miele w524. is it worth fixing? clues?
Hi.
I'm trying to decide if our miele has just died or if it's possible to ressurect.
Symptoms:
Flashing and banging occasionally. As soon as we identified the washing machine was where the noise was comming from it was switched off. I removed side & top pannels, turned on to view exactly what part was flashing, and it was the motor.. so immediately switched off checked the web and followed the favoured response being new brushes, these I fitted and then ran the machine up. It purred away doing a drain/spin cycle with not problems at all, even at full speed.. so I thought I'd fixed it, put all the pannels back and so on.
Try a real load and after about 60 seconds there it goes again Bang!.. OFF!
Next thought.. water leak from inlet or drum getting to motor.. check all round, no sign of any leaks.
go to open door.. electric door release non functioning.
try the spin cycle one last time.. pump works, drum rotates, no sparking, but won't enter spin mode then it lights the "outlet fault" light.
I'm begining to wonder if the "electronic unit" has gone bad (that's what it's called on the supplied wiring diagram) It's the bit that includes the front dial/buttons/etc.
For reference, the machine is 10yr & 1 month old, it had a 10yr warranty (I've told my wife off for not using it enough :-) ). can't complain though as it's done about 8000 washes in that time.
So.. electronic control unit, or something else?..
And the real question: IS IT WORTH FIXING?
about me: electronics R&D engineer, 25yr experience of designing fiddly & high power electronics, just never got involved with domestic stuff, I have scopes/power supplies, meters etc knocking about the place.
Thanks in advance.
Solution Summary
AI-generated from this discussion
This thread was marked as solved. Here's a summary of the problem and the fix, generated from the discussion below.
Miele W524 sparks at motor and later shows outlet fault; replacement chosen over repair
- The problem
- A Miele W524 washing machine, about 10 years old, started flashing and banging from the motor area. After the machine was switched off, new motor brushes were fitted. It then completed a drain/spin test normally, but on the next real wash load it banged again after about 60 seconds. Afterwards the electric door release did not function, and a later spin attempt only ran the pump and rotated the drum without entering full spin, then showed the 'outlet fault' light.
- Likely cause
- The strongest diagnosis in the discussion was a motor fault, specifically possible low insulation or winding breakdown. The electronic control unit was considered by the owner, but this was not confirmed.
- What fixed it
- The accepted advice was to check the motor insulation with an insulation test meter and avoid speculatively replacing expensive parts such as the PCB. The owner reported Miele quoted about £400 for a motor and £120 call-out, and decided it would be more time- and cost-effective to replace the machine rather than repair it.
- Checks to try
- Removed side and top panels to inspect source of flashing
- Observed sparking/flashing at the motor
- Fitted new motor brushes
- Ran a drain/spin cycle successfully after fitting brushes
- Checked around for water leaks and found none
- Tried spin cycle again; pump worked and drum rotated but it would not enter spin
- Observed 'outlet fault' light
- Motor insulation test with an insulation meter was recommended
- Parts or tools mentioned
- Motor brushes
- Insulation test meter
- Motor
- Electronic control unit / main PCB
Safety: Further diagnosis should be carried out by a suitably qualified appliance engineer.
3 Answers
A 10 year old Miele washing machine - especially one with relatively light use - should only be half way through its life expectancy. However, spare parts, and repairs can be extremely expensive. So it's a dilemma. Unfortunately the cost of repair is a vital part of the decision equation so without it you can't make an informed choice. If the main PC has gone on a 10 year old Miele washing machine I wouldn't be surprised if it cost nearly £500 to replace using a Miele engineer or dealer. Those kind of prices bring into question how economically viable it is to repair one. The motor needs checking for low insulation with an insulation test meter. I wouldn't recommend speculatively replacing any expensive part - especially a PCB.
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Thanks very much for the feedback.. For reference the machine cost £500 10 yr ago. The current equivilent is £600.
8000 washes is 15 washes a week for 10 years (3kids, one disabled). Miele engineer their machines for 5 washes a week for 20 years (well that's what they told me) .. on their usage scale it's getting on for 30 years old. Miele quoted £400 for a motor, so if the windings are breaking down, it's a write off, if the controller is also in write off territory then things are not looking good, Miele charge £120 for a call out, plus parts. I think it's going to be more time & cost effective to just buy a new one.
15 washes a week is pretty tough going. I can't see any other brand coping with that.
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