Just fried my Brandt/Blomberg Washing machine

[admin]

😳 Hi guys, while working on the electrics to have the washing machine running seperately from other appliances, I made a stupid error when re-wiring the plug. In short, for a split second the washing machine got 380V instead of 230V as it is intended to run on here. I am not as stupid as it sounds, I was just being a bit too fast 🙁
Now, the million dollar question: Does the machine have an internal fuse or other protective circuit that may have saved the electronics, or am I looking at a complete electronics replacement?
Thank you very much. Answers very much appreciated when you are done laughing.
Regards, Jesper.

[litlor]

Re: Just fried my Brandt/Blomberg Washing machine

Need model number please also how did you get 380volts???

[admin]

Re: Just fried my Brandt/Blomberg Washing machine

It is a WFH1671.

I am not sure about the proper English terms for the explanation of the wiring mistake, and also I don’t know if you wire using phase and null in the UK, like we do, or if you just use two phases like in e.g. Norway. Anyway, I hope you get the picture:

Here in Denmark we use 230V supplied by a phase and a null. However, old wall outlets (?) for demanding appliances are typically wired with more than one phase, making it possible to supply the appliance from 2 different phases rather than just 1 (to get 400V). So, the washer is connected to such an outlet, but only 1 phase and null (?) is actually connected inside the plug on the washing mashine cable, so it gets 230V. This is by the book, and how it should be.

Now, the plug was rewired to make the washing machine use one of the other phases instead (three different phases and a null are available in the outlet on the wall. The connection of the two wires in the washing machine cable to two of the five legs on the plug determines which phase is actually used by the machine). So intention was to move the phase wire to one of the other phase connectors, but instead the null wire was moved… so effectively when the power was put back on the machine was connected to two phases, giving it 400V (still called 380V here for historical reasons). Main fuse went, and when wiring was fixed and power back on, the washing machine was dead (no display, no lights).

Thanks for listening – I hope the above makes sense to you.
Jesper

[Dave_Conway]

Re: Just fried my Brandt/Blomberg Washing machine

Looking at the wiring diagram, there doesn’t appear to be any fuse or protection. You may have blown the mains inteference suppressor though if you’re lucky.

Both of the control PCB’s are not available from Brandt in France currently and very expensive, the control pcb around £140 and the power pcb around £200 (sorry for the GBP currency 😉

Dave.

[kwatt]

Is that the correct current prices of those modules Dave? Just curious as I have one of those machines, or the same but different and I recall the PCB’s being a lot less than that.

K.

[admin]

Re: Just fried my Brandt/Blomberg Washing machine

Thank you both – I hope the PCBs can be found less expensive. I haven’t found any supplier online that have these in stock, or even mention them. But all are open to enquiries, of course.

I’ll open the machine later today and have a look at the damages – I’ll let you know…
Jesper.

[admin]

Re: Just fried my Brandt/Blomberg Washing machine

Now I have taken a look. Here are the pictures.
Power cord ends in a tranformer-like block, which does not have any physical signs of damage. On the PCB, however, at least one component (capacitor?) seem to be completely blown away… There are no other visible signs of damage, but for all I know, every single component could possibly be defect.

I have inquired about PCB prices in two online shops (no answer so far), and also called a service engineer for an offer (no answer so far either).

Any suggestions while I wait – it is tempting to believe that I could maybe replace a couple of capacitors and have it up and running again. But probably not very realistic. 😕

Anyway – this is a great site, and having browsed around a bit more, I am getting still more impressed with the knowledge and patience you guys have. So even if I might end up giving up on this, thank you very much.

Jesper.

[Penguin45]

Re: Just fried my Brandt/Blomberg Washing machine

Last picture shows heat damage in the area of the triac (the component attached to the heat sink). I think you need to have a look at the other side of the PCB – I suspect that you will find some blown tracks. The triac will be either to operate the heater or the motor – therefore these will be the components to investigate further.

Regards,
Penguin45.

[admin]

Re: Just fried my Brandt/Blomberg Washing machine

Thanks, Penguin45.
I will have a service engineer look at it, I think I would need a lot of luck to get this fixed myself.
The price of the rather simple looking PCB is just as steep here as indicated by previous entries – approx. £100 not including VAT. Hard to understand in a world where you can get PC motherboards and DVD players for less than half 😥
Jesper.

[Author]

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