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[camallison]

Aaaaaaaw Colin, I wasn't nagging      just a feminine view  but the correct one   

You are naturally correct - I always bow to a female point of view.    

Colin

[scottiesmum]

 ....  what a sensible gentleman  ! 

[tuftedduck]

@ tonyappuk

Yes, could be the belt or the carbon bushes.

Can't look at that today........am in no fit state to get the machine out from it's hidey-hole..will need help for that.

[burakkucat]

If the motor's brushes have never been checked or replaced in ~20 years then they would be my prime suspects.

[UncleUB]

Time to forget you're Scottish TD and get the old cheque book out 


http://www.johnlewis.com/231245544/Product.aspx   

[kitz]

It must be the week for washing machines. 

Mine broke on Wed.. 
I'd nipped home at lunch and decided to put a load on before going back out to an afternoon appt.  I was upstairs  when I heard a weird bang but didnt think too much of it immediately.  But a few mins later I went downstairs to make sure everything was ok...  and there was the washing machine doing its full cycle with the door wide open and spewing water out all over the place.
The catch had snapped off, the machine still thought the door was closed and was happily doing its thing.  Good job it wasnt 10 mins later or I would have left and it would have been free to discharge more water for about another half hour.   I was however a bit late for my appt as I had to do a quick mop up of the water.

Anyhow moral of the tale, I called out a guy who advertised in the local rag for washing machine repairs.   He came round at tea time, identified the handle catch part which was ordered the next day and he fitted it yesterday which took about 15 mins.   For the grand sum of £36 (£16 for part and £20 call out).   The door casing is still  a bit cracked, but it seems to be working ok and he said it should do for a bit longer but keep an eye on it.

---

Anyhow sorry td I digress.. but 2 years ago I called out the same guy because my machine had very similar symptoms to what you said... and it was the bushes..  I cant recall now exactly how much it was to for him to put new ones in..  but it certainly wasnt more than £50.

May be worthwhile looking in your local paper to see if theres some sort of local guy who may be able to fix it too.  I normally explain the symptoms and get a rough cost if possible before they come out.

Good luck td and hope you get something sorted.

[kitz]

I like the idea of washing clothes in the river, but I fear it might be a bit back-breaking (as well as cold in the winter).

Sorry got phone call whilst making above post and stopped for a while..  but Im not sure thats such a good idea in this weather.
On Wed I took all the half washed stuff out of the machine and just put them on the line - remember I was in a hurry to get out for an appt and it was somewhere to put a pile of soggy washing out of the way whilst I mopped up.

A few hours later they were all frozen solid on the line and I kid you not with icicles formed at the bottom where they'd been dripping.

[oldfogy]

TD did a large washing today. Well, I mean half a wash as it appears that my trusty AEG washing machine is neither rinsing nor spinning.. and will have to be replaced.........

This sounds a like a classic case of the door catch (Door Interlock) failing, which is a favourite fault with most washing machines, but people either get conned into expensive repairs or buy another machine, the last door catch I purchased was about £10, but that was over 10 years ago.
I also used to sell these door switches and also repair washing machines.

Ok, if you want to try, before you buy a new machine.

Basically the door catch houses a micro switch to stop it being opened when either rinsing or spinning.
Whereas some door catches are only 2 wire, which is then a simple case of short-out the 2 wires. (for testing purpose only, or else it is possible to open the door when the machine is actually working)

However some machines have a 4 wire switch and it's then a matter of finding out which pair belongs to which wire, if you have a tester then that should not be a problem to just follow the symbols on the switch, that's to say if it's not to burnt, which is the first sign of it being faulty.

Whilst you can get access to the switch just by pealing back the door rubber, then undo the 2 fixing screws, you may also find it easier to also remove the top cover, which is usually just 2 screw at the back, then just slide the top forward slightly.

One of the places you can get spares is from eSpares, http://www.espares.co.uk/
If the parts are in stock their delivery service is excellent, if not in stock they will keep you updated with the order.

Unfortunately I just took a quick look and it does not look as if the stock the 'Washing Machine Door Interlock' for your machine, but it would be worth a call to them, this is a sample of what it might look like, http://www.espares.co.uk/parts?k=washing+machine+door+interlock

And as you can also see the prices have not changed very much in the last 10 years.

Found it but they have gone up a bit, now around £26 depending on which model.
http://www.espares.co.uk/parts/washing-machines/door-parts/aeg/p/1556/143?k=washing+machine+door+interlock

[AdrianH]

TD did a large washing today. Well, I mean half a wash as it appears that my trusty AEG washing machine is neither rinsing nor spinning.. and will have to be replaced.........

This sounds a like a classic case of the door catch (Door Interlock) failing, which is a favourite fault with most washing machines, but people either get conned into expensive repairs or buy another machine, the last door catch I purchased was about £10, but that was over 10 years ago.
I also used to sell these door switches and also repair washing machines.

Ok, if you want to try, before you buy a new machine.

Basically the door catch houses a micro switch to stop it being opened when either rinsing or spinning.
Whereas some door catches are only 2 wire, which is then a simple case of short-out the 2 wires. (for testing purpose only, or else it is possible to open the door when the machine is actually working)

However some machines have a 4 wire switch and it's then a matter of finding out which pair belongs to which wire, if you have a tester then that should not be a problem to just follow the symbols on the switch, that's to say if it's not to burnt, which is the first sign of it being faulty.

Whilst you can get access to the switch just by pealing back the door rubber, then undo the 2 fixing screws, you may also find it easier to also remove the top cover, which is usually just 2 screw at the back, then just slide the top forward slightly.

One of the places you can get spares is from eSpares, http://www.espares.co.uk/
If the parts are in stock their delivery service is excellent, if not in stock they will keep you updated with the order.

Unfortunately I just took a quick look and it does not look as if the stock the 'Washing Machine Door Interlock' for your machine, but it would be worth a call to them, this is a sample of what it might look like, http://www.espares.co.uk/parts?k=washing+machine+door+interlock

And as you can also see the prices have not changed very much in the last 10 years.

Found it but they have gone up a bit, now around £26 depending on which model.
http://www.espares.co.uk/parts/washing-machines/door-parts/aeg/p/1556/143?k=washing+machine+door+interlock

The door interlock is legally required to operate and lock the door prior to the machine operating in any way, this has been the case for over 30 years. If the door interlock fails the machine won't work at all. A machine is not allowed to have ANY drum action with the door operable and in TD's case the machine is clearly operating normally through the wash cycle.
Things that can cause the issue TD describes:
1) Pump failing
2) Pump/outlet system blocked somewhere.( A frozen waste pipe is also a common cause)
3) Loose belt (but that is usually audible and accompanied with a smell of burning rubber and often uneven , jerky wash action.)
4) Carbon brushes failing (but it should be remembered that many older machines used induction motors so a motor failure would mean no wash action at all) and failing brushes can be heard very easily.
5) The other classic (but usually in hard water areas ) is the pressure switch sensor bottle at the base of the drum backplate wehich becomes clocked with grease/soap mixture, this causes the machine to sense it still has water and therefore cannot spin. Some timer stepping processes will simply stop and wait for the empty signal, therefore the rinse/spin cycles fail to progress.

[oldfogy]

Adrian,

I have personally had 2 washing machines that had a faulty door catch, the first one was a Electrolux, the second one was a Zanussi and on both occasions it only effected the spin and rinse cycle, in fact if memory serves me right, by turning the control knob manually I was able to start a half speed spin cycle to empty the machine.

My sister in-law also had a Indesit with the same problem and my sister had a Bendix with the same problem.
So as you can see the same problem is not prone just to one brand of machine.

Plus as I mentioned earlier, when I ran my own business I also repaired many washing machines with the same problem.

So wherever you got your information from then it is wrong.
It may well have written by a manufacturer, but I stand by what I said, that part of your information is wrong.

**********************

So TD, before splashing out on what could be a costly repair try my suggestion first.

[AdrianH]

Err......  well all I can say is you keep your opinion and I know my facts .


I am a fully qualified engineer, I trained with Hoover and spent 25+ years in the appliance industry and was employed to train engineers with several companies after I left Hoover.
I have worked extensively on Hoover,Hotpoint,Zanussi,Bosch,Creda,Beko,Ocean and many other makes, I stand by what I stated.

[oldfogy]

In which case I out rank you with 48 years in the electrical industry, starting from June 1964.

But obviously I am prepared to except that we are both correct, in either what we know or what we believe.

[tuftedduck]

Thanks guys for your further contributions.

Oh deary me, I hope I have not started a war of words..

The only thing I can look at without help is the door lock/switch which I will do later in the day. Anything more physical requiring the machine to be extracted from it's position under the units will have to wait until I can get some help.

To the best of my knowledge there are no washer engineers near at hand ( I'm very much in the sticks here) so if I was to call one in it would be from a distance and at a cost........more importantly, I have no idea of the reputation of any of the available companies.

Thanks again....please do not fall out on my account..

[oldfogy]

As I said earlier, you can get at it by just removing the rubber boot, just that it's easier to put back with the lid removed.

As you are not at the moment taking the top off, try using a small mirror and torch to see the switch and if I am correct it will show signs of burning (although not always) then using a very short possidrive screwdriver you can get at the 2 fixing screws.

As for falling out, I doubt it, it's just a difference of opinion.

Good luck and hopefully in time you will let us know how you get on.

Edit
Sorry forgot to say, if you want the manual you can download one from here:
http://www.aeg.co.uk/Support/

[kitz]

>>> A machine is not allowed to have ANY drum action with the door operable

This is something that had me puzzled last week when I had my washing machine flood mishap, because I always thought that they shouldnt work with the door open? 

On mine the door catch snapped mid-cycle.  Yet the machine most definately did carry on its full cycle with the door wide open and was able to spew water out into my kitchen. Its a Hotpoint WMT02.  I dont know exactly how far into the cycle it was probably about 1/3rd to 1/2 way through a 1 hour wash.  The drum was turning slowly and filling up water at the same time when I stopped it by which time there was already very large pool of water over the kitchen floor. (Surprising how far water spreads :/ )

I was washing a bedroom rug and probably an uneven load was what caused it to pop/snap open.  The plastic door casing has had a small crack in for several years after a friends toddler used it once to pull herself up on so for the past few years Ive had to slightly lift the door when closing to ensure a proper connection.   

Since last week though that crack is now bigger and I have to to twist the door a bit further to maintain a connection before the machine will start.

After fitting the new door catch, one of the things the guy did to check it was now working correctly was to see if the machine would start a new cycle with the door open which it wont.  He then tested it again by insering a screw driver into where the door catch would go and it did work.

--
@ TD, I do hope you are able to get something sorted.
It may be worth checking the local paper ad sections to see if there is anyone local and do a bit of ringing round first to get quotes to evaluate if its worth getting a new one or not.

I know what you mean TD about being able to do certain stuff.  I certainly wouldnt be able to get mine out on my own to look at it..  which is also something else to consider if you get a new one..  as you may also need help with installation.  Yeah I know its relatively simple in theory, but again thats something I probably couldnt do myself