Zanussi FJ1295 (Jet System 1200)

Hi!

Just found this very interesting and informative site (stayed up very late last night/this morning reading it zzzz) so now I’m hoping someone can help me or offer advice.

The door handle of my 8 year old washing machine snapped off in my son’s hands about a fortnight ago (when me and my husband were on holiday – typical) and after some fiddling he managed to get it open with a pair of pliers, which method we are still using. Seems an easy and extremely cheap solution to purchase a new handle which my husband is more than willing and able to fit but ………………there’s more…………….

For the last couple of years I’ve had a problem with this machine in that whatever makes the water in the machine dribble continuously onto the clothes, to ensure there is just enough water and no more for the wash and rinses, has been erratic. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. It involves running back to the machine every so often to check it’s working and if not, switching the on/off switch a few times usually gets it going again. When it’s working it makes a loud buzzing/humming noise and the water continuously rains down on the washing, when it’s not, it doesn’t.

Other than that, it washes perfectly ok but obviously, if there isn’t enough water in the drum then the clothes can come out streaky due to not being rinsed properly (which is what alerted me to the fact that something might be wrong with it in the first place). Would it be a problem with a re-circulation pump? It sounds like the right name for the job but could be a totally different thing, I don’t profess to know anything about washing machines other than how to use them!

Of late it has been happening a lot more frequently and we had already begun to think about replacing the machine given what we perceived to be the high cost of repairs.

Anyway, when the handle broke, we decided that it would be uneconomical to repair anything and had more or less made our minds up to purchase a new machine, probably a Bosch, when I clicked a link to this site!

Now after reading lots of extremely useful information on this site I don’t know whether to consider a repair or buy new after all, especially as the Bosch I’d decided upon after reading a Which report has now been superseded by a different model!

My husband is quite handy with DIY but he’s a bit cautious regarding electrical repairs. (He replaced the pump in my Vax perfectly well!) He’s also more inclined to put repair money towards a new machine as ours is now 8 years old.

Any advice would be appreciated

Thanks