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Hi All,
I’m hoping you guys will be able to confirm my diagnosis or point out the flaw in my understanding hopefully leading to a better outcome! 🙂
At the weekend the WD71 finished a wash cycle as normal with no error code but the washing was still sopping wet. I ran a spin only cycle and it then produced Error Code 15 – Check Outlet Pipe.
I opened the machine and removed the Black bottom flexi-hose to find it pretty clogged up as has happened a few times in the past. Removed the white plastic filter, cleaned and refitted. Checked the outlet pump and drain hose all ok. Ran an empty test rinse and spin cycle to check it could fill/drain properly but before it even filled I got E15 again. I then ran an empty Acrylics cycle to see the process and what is functioning.
It fills, heats and stops filling correctly. Washes, rotates correctly and drains quickly. However, it kept the drain pump running for a long time, way after it was empty and longer than normal. This indicates to me that the machine still thinks there is water inside and thus won’t move onto the spin cycle as it thinks it isn’t draining properly. The machine is fully empty though as you can see there is no water above the black flexi-hose at the back.
So I thought, pressure switch blocked… The clear tube is empty and I can blow bubbles down it. I removed the switch and tested by blowing in the nozzle gently and it clicks firmly which explains why it didn’t overfill. Without pressure, Orange and Blue only have continuity, then with pressure it switches to Blue and Purple only having continuity. This seems like correct behaviour but I don’t know for certain. Refitted but still getting E15.
Unless I’ve missed something
, this leads me to believe that there is an issue with the logic/contol circuit. If so then it’s probably time for a new one as boards are always pricey for this kind of thing. Does anyone have any idea if there’s something else I should check?TIA,
Nick
Although not likely on a washer dryer I have seen the inner drum catching the heating element due to a failing drum spider giving a ‘Check Outlet’ when there was no blockage. If the motor carbon brushes are fine then I would be putting my megger across the wash heater to check for low insulation.
Thanks Iadom, gave me something to check.
The motor is fine and the water heater is definitely heating the water during a cycle but I’ve cehecked it anyway. It measured 25.7-26.0 Ohms which I think is normal? What would you expect with low insulation?Anything else to persue?
The Captain wrote:Thanks Iadom, gave me something to check.
The motor is fine and the water heater is definitely heating the water during a cycle but I’ve cehecked it anyway. It measured 25.7-26.0 Ohms which I think is normal? What would you expect with low insulation?Anything else to persue?
to measure insulation you have to measure from one of the main terminals to earth and your expecting millions of ohms
Dave
that way low
think that may be a fault
think that machine will run with it disconnected so make wires safe and see if it spins
Dave
Thanks for the responses Dave,
It would really help if I wasn’t a numpty!… 
I’ve now tested the element with both of the ‘correct’ plugs disconnected and got 2.45 MOhms! I’m guessing that’s more like it!?…. Sorry!
Hmmm, it’s not showing any of my smilies except for the original post. There were some embarrased ones in that last message!
Yes it is a 9v multimeter. I’ll run that spin test tomorrow with the element disconnected as I can’t run it now, and let you know.
If you get an E14 error with the heater disconnected that would suggest you need to replace it if it then spins OK.
I ran an 800 Spin just now with the Heater Element disconnected and it ran the spin cycle ok. [IMG2=JSON]{“data-align”:”none”,”data-size”:”full”,”src”:”https://www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/forums/core/core/images/smilies/thumbsup.gif”}[/IMG2]
However, I am thinking rather than just aging, Iadom was correct in his immediate suspicion as during the 800 spin, apart from the motor whine, there was another noise. Not particularly loud or grating but it was there and sounded a bit bearingy… if that is a way to describe it! Also may not be related but when I cleaned the plastic drain trap out at the beginning, apart from the fluff, cotton etc. were two small white objects. A small, ceramic ball about 4mm dia and something similar but squished flat and messed up. We thought that could be a stone but couldn’t place the ball… I’m now guessing that is one of the ball bearings.
Now to work out if it is worth repairing. [IMG2=JSON]{“data-align”:”none”,”data-size”:”full”,”src”:”https://www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/forums/core/core/images/smilies/icon_confused.gif”}[/IMG2]
Bearings are steel not ceramic, the other bits could be part of the outer plastic drum, rubbed off due to inner drum being out of line. Is there any ‘up and down’ movement of the inner drum?
Good to know, I thought it was a bit high-end to use ceramic bearings in a washing machine! 😀
You wouldn’t get a perfectly round ceramic ball as part of the outer drum though, surely? The reason it didn’t concern me initially was that I have it in my brain from somewhere that these sort of things are sometimes used to distress jeans, they don’t just use stones thus not exceptional to find the odd one in a washing machine.
So to check for movement in the bearings, I held the inner drum from the inside by grabbing 2 of the 3 washing vanes (the bits that protrude in the drum) and firmly moved/wiggled in all directions including straight up and down. Every movement moved the whole assembly without any slack and I’ve done various sizes of wheel bearings so have felt a few knackered ones before. This is reassuring.
Your suspicion of the drum damaging the insulation on the Heater Element, will there be evidence if I simply remove it?
One quick way to check the bearings is to remove the belt and spin the drum by hand as fast as you can, it should be virtually silent with the belt off. The heating element can go down to Earth without sustaining any damage. It was quite common to see two grooves in line with the front lip of the drum on the element on the WM range of washing machines. The heater is a little further away from the drum on the WD washer dryer so drum damage is not as common. The fact that it would spin with the element disconnected points to a faulty element.
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