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Above machine is approx 5 yrs old. Recently noticed things werent coming clean (greasy still after wash). Then started getting the problem that on the auto program the m/c would get to 1 min left and get stuck (continue running).
Read advice on this and Bosch m/c’s on this forum and to date I have cleaned all the filters, used a piece of wire down the sump hole (towards the front left corner of the m/c) – not much crud came out, and run a dishwasher cleaner through it on 70oC. Also removed and cleaned the spray arms.
I always use salt but havent been using rinse aid for some time due to xin1 tablets. Now reverted to using rinse aid last few washes.
Water appears to be hot (not sure if its as hot as it should be though as it isnt scalding on 70oC) and m/c is filling (water level to stem of lower spray thingy). If I open the door mid prog I can see water coming out of the spray arms. The lower arm appears to be rotating fine. Often when I look the upper one hasnt moved (is it normal for the m/c to run the lower on its own sometimes in prog)? Also after the wash there is still some residue water visible in the filter – should this all be pumped out?
After above actions, machine seems to wash averagely on 70oC prog (stuff in the top tray seems a bit gritty). On auto it still sticks on 1 min. Program lengths are all over the place (last night it took nearly 3hrs to run whereas it used to take almost 90 mins consistantly). Whereas today it is predicting 90mins to run auto progr again (it predicted 165 mins last time). Even 70 & 50oC progr times are at 158+ mins and I assumed these were fixed progs (which they cant be as they used to be 124 mins for 50oC).
Based upon other posts I assumed this may be either:
1) Blocked with crud in the pipe / sump region. I cleared the pipe. Should I remove the front panel and dismantle the pipe and surrounding bits for a more thorough clear out?
2) Heater gone. But water is hot (or at least warm). I assume a heater is likely to either work or not so assume this isnt likely??
3) PCB / control module…. I saw mention of a design weakness which causes 1 track to burn out. Should I remove and look for this???Any advice based upon symptoms above would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers.
Ian.
Re: Siemens SE25A090GB/17 – Stuck on 1 min + other issues!
Hi
Rodding down the hole in the sump on this era of appliance will prove fruitless.
What you need to do is remove the front lower plinth to gain access to the clear semi-rigid pipe and then remove it and clean it.
The module “weaknes” does not effect your appliance, totally different PCB.
Power off if you are to investigate :plug:Make sure that the spray arm jets are clean and not clogged.
On this model it has an aqua sensor which basically adjusts the wash time according to how dirty the water is between its sensors. For that fact, 3 or 4 in 1 tabs are useless as times of wash will vary, therfore there is a chance that the tablet could decay in the wrong part of the cycle giving poor wash results.HTH
Greg
Re: Siemens SE25A090GB/17 – Stuck on 1 min + other issues!
Gegsy – Thanks for the reply. Looks like I got confused with potential issues (I thought the Siemens / Bosch models had common problems but I must be comparing different age m/c’s off this site………).
OK will clean tube as suggested. Should I check anything else while I am in there????
From other posts I see the 1min error relates to filling / heating issues. Am I right in thinking that the heating element will basically work or not – hence warm water must mean its OK?
Thus it is likely a filling problem related to gunk blocking the above tube or similar??
Cheers.
Re: Siemens SE25A090GB/17 – Stuck on 1 min + other issues!
Hi
Sometimes the antiflood/metering unit and water matrix on l/h/s can be come crudded up.
Heating – Basically if there is insufficient water in tub, it won’t heat due to a safety microswitch on heater unit. As a guide, when appliance has finished filling the water level should bejust below lower spray arm and definately not level or above.
Do you have a HOT fill to the appliance as this may give the impression that appliance is heating?
Heater can be checked easily with a multimeter app 30 ohms and is accesible fro the r/h/s, power off of course :plug:Alternating upper and lower spray arms – This is normal.
HTH
Greg
Re: Siemens SE25A090GB/17 – Stuck on 1 min + other issues!
gegsy wrote:Hi
Sometimes the antiflood/metering unit and water matrix on l/h/s can be come crudded up.
Heating – Basically if there is insufficient water in tub, it won’t heat due to a safety microswitch on heater unit. As a guide, when appliance has finished filling the water level should bejust below lower spray arm and definately not level or above.HTH
Greg
Good point . What can happen is that the machine will fill properly for the initial wash – subsequent washes/rinses in the same cycle can suffer from low water levels as the ‘tub fill level’ arm stays in the ‘out’ position , fooling the machine into thinking its full . As Gegsy said , check this matrix out on the LHS of the machine .Re: Siemens SE25A090GB/17 – Stuck on 1 min + other issues!
Conclusion =
The Heater has gone open circuit thus you will need a new ‘Instanteneous Water Heater’ fitting….. 😉
Re: Siemens SE25A090GB/17 – Stuck on 1 min + other issues!
Thanks for all the input – most helpful. The m/c is cold fill only so the fact that water is hot/warm must mean the heater is working, right?
Looks like I need to check out the tube / metering unit and water matix……
BTW what is the function of the water matrix? I understand what the metering unit does but not this bit…….
Martin – I dont understand how you reached your conclusion????Thanks.
Re: Siemens SE25A090GB/17 – Stuck on 1 min + other issues!
OK last night I had a look inside the m/c. Not so easy to get into as you cant just drop the front lower plinth off (took the steel cladding and large black moulding off but the lower case moulding still partly obscures). Also took side panels off.
I could see the tube you mentioned was fairly crudded up so I cleaned that out. Could also see crud (black slimy mould stuff) in 2 other places:
1) Pressure chamber (Siemens part 480748). After the aforementioned tube joins and the flow turns upwards sharp 90o there is also crud. This the part that contains the float / switch and the water level regulator just above. I cleaned some of the crud away using a piece of wire but couldnt get it all out around the corner (did not remove this part). Any tips on how to clean this properly (is there a quick way to do this or do I need to remove the heat exchanger, etc and strip down)? Is this the part you call the antiflood / metering unit?
2) Top rear corner of heat exchanger (assume this what you call the water matrix) – 215761. As this is transparent I can see some crud up there too at one point. No idea if this is critical and how I get to it. Do I need to remove the heat ex and back flush? If so does it come out by removing the 2 horizontal metal strap and simply pulling upwards (looks like most of the tubes are push fit O ring type)?
Water seems fairly hot when run last night (steam coming out) so I guess heater OK? Cold fill only.
Final dumb question what does the heat ex actually do? The instantaneous water heater must provide the heat so what does the heat ex do? Could do with an idiots guide to how a dishwasher works……. They seem much more complex than washing m/c or tumbler!!!!
Appreciate any advice. Thanks.
Re: Siemens SE25A090GB/17 – Stuck on 1 min + other issues!
Like Martin said, the heater is faulty (the wash pump running for far too long as a result gets very hot which will put a little warmth into the water which is what’s confusing you)
Re: Siemens SE25A090GB/17 – Stuck on 1 min + other issues!
OK Clive will test the heater for 30ohms! Water last night was pretty warm though (I would say bathwater temp) – I would be surprised if the pump could put that much heat into it…… Would it normally only get luke warm if heater gone?
Cheers.
Re: Siemens SE25A090GB/17 – Stuck on 1 min + other issues!
iwhite3 wrote:
Final dumb question what does the heat ex actually do? The instantaneous water heater must provide the heat so what does the heat ex do? Could do with an idiots guide to how a dishwasher works……. They seem much more complex than washing m/c or tumbler!!!!
Appreciate any advice. Thanks.
1:The heat exchanger transfers heat from the main wash, to the subsequent rinses, thereby reducing the possibility of glassware/china glazing cracking.
2:It also reduces energy consumption, as the final rinse does not start from cold.
3: After the final rinse, the exchanger refills with cold water, as it goes into a ‘passive’ drying mode (no fans are used). The cold wall causes a flow of air to deposit (condense) moisture from the humid air. Same effect as toilet cistern/window/mirror condensing moisture in steamy bathroom!
Re: Siemens SE25A090GB/17 – Stuck on 1 min + other issues!
Cheers for the explanation Trilobite. Makes sense I guess. Now at least I have some understanding of how dishwashers work….. Just enough knowledge to be dangerous I reckon!!!!!!
I think 1 last attempt at fixing it tonight (I am going to check resistance across heater element and see if I can remove the matrix to clear any remaining sludge). Otherwise I will call it quits and call in a professional to fix it………
Does the heat ex matrix just pull out (upwards) from the pressure chamber once tubes & brackets are removed? It looks like it might just be a push fit with O rings……..
Thanks.
Re: Siemens SE25A090GB/17 – Stuck on 1 min + other issues!
Just to close this out and thank everyone for their help. Last night I had another attempt at fixing it and it seems to have worked…….
Heater element was fine (24 ohms and 240v present when m/c running).
ON LHS I cleared some sludge from the pressure chamber (this is the translucent moulding which holds the pressure switch and float. Also removed some limescale from the float itself. Took the matrix / heat ex out and cleaned the sludge out of the top corner. This was hard to get to. In the end I used drain cleaner to chemically clean the sludge out!!! Made sure I thoroughly washed it afterwards as I dont fancy caustic soda spraying my pots next time it is used.
Today m/c ran through auto program without getting stuck on 1min!!!
Re: Siemens SE25A090GB/17 – Stuck on 1 min + other issues!
Oh well only 3 days gone by since I posted that :innocent: 😀
On a serious note, for any future readers of this thread, UKW do not and never will condone “LIVE” testing.Glad you all sorted anyway :tup:
Greg
Re: Siemens SE25A090GB/17 – Stuck on 1 min + other issues!
Hi
I’ve got the same machine, but my problem apears to be different.
The machine doesn’t fill, but the circulation pump runs, so I guess the machine thinks it has water in.
There is no power onto the fill solenoid (I assume these are the 2 wires that go up to the unit that screws onto the tap), so I guess it’s not the solenoid thats failed.
The matrix on the side is prety clean, and the float moves up and down freely. Is the other microswitch above the float one to do with the water level?
If not, what is?
Any help gratefully recieved.
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