Smoke from drum, brown wire burnt at back

This thread was marked as solved. Here's a summary of the problem and the fix, generated from the discussion below.

Hotpoint washing machine smoke and burnt brown wire at rear

The problem

After a wash load, smoke was seen from the drum area. On removing the back cover, the belt appeared fine but there was black residue on the rear panel. A brown wire at the back was burnt, had seized up and fell off.

Likely cause

The accepted diagnosis was a poor electrical connection on the brown wire, causing micro sparking and overheating. The likely points mentioned were a loose amp tag on the wire or a loose connection at the heating element.

What fixed it

The recommended repair was to cut back the hardened burnt section of the brown wire and fit a new 13 amp tag. If needed, the wire should be pulled through the loom to recover length, ensuring it is not left tight or under strain when the drum moves. The black residue on the rear inspection panel was considered possibly just dirt and belt rubber debris. The thread was marked solved, but the completed repair was not confirmed by the original poster.

Checks to try

• Removed back cover
• Checked belt condition
• Observed black residue on rear cover panel
• Observed burnt brown wire had seized and fallen off

Parts or tools mentioned

• 13 amp tag