Bosch WFR2860GB / 01 FD 8105 7 00144 – Replacing Brushes

[brightspark]

Hi washing machine experts,

My nice Bosch washer motor was reported as stopped dead at the start of a cycle yesterday night, just in time for the school holidays.
No warning signs beforehand – I don’t often use it personally, but maybe the noise the other night that had sounded like a zip vibrating against the drum on spin was an indicator?
No error message on the display (do you get them on this model?).
Checked the pump/drain etc. and all ok.
Tried different programs and still no joy. The machine fills and empties but drum does not move.

Had a look for the brushes and they are well hidden away. Access to the motor itself is good with the back panel removed, but the brushes are the other side of the motor. I could feel them ok (power disconnected of course) and gave both a wiggle.

The motor runs now, but I assume new brushes are in order – the machine is about three years old. Is it safe to run for a couple of days?
I’ve changed them on Zanussi’s a few times before, with no problem as you could easily access from the front/underneath, but the Bosch has a riveted floor, and there only looks to be ready access from the back.

Questions: is it possible to change the brushes without removing the motor? If not, is removing the motor really such a big deal. I’ve got a bit of self taught w/m maintenance experience and the regular tools/meters etc.
How are the brushes held in place – is there a philips screw holding each brush assembly like on Zanussi’s or something else?
Is it a simple job to change just the brushes in the assembly? I’m thinking about getting the brush/spring units listed in the UKWG shop and assume they are a straight swap, or is there some special handywork that needs to be carried out to remove the old/fit the new ones.

yours hopefully :rolls: ,

Adrian
PS Is that armature cleaning stick worth getting?

[gegsy]

Re: Bosch WFR2860GB / 01 FD 8105 7 00144 – Replacing Brushe

Hi
Brushes far easier to change with motor off appliance.
When new they should be approx 1.5 inches in length as a guide when you remove the old ones.
This noise you mention, if you turn the drum by hand can you hear a clicking noise or is it smooth and raspy?

Brush p/no if required is 154740 and these are spring loaded and can be quite tricky to get back in 🙂 Make sure you have them the correct way round as they are tapered. A quick way is to offer each brush in turn down its travel, then turn the motor spindle, it should be smooth not grating and noisey.
Power off when you attempt the above :plug:

Greg

[brightspark]

Re: Bosch WFR2860GB / 01 FD 8105 7 00144 – Replacing Brushe

Thanks for that Greg:)
Silence when moving drum by hand, but noticed the same faintly metallic tinkling noise on spin – but that might be a normal noise.
Is the motor a big job to remove and refit?
Removal of anything is usually easy enough, it’s refitting that is often the problem (in my humble opinion) – is this belt going to be a sod to get back on?
Anything I should note about retensioning/refitting of the drivebelt?

[gegsy]

Re: Bosch WFR2860GB / 01 FD 8105 7 00144 – Replacing Brushe

Hi
Take your time, all done from rear. Not a bad job, just make sure you protect your floor underneath motor incase it drops when you removing. 😉

Greg

[brightspark]

Re: Bosch WFR2860GB / 01 FD 8105 7 00144 – Replacing Brushe

Just to let you know what happened:

Ordered the brushes from UK Whitegoods and they turned up v fast – thanks!
Fitted them yesterday afternoon. It took me about two hours. I have got a quite bit of W/M maintenance experience already, but this is the first time replacing brushes on a Bosch.
You were right about it being better to replace the brushes with the motor out – there’s just no way you could do it in situ.
Motor removal itself was pretty straightforward, two bolts and remove the power /control plug, but the motor does weigh a ton! So the warning about dropping it is really worth noting. It does look very well put together though.
To get at the brushes, you have to split the motor, so you’ll need to be confident of being able to disassemble/reassemble a modern electric motor with buggering it up (which would probably cost the thick end of GB£130). I used a hoover brush attachment to remove the carbon dust, while carefully avoiding sucking up any vital components.
A very messy process, as the carbon dust is very sticky, and wants to get everywhere, a bit like photocopier toner.
Then removed the brush cartridges, dismantle (watching out for the fiddly little spade retaining “mechanism”), clean, insert new ones, reassemble motor, refit motor (tricky as the rear rubber bushes meant clamping on one side to get the seating position right back where it was before – can you grease these?).
All in all, not rocket science, but these days I’ve better things to do with two hours – that’s why, assuming I have a few quid spare, I’ll be calling a good professional next time something needs doing.

[gegsy]

Re: Bosch WFR2860GB / 01 FD 8105 7 00144 – Replacing Brushe

Hi
Thanks for your honesty.Maybe when we recommend getting an engineer in, in some instances its not because we don’t want to help, it maybe because that particular repair is more intensive than we think is acceptable for most people to tackle.

Glad you all sorted anyway 😀

Greg

[brightspark]

Re: Bosch WFR2860GB / 01 FD 8105 7 00144 – Replacing Brushe

Thanks again Greg. As usual the site advice was excellent, and parts service the same. Like you say, even the “simpler” jobs are often not straight forward.
Like you say, what you pay for is the training, experience and backup of a professional technician. When I make a repair, especially for job I’ve not encountered before, there is a fair chance I will screw up and make the machine not cost effective to fix any more. I have a fair idea of what I’m getting into and accept the risk – largely because I have to. I’m a “tinkerer”, having a reasonable knowledge about basic electronics/physics and an interest in mechanical systems.
A professional will probably have seen several of your type of machine and know what the root cause of the fault is with a quick examination. I might take a few days of “trial and error”.
A good professional will do the job quickly and efficiently and usually give some kind of warantee with the job. They will probably also notice stuff that could, help avoid future problems, like the drive belt needing changing, or a leak from a pump or pipe.
So once again, a big thanks to Greg and the rest of the UKWG bods. 😀

[Author]

Posts