Hotpoint Wml540 Dead
Hello all,
Our hotpoint wml540 (about 4yrs old) shows no signs of life at all, although it previously worked fine and I don't remember any problems with the last wash. Have scrolled through 12 pages of questions here and found some related, also read Haynes repair manual and other internet sources which suggest the on/off switch, interlock door switch or main pcb.
There is 240v getting to the main pcb and also to the interlock switch brown/red connector terminal block and I measured 198ohms across these interlock switch terminals (heater element perhaps).
What I need to know-- could there be no sign of life at all the if the interlock switch is faulty or would operation of the on/off button at least light up the leds?
Solution Summary
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This thread was marked as solved. Here's a summary of the problem and the fix, generated from the discussion below.
Hotpoint WML540 completely dead due to faulty main board
- The problem
- Hotpoint WML540 washing machine showed no signs of life at all. The last wash had been normal, with no prior symptoms reported.
- Likely cause
- Faulty main board. The accepted reply noted a faulty door interlock would commonly still allow the control panel to light, and also mentioned a possible neutral fault or, less commonly, an open circuit motor, but the final confirmed diagnosis from the service visit was the main board.
- What fixed it
- The owner checked the machine and then called Hotpoint. Hotpoint diagnosed a faulty main board. The exact component-level repair was not described, only that the board was identified as faulty.
- Checks to try
- 240V supply present at the main PCB
- 240V supply present at the interlock switch brown/red connector terminal block
- Measured 198 ohms across the interlock switch terminals
- Visual inspection of the main board showed nothing obvious
- Forum advice considered whether the socket/neutral supply could be faulty
- Parts or tools mentioned
- main PCB
- door interlock switch
Safety: Further diagnosis should be carried out by a suitably qualified appliance engineer.
4 Answers
Power goes to the interlock before allowing anything else to work though commonly the control panel should still function so you can set the programmes. If everything is totally dead, but power is definitely getting to parts of the machine maybe there's a neutral fault somewhere, make sure the socket isn't faulty as it's possible (though rare) for a socket to have live but not neutral. Hotpoint washing machines can go dead for silly things like an open circuit motor though again, usually you'd still get lights on the control panel.
General troubleshooting advice for dead washing machine
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Thanks Andy, unfortunately I think the interlock switch led me astray, as you said the front panel lights would probably come up even if it were faulty. I had a good look at the main board which didn't show anything obvious before we ended up calling Hotpoint in. It was a faulty main board but why it went is a mystery.
Staggering isn't it. You can buy electronic devices, such as amplifiers, computers and they last many years. I have a computer which is over ten years old and it still works. I have amplifiers that are nearly 20 years old. When it comes to electronics in washing machines they seem to hardly last any time at all in comparison. Perhaps they use cheap components, as usual to keep costs lower for more profit.
I think you are mostly right edd. The electronic controls and pcbs were sold to us as being much more reliable because there are no moving parts but the reality is that many are just as unreliable as the old mechanical controls simply because they aren't high enough quality. The price of some of the pcbs once the model is out of production can be stupid.
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