Washing Machine Won't Start But Red Light Flashing
Hi, I have an indesit wil103 and it wont start. The red light is flashing but when I press the start button the green lights come on for about a second a then go off and nothing happens. When I turned it off at the mains and left it for a while then turned it back on it automatically does a very quick cycle where the water goes straight through and then it goes into a really fast spin cycle for about 5 minutes then stops and then returns to the red light flashing and it wont start. I thought it may have been the PCB board but I have replaced it but it hasn't made a difference. the mechanical side of it seems fine as when it does spin (after turning mains off) it seems fine so Im thinking electrical? or circuitry perhaps? Joe
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.
Indesit WIL103 will not start; flashing red light suggests fault code needs counting
- The problem
- An Indesit WIL103 washing machine would not start. The red light was flashing, and pressing Start brought the green lights on for about a second before they went off again. After being switched off at the mains and left, it would briefly run an automatic cycle with water passing straight through, then a very fast spin for about five minutes, then stop and return to the flashing red light.
- Likely cause
- No confirmed component fault was identified. The accepted advice was that the flashing red light may be indicating an error code if it flashes a set number of times with a pause between flashes. The previously replaced main PCB was not confirmed to be faulty.
- What fixed it
- Do not continue speculative parts replacement. Check whether the red light flashes in a repeating counted pattern with a pause between sequences, as this would indicate an error code, and use that for proper diagnosis. The exact repair was not confirmed in the discussion.
- Checks to try
- Observed red light flashing
- Start button causes green lights to come on briefly then go off
- Machine briefly runs a drain/fill-through and fast spin after being isolated at the mains and powered back up
- Main PCB had already been replaced with no change
- Advice to count red-light flashes and note whether there is a pause between sequences
- Parts or tools mentioned
- Main PCB/module
Safety: Further diagnosis should be carried out by a suitably qualified appliance engineer.
1 Answer
Hello Joe. Unfortunately your case highlights why I always advise never to speculatively replace parts, especially expensive ones such as the main PCB or module. It's the single most miss-diagnosed part on a washing machine and even engineers often replace it only to find it wasn't that. The problem with such parts is you can't normally see a fault or test them, therefore you can only diagnose a faulty one if you've eliminated every other possibility or if by any chance an error code implicates it bit even then it's not reliable.
At least if an engineer has one on the on he can always swap them back if the fault remains and use the part again but buying one speculatively is a big gamble. Even many engineers will shy away from ordering one if they don't carry them because they might be stuck with it if it fails to cure the fault.
If the red light on a washing machine is flashing a set number of times, with a pause inbetween it's indicating an error code. If so count and report the number of flashes. If it's a constant flash with no pause then it isn't.
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