Hotpoint Aquarius WD61 skips spin stage of every cycle

[blzeebub]

Hi

My Hotpoint Aquarius WD61 washer-dryer has been through wash cycles yesterday and today, but the dial stops revolving at the spin stage of the cycle. Last night, it suddenly jumped into action again and did the full spin as normal with no apparent abnormal noise (I’d originally suspected a faulty belt or motor, but can’t be either since it unexpectedly worked again last night), however today, after doing the wash part of the cycle, it won’t revolve at all, not even the slow revolutions it does while pumping out water. I’m reluctant to get someone out to it if the likely cause is likely to cost me as much as a replacement, but it’s been totally reliable up to now. Any help would be appreciated!

[iadom]

Re: Hotpoint Aquarius WD61 skips spin stage of every cycle

The first thing to do is remove the mains plug and check the motor brushes.

[blzeebub]

Re: Hotpoint Aquarius WD61 skips spin stage of every cycle

Hi iadom

You were right, it was the carbon brushes. I removed and cleaned them, and now it works fine. At least if it goes awry again, I’ll know what it is, and I’ll replace them, but for now, I’ve saved several hundred quid!

Thanks a lot for the advice 😀

[iadom]

Re: Hotpoint Aquarius WD61 skips spin stage of every cycle

You should NOT run it until you have replaced the brushes, there is a very high possibility that it will arc across the comm and blow a very expensive timer. :lesson:

[blzeebub]

Re: Hotpoint Aquarius WD61 skips spin stage of every cycle

I’m not sure I understand – why would this happen if I’ve cleaned the brushes before replacing them? Why would I have to replace them?

[iadom]

Re: Hotpoint Aquarius WD61 skips spin stage of every cycle

First things first, I am an ex Hotpoint engineer with over 46 years experience of these machines, I am giving you the full benefit of that. If the brushes failed in the first place then at least one of the brushes is at the very extent of its possible wear, in other words it will not be making very good contact with the comm, it will arc badly under load and either blow the TOC in the motor or more likely blow tracks off the control unit, it could also damage the motor armature.

You do of course have a perfect right to completely ignore my freely given advice. :rolls:

[blzeebub]

Re: Hotpoint Aquarius WD61 skips spin stage of every cycle

Hi iadom

I wasn’t doubting your advice for a second, and I apologise if I gave you that impression! It’s simply that I don’t understand how these things work, so when I managed to get it going again, I thought it was fixed.

I’ve already identified the brushes I need from this site, so will buy and fit them. Is it just a case of slotting the new ones into place, or is there anything else I need to do in conjunction with replacing them (e.g. any cleaning of the motor)?

Thanks again for your advice 🙂

[iadom]

Re: Hotpoint Aquarius WD61 skips spin stage of every cycle

Are the brushes like THESE ?

If so then you can usually change them with the motor in situ. They do just slot in but be sure to release the new brushes by lifting the small locking tab on the top.
Ideally the commutator should be cleaned with a comm stick but as long as you blow away all the carbon dust you should be ok.

COMM STICK

[blzeebub]

Re: Hotpoint Aquarius WD61 skips spin stage of every cycle

Brilliant, thanks for these links. I’m wondering if it’s worth investing in a can of compressed air (the type with the long thin nozzle) to blast away the carbon deposits, though by the look of it, the comm stick should do that.

[iadom]

Re: Hotpoint Aquarius WD61 skips spin stage of every cycle

Unless you would use the compressed air again then I wouldn’t bother, just a good blow should do the trick.

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