New Wave Auto Washer 1100 Can't Sustain Fast Spin

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

New Wave Auto Washer 1100 aborts on high-speed spin with flashing LEDs

The problem

The washing machine would enter spin, then as it changed to higher speed the motor speed varied slightly, after a few seconds the spin stopped and all LEDs flashed. After fitting new motor carbon brushes, it still cut out on fast spin, especially with larger loads. The owner also reported that on a fast-spin-only programme it sometimes began filling with water when the motor cut out.

Likely cause

Most strongly supported diagnosis is motor commutator/armature wear, or the machine’s sensitive motor-sparking detection reacting during fast spin. The accepted reply said these New Wave models commonly abort on fast spin when the armature is worn, and that new brushes may not cure it if the armature is already worn.

What fixed it

Carbon brushes were replaced, but this did not resolve the fault. The accepted advice was that although the armature can be replaced on these models, it is beyond economic repair due to the machine’s age. Replacement of the appliance was therefore the practical recommendation. The water-fill behaviour after aborting was noted as unusual and not explained or confirmed as part of the repair.

Checks to try

• Observed motor speed hunting slightly as high-speed spin started
• Spin stopped after a few seconds with all LEDs flashing
• Motor carbon brushes were replaced
• Fault remained after brush replacement, particularly on large loads
• Advice to check whether there were flashes or rings of sparks across the armature rather than only small normal sparks

Parts or tools mentioned

• motor carbon brushes