Zanussi ZDC5350W misbehaving

[steve_edinburgh]

Evening everyone

We’ve got a Zanussi ZDC5350W condensor dryer which has decided to start misehaving…

Yesterday evening we put some washing in and switched it on, after a while it stopped and beeped and lt the ‘tank full’ light on the front. Emptied out the tank and set it off again. About 15 minutes later it stopped again with a tank full warning – took the tank out and there was probably about half a cup of water in it.

Switched it off and left it for a while and then tried again. This time it only ran for a couple of minutes before giving a tank full warning again. Switched it off again and left it overnight.

Had another go at it this evening. Checked all the filters are clean, the condensor is clean, cleaned the vent at the back and emptied the small amount of water out of the tank. This time it ran for about 10 minutes then stopped again with a tank full warning.

Is there anything else I can check? I’ve had a quick look and can’t figure out how the machine detects the tank level, and Google isn’t being a huge help at the moment?

Thanks in advance
Steve

[aqualectric]

Re: Zanussi ZDC5350W misbehaving

There is a small rubber cap at the back of the machine right at the bottom. Have a towel ready and a flexible 6″ wire to hand (flexible enough not to damage plastic – not a screwdriver!!).
Remove the clip and the cap and immediately the water is released, rod out the pipe with the wire. The wire should go in about 3 ” or so. Muck and fluff will be pushed out by the water.
Replace the cap then the clip and run the machine again. If the fault reoccurs, then a complete strip down and clean out is the only answer. The safety overfill float chamber has become blocked by excess fluff – caused by not cleaning the filter and condenser regularly; and the condensed water in the receiver tank should be emptied after every cycle – you should not wait for the lamp to be lit.
The strip and clean out is an involved job and is best left to an engineer. Zanussi condenser driers are, on the whole, good machines: and with care will last well.
Click the Repairs @ tab for an engineer in your area.

Hope that helps,

Steve.

[steve_edinburgh]

Re: Zanussi ZDC5350W misbehaving

Aqualectric – thanks for that, I’ll maybe have a look at it this evening. Would a piece of fairly flexible electrical wire be OK to try?

[aqualectric]

Re: Zanussi ZDC5350W misbehaving

Yes – that or net curtain support wire. (the white plastic – coated spring wire that normally has hooks screwed in at each end?) The wire on its own is perfect for this job. Or anything similar.

HTH,

Steve.

[steve_edinburgh]

Re: Zanussi ZDC5350W misbehaving

Hi
OK, had a go with a bit of wire and a small amount of gunk came out of the machine along with quite a bit of water. Had a fairly long go at it until there were no more signs of grot coming out.

Put a few damp dishtowels in the machine and stuck it on and kept an eye on the red hose near the top back left which is presumably what feeds the water to the tank and couldn’t see any signs of water in the pipe. I took the clip off and could feel warm air being pushed out of the pipe but no signs of water. Ran the machine for 30 minutes and no water made it in to the tank.

Put another few damp towels in and ran it again and started getting tank full warnings again.

Anything else it could be? Pump? I’ve seen one listed on zanussi-spares.co.uk listed as condensing pump at about £35 – is the float chamber part of the pump assembly?

Seems like it might be time for a phonecall to the John Lewis warranty people!

Thanks for your help
Steve

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