Bosch Classix ENr SGS6962GB/13

Re: Bosch Classix ENr SGS6962GB/13

I’m coming to the conclusion that there are two types of correspondents on these forums – the ‘novice’ seeking or offering help at a very basic level and the ‘professional’. I think I’ve met both (on the other Forum) and thus far I have had a very helpful dialogue with a number of users – although of course I don’t know who is who or what relevant experience they might have. Despite the suggestions however and on-going investigations (mainly on a trial-and-error basis) the ‘problem’ remains and I’m being drawn into ever more complex descriptions of the investigations I have been making. My posts to the other Forum have therefore been quite lengthy and it is for this reason that I felt that it might be quicker for users of this Forum to refer to the other one rather than repeat the entire process here. (Sorry if a couple of mouse clicks is such an effort !) As my investigations have progressed and I’ve posted updates to the Forum it’s not surprising that the non-techy folks stop contributing but I also suspect I’ve hit a buffer where, and as your response seems to imply, the ‘professionals’ think ‘hang on a minute – this guy wants something for nothing !’. Forgive me but I take exception to that stance – I’m your average guy (not a plumber or an electrician) doing my best to repair a dishwasher that is only seven years old and in all other respects in ‘as-new’ condition. It is a travesty that an appliance of this age might have to be scrapped – and regrettably your response only serves to perpetuate the consumer-driven throw-away economy that the world is belatedly realizing is unsustainable. Far from trying to get something for nothing if you had bothered to refer to the other Forum you would have seen that I have already forked out almost 100 quid – 50 for the call-out charge for a ‘professional engineer’ from a company advertising as ‘Specialists in the servicing of German Appliances’. As I’ve said I’m no expert in these matters but his diagnostic skills were laughable. As I had already removed the side casings to access the water fittings on the side all he did was remove and wash out the inlet pipe to the sump (which I might add was not blocked anyway – although it did have some gunge in it) claim that was it and walk out of the door with my cash – not even sticking around to see whether the machine would start the programme. As this so-called ‘professional engineer’ failed to resolve the problem (and once bitten twice shy) I seem to have little choice but to either scrap the machine, cut my losses and buy a new one or continue – on the trial and error basis – to replace parts which might be causing the problem. So the machine now has two new valves installed by yours truly – but regrettably the problem is still there. In the light of the above I hope that you will re-consider your response and if you think that you might be able to assist then I would welcome further dialogue. If not, then I hope that the Moderators might consider your initial response as an insult to the spirit of self-help public forums and suggest that you un-subscribe from this Forum.

Re: Bosch Classix ENr SGS6962GB/13

OK – and thanks. Of course I agree with most of your points – particularly the bit about failing to understand the logic-sequence of it’s operation – but I believe that I’m getting there and it’s lot clearer now than it was two weeks ago. However part of the misunderstanding might stem from the fact that perhaps it’s not just one fault but maybe two or three. From having a eight year old car with an overly-sensitive electronic engine management system I’m more than familiar with the way a fault can show up but give a false indicator as to the actual cause. So I don’t think of my approach as ‘scattergun’ – I’ve tried to work out what’s (not) happening and sequentially ‘test’ certain components that might be a primary cause. And as for ‘discarding the chaff’ – well I’m sorry but I’d like to think that if Forums such as this are to be of help to others then it’s preferable that the apparent fault and any subsequent investigations are fully explained in order that respondents with limited technical knowledge do not reply at a mundane level to ask whether I’ve plugged it in or cleaned the filters and encourage other users with more technical ability to rise to the challenge. I hope that you count yourself in the latter category.

The problem is the delivery of water into the machine and how it’s controlled so it seemed logical to target the inlet solenoid (which had been making water-hammer noises in the last few months) and one of the solenoids below the heat exchange matrix to the salt reservoir which had a suspect ‘burn’ mark on the body. OK – so these two items do not seem to be the root cause but for 40 quid it seemed worth a punt and I can now rule them out of the equation. As of yesterday I’ve managed to prove that the machine will take in sufficient water for the main wash so the pressure chamber is also not now a suspect – which is just as well as BSH Appliance Care have just e-mailed to say the part is no longer available ! Having completed the main wash cycle and with some 50 minutes remaining on the timer it seems to execute a partial pump-out which I would have expected to have been followed by a partial re-fill – but all it did was make a few clicking noises and then went into rinse mode. I could hear the sound of the main pump trying to circulate the water but all it could do was shift air. I opened the machine and added a couple of pints of water and it then re-commenced rinsing and finished the programme with no further problem. Question – is it the main electronic circuit board in the door which controls the water intake and could this be at fault (expensive !) – or, given the funny clicking noises, could it be a dodgy relay somewhere ? There’s a couple of blocks of electrical connectors at the base of the machine behind the main motor and next to the electrical mains intake but I can’t work out what these are and the diagrams on the Bosch parts web-site does not show them at all. Hope you can throw some light on this ? (PS – as for the ‘cowboy’ – well how is anyone to know whether they are any good or not – he might have been right and as a I’m not an engineer or mechanic I tend to be wary of challenging others who should know what they are doing. Under the circumstances – least said the better.)

Re: Bosch Classix ENr SGS6962GB/13

Thanks Gregsy – but I’m afraid I disagree about this being a timed-fill machine. Water fill and level control seems to be via the Pressure Regulator below the Heat Exchange matrix. OK – so there is about a ten second delay between when the Pressure Regulator activates the micro-switch and the water actually shuts off, but this is a remote timer and only kicks in when the water level in the machine backs up in the assembly below the Pressure Regulator. Having dismantled and thoroughly cleaned the water inlet and pump-out hoses and the assemblies below the Heat Exchange Matrix – including the Pressure Regulator and the over-fill float cut-out device – I am pretty confident that all is well in this area. Something else is controlling the initiation of the second-stage re-filling between the main wash and the rinse cycle and this is what I can’t figure out. Either that or I am misunderstanding what should be happening at this stage. Could it be that the machine is not meant to re-fill from the mains between the main wash and rinse cycle but just transfer water from the Heat Exchange matrix ?

Re: Bosch Classix ENr SGS6962GB/13

gegsy – yes have removed and cleaned out the ribbed pipe leading to the sump so all inlet and outlet pipes are running clear. Any thoughts on the question of when the water in the Heat Exchange matrix is meant to decant into the machine ? There are two solenoid valves below it which I assume are meant to regulate a flow of water from the matrix to the salt chamber – but I’m not sure that they are doing anything as the water level in the matrix seems to remain constant. Both solenoid valves have been removed, cleaned and reinstated and I replaced one (right hand side when facing the matrix) because it had a small burn mark on the body indicating that something might have gone wrong. Maybe the other one is dodgy and failing to open when required – hence the clicking noise which might be the valve attempting to open.

Re: Bosch Classix ENr SGS6962GB/13

Trilobite -not quite sure what the type of detergent has to do with this thread. Current status is that I have removed and inspected the PCB and although there are no obvious signs of a problem (burnt out components or sooty/loose solder connections) I’ve sent it off to be tested as I’m fairly sure now that something is wrong with it and it’s not activating the solenoid valve below the Heat Exchange matrix. Maybe a chip got fried when the original solenoid curled up its toes. Watch this space – will report further when the board is returned.

Re: Bosch Classix ENr SGS6962GB/13

No detergent used for running tests – must have run ten or more wash cycles in the last couple of weeks with nothing in the machine except for salt and rinse-aid.