Indesit WIDL102 fault code help please

[Chappers]

Hi,

Our Indesit Widl102 washer/dryer is yet again faulty, it’s flashing a fault code just after trying to start a wash cycle.

The LEDs are in a row of four corresponding to the four options, and it’s the easy iron LED flashing about once a second along with the door lock symbol light flashing rapidly. The easy iron symbol is the second LED counting from the left.

I’d really appreciate it if someone could tell me what this fault code stands for…although I now know these machines are troublesome we simply can’t afford a new machine at the moment.

Thank you

p.s. should have put also that while the lights are flashing, what sounds like the rythmic pulsing of the emptying pump thing goes on and on. Unplugged it to stop it, but it must stop itself eventually cos wasn’t doing it when first came across it flashing fault code day after putting it on a cycle.

[helo_75]

its f04 … pressure switch stuck on empty

that could be the pressure switch itself, or maybe a hole in the tube leading from the pressure bottle to the switch

or of course, the dreaded pcb problem!

plug out if your checking!

[Chappers]

Re: Indesit WIDL102 fault code help please

Thanks a lot for giving me that info, it’s appreciated, saves me a lot of time!

I’ll see if I can find the pressure switch and then test it. I’ll post whatever I find.

Thanks again.

[Chappers]

Re: Indesit WIDL102 fault code help please

Right, doesn’t seem to be the pressure switch, that’s working, had it out and tested it. What I have now realised is that even when the off button is pressed and all lights go out, the machine’s drain pump is still pumping. If left unplugged a while and reconnected, everything’s silent, until a wash cycle is started then the drain pump starts up and stays on. When the machine’s put on a cycle, the pump immediately empties the drum as it’s filling.

Also just discovered it’s leaking water (a stream of it, not a drip) from bottom of drum when filling with water. The metal drum outer has a hole built into it to the left of drum near drain pump, and the water’s coming from this hole.

Come across this fault before of drain pump constantly on?

[Flyman]

Re: Indesit WIDL102 fault code help please

Hole in drum is probably for the small bolt which secures the element retaining bracket inside the drum. If you are ver lucky you may be able to find the bolt under the machine and may be able to locate it back into the bracket.
If it has been leaking onto the pump have you checked for an earth fault on the pump?

[Chappers]

Re: Indesit WIDL102 fault code help please

Hi and thanks for the reply.

Got the washer on its side and saw that you’re spot-on about a bolt missing from there, I could see the marks from where it’d been. Checked where the washer had been stood and there it was on the floor. Thanks for that, I doubt I’d have ever realised and the screw would’ve been swept up. Looking with a torch makes it seem the screw might not reach the bracket now, but I’ll try.

I wondered about water on the pump, but it’s over to the side enough to not be near the water coming out, and any leakage to earth would break the RCD socket I fitted for it. I think the leak has been going on for a while as I had noticed water on the floor weeks ago when machine was working and decided it was the leaky roof because I didn’t want it to be the washer. What I’m dreading is that the leak is just a separate issue and the pump is constantly on because of the PCB having a fault. Can’t afford new PCB or washer.

[Flyman]

Re: Indesit WIDL102 fault code help please

If you loosen the element nut slightly you should be able to move element and hence the retaining bracket enough for the bolt to reach.

[Chappers]

Re: Indesit WIDL102 fault code help please

The retaining thing turned out to be a round metal post that the middle of element slides around. Unfortunately it’d fallen out into the cavity around inner drum, but a device from Wilkinson’s recently bought for me (thankfully) of a telescopic magnet allowed me to get it out through heater element hole. Using same magnet managed to align it in front of screw hole and get screw back in and nice and tight. Trouble is getting element back in now with resistance of metal post plus expanded rubber collar that is now too fat at end to fit in. Going to take some perseverance.

Next job is finding out why drain pump emptying drum as it’s filling.

[Flyman]

Re: Indesit WIDL102 fault code help please

Unplug the machine for five minutes then plug back in and switch on. If the pump runs immediately then it is either an earth fault on the pump or triac on the module is faulty. Worth checking EMW for replacement module.

[Chappers]

Re: Indesit WIDL102 fault code help please

If unplugged for a while, the pump doesn’t run immediately, only after a cycle is selected. Then, if I turn the machine off with the on/off button, the pump continues to run even long after drum is empty.

I have the mainboard out which was damp. I’m going to trace the wiring through and see if I can find where the pump connections go on the board.

What/where is EMW?

[Chappers]

SOLVED: Indesit WIDL102 fault code help please

Finally fixed the machine. What a palaver. The water leaking from the hole in the drum, where the screw had fallen out, had been splashing onto the main control board. The water had caused arcing from the mains input neutral terminal to a copper track on the PCB which passed in front of it. The track it had arced to (and made quite a deep black crater, actually going under the copper track) turned out to be the neutral return for the drain pump, which is why the pump was always on, as the sooty deposits were only reading around 2Kohm from track to terminal. So, had to cut the track completely out around the terminal (peeled back the copper) and solder an insulated wire across the gap. So, two problems solved – leak and arcing.

Put it all back together thinking happy days were on their way only to find the machine acting bizarrely. If I put it on a cycle, it let some water in the drum then did nothing, all lights flashed on the front as though cancelling a running program by holding the start button in, and that was it. Tried it again but on spin cycle and this time the drum actually moved around a bit before same thing happened.

Problem was this: when I put the machine on its side, I neglected to remove the drawer which still contained softener. It ran down the front of the machine, got behind the dials and on to the board behind the buttons and dials. It had also got all over the PCB connector on the side, so effectively it was creating current-carrying paths all over the place and most importantly on the connector itself. Result was a machine thinking it was getting commands that weren’t actually being requested by me. Got confused, in a word.

Hours later after stripping down the front cover, cleaning PCB thoroughly with alcohol, cleaning dials and switches thoroughly, drying it out thoroughly, putting the sodding lot back together again, and I now have a working machine.

So, the morals: If you see your machine is leaking, sort it out sooner rather than later instead of hoping it’s just a leaky roof, spilt water, hallucination, etc., before main board gets wet, arcing occurs and so on. If you’re going to put machine on its side, remove drawer first.

Least it’s done now. Yay. 😀

[iadom]

Re: SOLVED: Indesit WIDL102 fault code help please

Chappers wrote:

So, the morals:

The real moral of this story will be obvious to anyone who has had the misfortune to have work on these heaps of junk.

Buy cheap. get cheap. :rolls:

[Author]

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