Miele Novotronic WT946i – flashing ‘Rinses’ light.

[steveecrane]

Hello all!

I’ve been reading the comments concerning a similar problem with the Miele W844 washing machine (despite owning a faulty Novotronic WT946i washer-dryer) as much of the fault-finding and diagnosis seemed reasonably similar; however, I’m now at something of a loss.

Up until a few weeks ago, we’d never had any problems with our Miele washer-dryer. Incredibly reliable. Then the “Water Inlet/Drain” light began flashing and it filled incredibly slowly – a mere trickle. After checking everything obvious (clogged pipework, dirty detergent tray, blocked jets, etc.) I bought and replaced the triple valve with a new non-Miele equivalent part.

This worked OK for a few days but then the “Rinses” light began flashing. Now, whenever I turn the machine on (even with all dials in their off or neutral positions) the drum spins briefly (it starts with a bit of a squeal, whereas up until now everything had been absolutely silent) the motor stops almost immediately and the machine/drum settles down.

In order to open the door I have to hold the orange Open Door button until the drum has stopped spinning (and the “Locked” light has extinguished) which usually takes around 15-20 seconds. Once the drum has stopped rotating, the door then opens as normal.

I’ve followed the recommended ‘fixes’ for the flashing “Rinses” indicator as featured in other posts (primarily those concerning checking and replacing the motor bushes). They didn’t need replacing but, as I had access to a nearly-new WT946i I bought for £20(!) for ‘spares’ (this too had a problem with the Water Inlet/Drain light flashing when I plumbed it in and powered it up – it’s probably why the seller was getting rid!!!) I replaced them with some even longer bushes just to be certain. (I actually replaced the entire bush mounting sub-structure in one go as this, and indeed the whole ‘spare’ machine, was almost spotlessly clean inside and looked as though it had been used considerably less than the one I was attempting to repair!).

However, the flashing “Rinses” light problem still persists and the drum still starts with a squeal on power up (regardless of the programme selector setting). As the PCBs are numbered differently (obviously) to the post about the W844 model, I’m now at somewhat of a loss as to whether there are any fuses which may require checking/replacing and/or which relays to give the once over.

So, is there anything else worth considering?

Many thanks in advance,

Steve.

[steveecrane]

Re: Miele WT946i – flashing ‘Rinses’ & Water Inlet/Drain lig

So, we have a partial solution which I thought I’d share as it might help others:-

I stumbled across this site and translated it into English:

http://www.youfixit.eu/en/el150.html

“IGBT Shortcut:
Shortly after starting any program, the motor starts at full-speed (there’s an initial squeaking sound). Then there are same symptoms similar to previous.”

IGBT is the Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (or Power MOSFET).

I replaced the EL140A PCB (this is the power and relay board located behind the door, in the lower left-hand corner) with one from the £20 donor washer-dryer and all is now OK on that front – YAY! – no flashing “Rinses” light nor any squeaks or squeals!

However, the flow of water into detergent tray (and, henceforth, into the machine) is all-but-non-existant, that is, the original thorny issue has returned! The “Water Inlet/Drain” light comes on almost immediately, whereas previously, the drum would at least fill a little and a cycle might commence, replete with periodic flashing of the Water Inlet/Drain light!

I’ve checked the flow prior to the (Miele) safety cut-off valve on the water inlet pipe and it is VERY strong. However, although the inlet valve on the triple valve combo IS energising (195V present on the terminals for that circuit/slight buzz to the touch, no voltage across any of the other valves in that triplet), there is but a slight trickle of water entering the machine. 🙁

I am going to replace this Miele valve/pipe combo with a piece of typical water inlet hose tomorrow to remove this ‘safety valve’ from the equation (the wife says I have to get ready to go out now!); however, given this part rarely fails and I had a similar problem on the ‘donor’ washer-dryer (with its own inlet pipe/in-line safety valve combo) I think the problem is more likely to be logic electronics rather than mechanical valve-based.

Thoughts / comments welcomed … in fact they’re actively encouraged!

Cheers,

Steve.

[steveecrane]

Re: Miele Novotronic WT946i – flashing ‘Rinses’ light.

Bump!

[steveecrane]

Re: Miele Novotronic WT946i – flashing ‘Rinses’ light.

Well, I was hoping I wouldn’t have to methodically ‘guess’ my way through solving the problems I had but, on the basis that someone else may well have these problems and turn to this site for a fix (or the hint of a fix), here’s a few clues which may point other DIY readers in the direction of resolution:-

The “Water Inlet/Drain” light issue was resolved by two things:

i) Replacement of the aforementioned triple valve – one of the solenoids wasn’t fully opening primarily, I believe, because we live in an exceptionally hard water area and it had limed up over the years, restricting its movement.

ii) The inline Miele Aquastop valve connected at the supply end of the inlet pipe wasn’t working, either at all or at least sufficiently to allow enough water through without tripping the machine’s fault circuit.

Initially, when I replaced this pipe/valve component with a simple inlet pipe (no valve), there was still no water the other side of the (new) triple valve (the detergent drawer side). The reason for this appears to be that the Miele logic board senses whether or not there’s an inlet valve present, as well as actuating it. If there isn’t – or, if it’s faulty – this indicates a possible fault, ergo the valve doesn’t open and no/insufficient water flows.

This was resolved by leaving the (now disconnected from the water supply) Aquastop valve (electrically) connected internally to the washer-dryer, whereupon water is allowed to flow by the Miele logic board through the triple valve and hence into the detergent tray and thence drum. A solution if not that elegant longer-term.

As this is a nice-to-have safety feature, ultimately I aim to replace this Aquastop component … but not for the £140+ Miele are quoting. For a pipe; with a solenoid!!! I’ll either find an equivalent or look to acquire a second-user component.

:offtopic:

What’s worrying here is that Miele don’t seem to understand that the vast majority of its customers do one of 3 things:

i) Pay for their service engineers and parts because, for them, price really is no option.

ii) Throw the machine away as it’s beyond economic repair, probably (if conversations I’ve had with owners is anything to go by) to by a Bosch, AEG, Siemens or Neff … but certainly not another Miele.

iii) Go down the DIY route and acquire OEM parts at a mere fraction of the price Miele insist on charging for relatively straightforward, bog-standard, plug-compatible parts and install them after referring to all available (on-line) expertise (Youtube, this forum and others).

No one minds paying a little more for quality service and engineering … but people wised up long ago to being royally shafted by manufacturers for the privilege. 👿

Customers don’t like being milked because of de facto monopolies which, because the likes of Miele don’t allow non-Miele engineers to work on Miele products or have access to their intellectual property through quality service manuals. The upshot is Miele can charge ‘loyal’ customers whatever they want when their products fail. :eeek:

I like Miele products; I rate them extremely highly. However, I despise their approach to servicing and monopoly practices viz-a-viz servicing and spares. For that reason alone, we may well be buying into Bosch, AEG or Siemens – all products we’ve owned previously and had good experiences of – the next time this machine fails. 😡

Anyways, I hope some or all of this helps someone who’s had the same problems we’ve had. 💡

Steve.

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