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Re: Replacing indicator lamp on Bosch F/F
OK Martin, thanks for the reply. It did seem a possible path to disaster, and the bulb must have gold plated contacts, as Bosch want £10.20 with the postage. Nuff said, leave alone.
Re: Ariston Margherita 2000 – I also have a problem!
I thought I’d post back here. It’s been a while since I messed around with this.
Fitted yet another new thermistor along with a new thermal cut out. Started the dryer, checked voltage at element while checking temperature at thermistor base with an IR thermometer. Initially slow to heat, at around 60 degrees the dryer fan and the drum stopped for a few seconds. Both then restarted. A short time later, the dryer fan cut out again (I think the drum as well, I was busy watching the multimeter and thermometer), the resulting lack of airflow caused an overheat. The voltage at the element remained constant at 238 volts throughout the entire heating process. There was no cycling of power to the element. I was a bit taken aback, as I was convinced the element wasn’t regulating, I didn’t expect the motor to stop.
Removed the PCB, didn’t see any obvious damaged joints or burns, though there were areas of slight oxidation. All the plugs looked OK, and the connectors on the board were clean. Incidentally, if you pull the board on one of these, make sure you note the plug positions. It’s possible to cross connect.
Other half needed kitchen back which brought a halt to the troubleshooting. I have disabled the dryer circuit so we can use just the washer part.
The problem appears to be that the fan and drum are being told to stop. The fan motor is new and runs fine otherwise. I think the thermistor damage is a secondary effect of the overheat, either because Indesit can’t make a thermistor which will cope with the heat, or possibly the effect is intentional; an overheat will blow the thermal trip AND destroy the thermistor to make sure the dryer shuts down, though I’d have to point out to Indesit that the thermistor failure doesn’t necessarily make a clean open circuit. In fact it’s likely to make things worse – the lifting of the ceramic top could cause a resistance increase, which would be seen by the PCB as a cool dryer duct with consequent power to the element.
Possibly the error code 13 could be signalling both a knackered thermistor and a stopped dryer fan?
I think it’s either the PCB, or an open circuit in either the fan motor or its integral transformer when it gets hot. Most likely, given that the drum stops as well, the PCB. From what I’ve seen of the prices, it doesn’t look worth doing.
We have limited space, but with a bit of reorganisation we can *just* fit in a separate tumble dryer. We intend to keep the Ariston going as a washer until it fails, at which point it will be replaced with a new washing machine. I’ve looked at the advice on this website, and had a chat with a local supplier about tumble driers. Local supplier recommends Zanussi in the £300 bracket, Bosch at around £400, after that Seimens (which now has a 5 year guarantee) or Miele if you want to really push the boat out.
Zanussi, Bosch and Miele are mentioned in this site’s advice pages, but not much said about Seimens. Local supplier says same group as Bosch, but whereas Bosch is now made in Spain, Seimens are still made in Germany.
Any thoughts on any of the above?
Re: Ariston Margherita 2000 – I also have a problem!
I have no errors other than the 13 flashes, so in all probability it is just a bad batch of thermistors. As a temporary measure I have disconnected the dryer heater (though that’s belt and braces, as the thermal trip has blown) and pushed the thermistor back together. That allows the washing machine to work. When I first tested the new element and motor I checked the temperature of the dryer duct with an IR thermometer (out of curiosity more than anything, I didn’t expect this to turn into such a saga) and it was around 60 deg C, which I would have thought was under temp if anything, though obviously the air temp inside the duct will be a bit higher. I have ordered a thermistor from the shop on this site, if that doesn’t work then it appears to have been a false economy to try and fix this.
Thanks again for your help. 😉
Re: Ariston Margherita 2000 – I also have a problem!
I have changed several TOC’s but very few NTC’s on these to tell the truth.
OK, thanks. Thermistor could possibly be a symptom rather than a cause. I’m wondering if perhaps the element is not cycling. Do you know if the power is cycled by solid state switching, or is there a relay?
Re: Ariston Margherita 2000 – I also have a problem!
The simple truth is that you have a very low end product. Hotpoint as such has ceased to exist except in name only with the closure of the last UK factory a few months ago.
Washer dryers are bad news at the best of times and you have one of the worst of them. Crying or Very sad
Thank you for your reply.With respect, I know that washer dryers are a compromise, and I know that this machine is low quality. We have limited space, hence a washer dryer rather than separate units. It wasn’t my decision to purchase this particular machine, that choice was made by the person who uses it, and she has been happy with it. Apart from a circuit board under warranty and a few pump filter cleans it has done what it said on the box for over 6 years, it’s normally used daily, sometimes twice a day. If I could afford to and had the space I would purchase separate Miele units; I can’t and I haven’t.
The issue I have at the moment is Indesit apparently can’t make a dryer stat which can actually cope with getting hot. Since the new motor and element have been fitted and used, I cannot return them, so I am stuck in a situation where I am £100 odd out of pocket and still faced with the cost of buying a new machine because of a component which looks to me costs about 50p to make (retail £7.99 of course).
To go back to what I originally said: are there known issues with this component, or do I have a bad batch? Or… is there something I haven’t seen which could cause this problem?
Re: Ariston Margherita 2000 – I also have a problem!
Hi
I have had problems with an Ariston AWD12UK washer / dryer. Dryer stopped working, clothes came out cold and wet.
Found a burnt out dryer element and a loose terminal on the fan motor. replaced the element and the motor, cleaned out the fan and housing, also the plastic moulded ducting at the back of the machine. Fusible link metered through OK, thermistor was around 26K Ohm cold. Put everything back together.
Then the fun really began. Machine worked for about 5 minutes, then the program knob started spinning accompanied by 13 flashes of the LED. Since this is supposed to indicate a dryer fan or thermistor fault, took the top off again to check the fan was running (it was) and found the thermistor ceramic top looking slightly tipped over. Thermistor was now open circuit. Ordered and fitted new thermistor from a well known supplier, genuine Indesit spare. On test, dryer did not heat. Found the damaged thermistor had caused overheat and trip of the thermal protection fusible link. Grr. Obtained replacement 121 deg thermal trip, crimped in place, tested again. Washing machine worked fine, once dryer cycle started machine once again started 13 flash routine. Found new thermistor had literally fallen apart, and of course the resultant overheat had blown the new thermal trip. Inspection of the thermistor bits seemed to indicate the ceramic was only bonded to the metal part at one point, looked to me if the internal spring contacts had forced the ceramic top off once the part had got hot and the metal had expanded. Returned broken pieces to supplier (still waiting for refund), obtained a new thermistor from the same supplier. Replaced it, replaced the thermal trip, tried machine. Same thing again, once dryer heated up the thermistor top came loose, moved slightly upwards, went high resistance and caused overheating. Another thermal trip.
Of course, once the thermistor goes open circuit, the processor sees it as a fault, and renders the washing machine useless as well.
I’ve now reached the point where I’m getting it in the ear about the machine, and I’m pretty ticked off.
My questions are: is this a common fault with these thermistors, or have I just hit a bad batch?
Has anybody else had problems with these?
I could force the thermistor back together and bond it with a high temperature silicon rubber, but since a failure means an overheat and reliance on the thermal trip to disconnect the element, I’m loathe to do so. Since the machine is nearly seven years old, I might just cut my losses and bin it, though this would give me a lot of satisfaction, it doesn’t make particular financial sense. My other half is fed up with me saying it’s fixed, only for the thing to grind to a halt again.
Would it be worth sourcing a spare from another supplier? I notice this site has the part, apparently manufactured by Hotpoint rather than Indesit, though I realize they are all probably made in the same factory.
