Miele Washer doesn't proceed from starting drain, to wash cycle
Our Miele 1203 Washer tries to drain upon startup. It comes on with the buzzer sounding, and trying to drain. After about 3 minutes or so, it stops trying to drain, but then is not functional - does not proceed to the wash cycle. Nothing is operative. Have to restart it.
My research points to issues along the drain system. I cleared any clogs. That seems to point at a bad drain pump... but the test for the drain pump seems to be determining if the impeller spins or not, and mine does. So I'm stumped. Control panel? We had it replaced about 3 years ago.
How can I tell if the drain pump is functional or not? If the impeller is spinning, is that about the only test? Does that mean it is fine, and the problem must be something else?
thanks so much!
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 1203 drains at start then stops without entering wash
- The problem
- A Miele 1203 washing machine starts by running the drain pump with the buzzer sounding, continues draining for about three minutes, then stops and will not proceed into the wash cycle until restarted. The owner had already cleared drain-system blockages and found the pump impeller would spin.
- Likely cause
- The strongest diagnosis in the discussion is that the machine may not be taking in water after the normal initial drain sequence, rather than the drain pump itself being faulty. Other possible causes suggested were water in the base activating constant draining, or a water level pressure switch/pressure hose issue preventing the machine from recognising that it is empty. These alternatives were not confirmed.
- What fixed it
- Recommended action was to stop focusing only on the drain pump and check whether the machine begins to fill with water after the initial drain. It was also suggested to inspect for water in the machine base. A further suggestion was to check the water level pressure switch and associated hose for blockage, but no confirmed repair was given.
- Checks to try
- Drain-system clogs were cleared
- Pump impeller was checked and found to spin
- Suggested check whether water enters the machine after the initial drain
- Suggested check for water in the base of the machine
- Suggested check of the water level pressure switch and pressure hose for blockage
Safety: Further diagnosis should be carried out by a suitably qualified appliance engineer.
3 Answers
Hi there. As far as I know, all washing machines try to drain upon start-up. It's the first thing they do. However, within a few seconds, they should also start to fill up with water. This procedure is to just make sure there is no old water left in the washing machine, and to add some cold water that runs into the sump hose before taking in the detergent. The latter is to prevent any detergent getting flushed into the sump hose and being wasted in there.
So maybe the problem you have is that it is not taking in any water? I'm presuming that there is no water inside the washing machine? If so, I would not worry about the pump. In my Miele washing machine you can unscrew the pump filter and run the washing machine on a spin cycle to see the pump impeller running.
Need Professional Help or Spare Parts?
Having said that, I'm not so sure about the buzzer sounding. Another possibility is if there is water in the base of the washing machine. That could cause washer to not work and to energise the pump.
Need Professional Help or Spare Parts?
Could it be faulty water level pressure switch - not thinking the sump/ machine is empty of water and so just emptying and emptying at start and not getting a signal that the drum/chamber is empty of water then just eventually 'times out' and justs stops and cycle wont go any further - could that be another thing to check , that the actual water level pressure switch is working as it should? - it may even be a blockage of soap and gunk somewhere in between the pressure hose from the sump to the level switch blockage somewhere?
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