Hoover H160E – not filling

[vic_c]

Back again for our trusty old H160E. Think this one may have me stumped though.
Machine not used for a couple of weeks (maybe it’s sulking) now when
coming to use it, it refuses to fill.
What I’ve checked:
Water supply – disconnected feed and ran into bucket – plenty of pressure.
No sign of blockage on inlet filter.
Checked continuity of inlet valve (about 3K) – double checked by jumping
mains onto the terminals briefly – water flows OK then.

Pressure switch: Blowing into the air feed operated the c/o switch (one click)
“making the two main connections), further presure makes connection to the
additional contact (overflow?) but no second click. Slightly suspicious as I
seem to recall that there is usually two distinct clicks but that may just be my
dodgy memory!

Additionally checked the Brushes (had a fault with these once before when they were worn but they seem fine).

Selecting the rinse program the machine seems to start to think about
working and I detect a whirr from the programmer and a click when I think the water would normally fill but a meter across the inlet valve shows no sign of activation voltage.

If a spin program is selected then the machine seems to function OK
so I think this confirms the brushes OK and I presume rules out the door
safety interlock.

I guess that only really leaves the control board… a quick visual of which shows no obvious sign of burnt out components.

Before I call in the cavalry any further useful suggestions?

[suedehead1]

Re: Hoover H160E – not filling

have you checked the pump is working.
the pressure switch is one click.

i would normally say plug out but by jumping mains onto the water valve you seem to be quite content with electrocution.

[vic_c]

Re: Hoover H160E – not filling

Point taken about plug out – but don’t worry, I am confident with what I’m
doing… plug out connect up temporary test jump lead (via isolation transformer) then a quick flick of switch whilst well clear of the machine
just long enough to confirm operation.

Think the pump is probably OK as the machine was empty from it’s last
run but I’ll double check tomorrow. I’ve changed the pump before after
it got jammed and suffered a trauma.

Not sure why a faulty pump would stop the machine filling though – I seem
to recall it was quite happy to fill last time the pump went south.

I’m also slightly suprised that there seem to be no error lights/code evident
(not that I know how to interpret them!)

Thanks for the pointer – let’s see what happens tomprrow.

[suedehead1]

Re: Hoover H160E – not filling

some machines are wired up in such a way that if the pump is open circuit it wont fill as in why fill when i cant empty.

[vic_c]

Re: Hoover H160E – not filling

OK – checked the pump – DC resistance 200 ohm (measured as 190 when
I fitted it before so I think thats OK).

Hmmm, haven’t checked (or ever repaced as far as I can recall) the heater;
would that also feature in part of the start up checks?

I’m also having second thoughts about the door switch – there appear to be
1 green and three white wires going to it.

The green I have traced to the control board (PN) connector. The three
whites are trickier to trace but one of them goes to the indicator lamp.
I find no continuity green to white with door open or closed. Guess I need
to get it out of the machine to have a closer look.

There is a 5 minute safety timer on this model – not sure how that is
activated

[vic_c]

Re: Hoover H160E – not filling

Quick update, have now checked out the door switch.
3 connections: green to pin 1, single white to 3 and white pair to 2.

Pin 3 is connected to Live when machine is on with program selected.
Approx 1K between 1 and 3. Current from pin 3 to 1 operates a heat
activated delay switch to connect 3 and 2 together so looks like the switch
is OK after all.

Time to pull the beast out further and check the heater.

[vic_c]

Re: Hoover H160E – not filling

OK – heater checks out OK (about 27 ohms cold).

Further examination of the control circuit reveals that the fill valves are
neutral switched by triacs and get their live in series with the pump.
This means that if the pump is o/c then they cannot operate. However
I’ve already measured the pump DC resistance as apprx 200 ohm.
(double check by connecting mains direct to pump – it runs taking approx
180mA) so looks to be OK.

This design therefore means that anytime the pump is activated the fill
valves are automatically forced off. Now wondering if I have a fault that
is leaving the pump running all the time thus disabling the fill valves.
If this is the case then the question is whether its the control module
faulty leaving the pump activated or the programmer incorrectly telling
the control module to do so. Not sure which is most likely.

Didn’t think to verify this before – time to put the bits back together and
have another look.

[vic_c]

Re: Hoover H160E – not filling

Success! – (apologies for numerous replies to my own post but the info
may be of use to other browsers of this forum).

Put everyting back together today and Lo it now works OK.

My suspicion is either the door interlock now working correctly after my
removal, close inspection and re-fit; not entirely convinced as my first
impressions that this must have been working as the machine was happy to spin.

Then again perhaps it was the stern talking to I gave it last night with
threats of the landfill – and a few expletives!

More likely there was a poor connection somewhere and my removal and
refit has re-made the connection. I did notice that the “EN” connector to the control module was a bit loose on re-fit so I “re-sprung” the
connecting blades to get a firmer fit. I also cleaned up the pcb
connectors too.

Considering all the symptoms, I suspect that this connector from the
programmer knob may have been the most likely cause. I presume
these connections are low voltage and perhaps a combination of
poor connection plus not being run for a couple of weeks may have
allowed sufficient oxidation to buildup to confuse/corrupt the command
signal thus leading to the failure to activate the fill valve.

Good news is that it now seems to be OK and is presently busy coping
with a bit of a backlog – should be a good test.

Also hasn’t cost me a penny to fix – just lots of time but being recently
redundant and now early retired time is something I have plenty of
(as opposed to money!).

The irony is that I now know more about this machine than ever since
we bought it 7 years ago. May not be the latest and greatest but with
service information so scarce on modern machines I’m happy to stick
with it until it really is time for the scrapper.

Thanks to those who offered troubleshooting advice and information
(and for the kind concern over my safety) this really is a useful and
helpful forum.

[Author]

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