Hotpoint Top Loader 15690

Re: Hotpoint Top Loader 15690

martin is correct but more likly wire burnt off heater terminal or if not check stat control switch connection they also were prone to burning

Re: Hotpoint Top Loader 15690

Its very unlikely that the gears themselves have siezed, more than likely the long, gyrator drive shaft will have become tight inside its sleeve.

Re: Hotpoint Top Loader 15690

DrDill wrote:You don’t have to guess the fault now, I have told you what it was.

Whos guessing the fault now?

I am just using 42 years of experience, over 12 of them as a Hotpoint engineer to tell anyone interested what the most likely cause of the gearbox siezing was. 😛

You did say in your first post that your customer said ‘it started to wash and then stopped’ which is why three ex Hoptoint engineers replied to you regarding the heater, as the gearbox was siezed then it could not have washed in the first place. 😉

Jim. Ex Hotpoint Senior Engineer.

Re: Hotpoint Top Loader 15690

Good morning Dr Dill, I’m sorry if you have misunderstood my last but one post. I was not as you say ‘trying to guess’. As you have already stated that the fault was caused by a seized gearbox.

I was merely postulating on the most likely cause of a seized gearbox which is the long drive shaft seizing up inside its outer tube. As this has virtually no lubrication apart from the toothed end which is inside the gearbox it will almost certainly seize up again if it is left for even a few weeks if it doesn’t get anything to help it stay free.

Like you I have fitted many hundreds of complete power units and also complete gearboxes but in what may be seen as ‘the good old days’ of the late 60’s early 70’s every single component of these units was available as a spare part, even down to the cork gasket. Over the years I have stripped gearboxes to replace gear quadrants with teeth missing, oils seals, broken bendix drive springs etc. However the one part I changed more than any other was the long gyrator drive shaft. When it became NLA I still used to strip them out, file off the corrosion, lubricate and refit.
I used to change the bendix spring by propping the whole machine up at each corner on a couple of housebricks or whatever was available at the time. With the floor covered in newspaper it was then possible to drop the bottom of the gearbox casing off without even removing the cabinet, inner or outer drum. When the bendix spring failed you got the classic wash on spin action .

I had one old dear with a top loader who used to jet off to Benidorm for three months every winter. I used to get a call early March to go along as the machine had seized up. It was back panel off, remove pump drive, allow a few inches of water in to cover heater then blow up pressure hose to close switch. Remove drive tripod and top hat seal, grip the top of shaft with mole grips whilst injecting WD40 down the side of the shaft. When I had released it I then allowed it to wash whilst pouring more WD40 on it. I did this for four or five years but sadly on the last occasion it would not budge, to make matters worse she had been told that she was not well enough to fly anymore. 🙁

You are certainly correct about repairing these machines, far more rewarding and satisfying than the current, sealed drum rubbish to be sure. 8)

Jim.