Hotpoint 9946A Washer Dryer s/n 82138894

Re: Hotpoint 9946A Washer Dryer s/n 82138894

Jim, thanks for responding. How do I identify which motor it is? There is a label on the side but I don’t see either of your designation codes on it, although there is a long numeric code and it also says “Made in Germany”.

Would the brushes have any effect on the rotational direction of the motor? I’ll check their condition tomorrow.

– Mike

Re: Hotpoint 9946A Washer Dryer s/n 82138894

Jim – I understand what you say about the brushes and don’t discount it – I just hadn’t previously considered that as a cause (even accepting they are worn) as I would’ve expected the behaviour to be initially intermittent before total failure. However, the motor seems to have failed completely in one direction of rotation from the point of initial failure, but continued to work perfectly in the other direction.

Before I spend £15 on brushes (good money before bad?) to find it may be a possibly uneconomic £140 relay (a truly shocking price for such an item, Hotpoint), I need to determine which relay it is and have it checked out or with your help do that myself.

First, can you identify the relay for me – the power board (the big one at top of the rhs side panel) has 2 black cubic components side by side across the top which look like relays to me. The one nearest the front has 3 terminals wired: double red, grey and blue; the other has 4 terminals wired: blue, grey, black/yellow, black. These components appear to be soldered to the board with only their wire blocks removable – unusual for relays not to be removable? They appear to be identical and are coded E3232.

Below these components and at the side of the board nearest front of machine are 2 other clear plastic components situated one above the other, the upper one arranged horizontally, the lower vertically, which have, among other things, copper wired coils in them and also look as if they may be electronic switches. They are marked:

P D 11 752 232 320 / P.

I guess the relay you are referring to is one of these 4 components.

Can you a) define which (block) of these components is the one in question and b) can I check it out “power off” with a multi-meter and how? and c) am I right in thinking these components soldered in? – I can’t tell for sure without removing the board.

I appreciate your patience given the detail we’re going into here – hope you can help. Seems there are a few others looking at this – I couldn’t find any mention of this type of problem on the net.

– Mike

Martin (Moderator), from the tone of your response I’ve caused offence by querying this problem beyond a brush swap. My apologies to all who suggested it if that is the case – I assure you none was intended. Please note that I did not rule out brushes, I simply questioned if that were the most likely cause given the detailed information I made available. While not a qualified electrical engineer, I am not a total dummy in practical engineering. My approach is that a little brain power applied to a problem to arrive at a correct solution can save a lot of money thrown at successive “try it and see” solutions. 😉

The brushes were removed yesterday according to best advice and each showed 20mm free length protruding from the holder. They moved freely and were undamaged. A meter across them showed electrical continuity. After blowing clean the motor the brushes were replaced, but washer showed precisely the same problem. Unless you still feel these brushes should be replaced, I’m inclined to leave them meantime until I find a more likely cause of the trouble.

I suspect it’s unfair to ask you to diagnose this at a distance although there must be a logical pathway along which this totally repeatable fault lies. Maybe I need to bring in an engineer to look.

Thanks for your help.