it was looking great again. Even the commutator looked okay, again in my view, and so I thought I’d put it back in and give it another go. Again, still not turning – just twitching and sparking – and I even tried with the old brushes (I never throw anything away!) but same again. For a few seconds at least, as I then saw some more of the magic smoke appear again, shortly followed by some flames(!) inside the motor (the coil end of the commutator) and the RCD thought ‘he’s at it again‘ and tripped once more. I figured at this stage that I’d had enough warning signs that I should accept defeat before something explodes.
As I said earlier we bought the machine in 2006 and bar a couple of inlet valves, a set of brushes and a new drum seal it hasn’t skipped a beat so really has done us well. Rather than panic buy a replacement I’ve found an old Zanussi being sold locally for £35 which, assuming it works as advertised, should tide us over whilst we do some research. You never know, it might even have the same motor as ours in it! Regarding a long term replacement, I am tempted by another John Lewis as whilst 19 years on they may have little in common with ours, and perhaps might even be rebadging a different manufacturer these days, I’ve found the JLWM5845 that is getting good user reviews with many saying it’s been a replacement (and indeed upgrade) to their John Lewis machine bought in a similar timeframe to ours so we’re in good company there and the standard 3yr guarantee provides some reassurance.
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