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Re: ISE 1606W – no motor rotation
Well I may have got somewhere. The last time the engineer was here, the front panel was removed, and today I found a brown wire had been trapped and pushed through the chassis by one of the plastic fingers that keeps the front panel in place.
That wire turns out to be the neutral connector to connector 7, and over time the insulation had cut through and earthed the wire to the chassis. Connector 7 appears to be the 4 signal wires to the MCU that control drum operations.
I can see no damage to either the main control board on the front panel, nor the MCU, but even though I’ve checked continuity of the chafed brown wire, and it’s no longer earthed, I still have no motor operation. So presumably something is damaged by connecting the neutral to earth. I can imagine most semiconductors wouldn’t like that. Unfortunately I have no idea whether the problem is with the front controller, or the MCU.
Looks like it’s not repairable, given the absence of engineers, information and parts. A shame because the basic machine still has decades of life in it.
Re: ISE 1606W – no motor rotation
When I had the motor issue the first time, it was due to poor connections between the MCU board and the motor. I found that if I moved the cable, the motor would work. The vibration of use had made the IDC connections poor. I pulled the plugs apart and soldered the wires to the plug pins, and it’s been fine ever since. If yours is intermittent, I suspect it’s the same problem, and easily fixed. Just try wiggling the wires a bit during a spin programme, see if the motor runs
I have a different problem now. Continuity on the cable is still fine, but there is 0v to the motor from the MCU board when the motor should be running. What I need to know is how to distinguish between failure of the MCU board, and failure of the main front control board that feeds it.
Re: ISE 1606W – no motor rotation
OK let me ask another question: is there any way I can test what I assume are the control signals for the MCU, from the front controller. I assume they’re the 4 skinny black wires. What should I see on them when doing (say) spin cycle? DC, or what?
I don’t mind buying a new MCU, but that’s obviously pointless if it’s the front panel not producing any output to control the motor. Someone must know, please!
Re: ISE 1606W (Asko WM25) no drum rotation
Thanks again, Kwatt, that explains the situation so even I can understand it.
The better news is that, as of 10 minutes ago, I don’t actually need any parts. I found the fault whilst probing the push-on motor loom connector to the MCU with a multimeter – a faulty connection between one of the tach wires and the multi-connector block. The block is the type where blades cut through the insulation into the conductor, and for some reason (several years of vibration I daresay) it wasn’t making good contact. It just took a poke to seat the wire properly. The machine is now fixed and quietly catching up with 2 weeks of laundry. Actually a bit quieter than ever – the belt was slightly misaligned and riding up on the flange, so I’ve fixed that too.
This all means my wife might not now divorce me. She’s been nagging to just go and buy another machine, and I’ve been clinging to my gut feel that there wasn’t much wrong and it could be fixed for far less.
Did I mention that I love this machine? It’s actually extremely nice to work on. I don’t expect to be doing it often, but hopefully if and when I do need spares, Whitegoods will have that sorted out. Thank you very much for your help, especially making the manuals available.
Re: ISE 1606W (Asko WM25) no drum rotation
Thanks. I’m trying to get a clear picture of the spares situation. This 1606W failure hasn’t dented my liking for the machine at all. It has worked extremely well for many years, and actually getting inside it and rummaging around I can really appreciate how good it is. I’d dismantled a few previous washing machines that failed and been pretty disgusted at how they’re engineered for factory assembly and a short life, and to be pretty much maintenance-proof. The warranty situation is unfortunate, but it scarcely matters given the engineered-in reliability and ease of access. If I have to spend a couple of hundred quid over 10-15 years to keep it working, it’s far better than a £300 lump of crap every 3-4 years. But the availability of spares is crucial, so I am keen to understand just where we are with that.
As I understand it, Whitegoods was and is the spares distributor. Since the failure of ISE, Whitegoods can only source spares direct from Asko (or perhaps via other EU distributors of Asko). Can I ask: why is this problematic, or different from all the spares that Whitegoods sells for other brands? Is Asko witholding spares because of legacy problems with ISE?
I have to say that personally I would accept it if the ISE commitment to sell spares at cost now dies with the company. I would prefer to pay a margin that makes spares supply a viable proposition for Whitegoods (or whoever inherits spares sales from ISE) than have a situation where nobody is willing to supply spares because there is no business case for doing so.
Meanwhile, until this gets sorted out, are there EU distributors of Asko parts who might sell to engineers or customers? I can only find US sellers of WM25 parts.
Re: ISE 1606W (Asko WM25) no drum rotation
Thanks Kwatt, that is very helpful, especially the parts listing – if the worst comes to the worst, correct Asko parts can be sourced from the USA.
I have further checks to make but it is looking as if either the PCU or MCU are faulty and providing no drive to the motor. I have been unable to find any fault with the motor, sensors or wiring. My (tentative) theory is that restarting the machine after the F3 fault was cleared may have caused component failure due to excess current (starting torque with a heavy drum full of wet washing).
I understand this is unlikely – not least because I can see no sign of component failure/overheating on either control board. However a previous 1606W thread with identical symptoms turned out to be a PCU failure (I PM’d the owner for more details than appeared in the thread). However I’d expect the MCU to be what would suffer from excessive current demand.
If I am unable to pin down the fault is Whitegoods able to test these ISE modules as a paid-for service? I ask because obviously I don’t want to waste money on needless replacements, and I note you apparently do have the capability:
These parts are seemingly very complex and yet, in most washing machines are also one of the least likely to actually fail. In tests less than 30{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} of all supposed electronic control modules that we receive back for testing actually have a fault on them which would indicate a greater than 70{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} chance that, if you think you need a timer or module, the diagnosis will be incorrect.
Whitegoods currently still lists both controllers. Does this mean you have stock? Both are available from US sellers of Asko but obviously I would prefer to buy from Whitegoods if possible, especially if you are able to test my existing modules ahead of purchase. I’d rather spend money on carriage and testing, ahead of purchasing whatever is necessary.
ISE 1606W (Asko WM25) no drum rotation
We have an ISE 1606W (rebadged Asko WM25). After an F3 fault that turned out to be a £1 coin in the filter, there is no drum rotation. Drum filling and emptying appear normal, but the drum does not move. Any cycle aborts after a few minutes fill/pump action with no fault code.
I called our (excellent) local engineer who told me that he couldn’t help due to ISE having ceased trading, spares being unavailable, warranty evaporated into thin air, and him being personally owed money (presumably for warranty work he’d completed). This is even grimmer than ISE ceasing trading. If engineers won’t now work on the machines, and only they have the knowledge, customers are completely stuffed. ISE had promised that technical manuals would be publicly available. That was one of the reasons I bought the machine – it was a reason why I won’t ever buy another Renault, who think only franchised workshops should have this sort of essential information.
I’m not here to complain but to try and find out what the fault is and how to fix it DIY if at all possible. Our machine is 7 years old and looks like it should continue for many years aside from this fault.
A reset (Power On with Start depressed) makes no difference.
I have had the back off, removed the belt and motor and checked the motor with a multimeter. It seems OK. Multimeter reads ~18ohm across the tach terminals, and the 3 motor terminals each show ~3.8ohm between each other. This seems plausible for what seems to be an induction motor. There’s no sign of open circuit windings nor shorts to earth. Everything rotates freely. No leaks, or scorch marks, the whole interior of the machine looks like new.
However we have had a few oddities lately – cycles that counted down to 2min then took about another half-hour to complete. At other times they’ve been fine.
At this point I suspect I am looking for a sensor or controller fault (or wiring) but I have been unable to find anything obvious.
The tubes to both the pressure sensor and the pressure switch are clear. The machine drains efficiently from the drain pump.
I’ve checked both the front panel control board and the motor control board for dry joints, signs of failed components (overheating, bulging electrolytic capacitors etc, poor connections). Can’t find anything obvious. But without knowing more about test measurements I am stuck.
Any suggestions re likely causes would be very helpful. Any suggestions about what to test, or where to get a faulty control board tested or repaired? Please.
Since it appears engineers are now unwilling to involve themselves with ISE repair, it would be extremely helpful to stranded customers if full diagnostic information was now made available.
I am mechanically very competent, and have only basic electronic knowledge but am competent not to electrocute myself or blow things up. I have a son who’s a development engineer on electric vehicles, who could help with more complex stuff. I just need to fix this machine ASAP as we CANNOT afford a new washing machine.
And the next issue is of course spare parts. Can these be sourced from Asko or Gorenge? I’m guessing there is some scope for substitution of components from them, or perhaps other brands. Contact details would be appreciated if so.Re: ISE 1607W no drum rotation: diagnostic help please.
Thank you. Unfortunately I sabotaged this thread by mis-stating that the machine is a 1607W. It is the previous model, the 1606W (Asko WM25 type). I will start a new thread.
