Drum Does Not Spin (by 3 users)
posted by redson on Apr 11, 2007
My washer runs through it's entire wash cycle but the drum does not spin. Clothes are soaked and not clean. Drum moves farily easily by hand. This is a sudden issue - it worked one day and not the next.
Comment by redson, posted on Apr 11, 2007
Thanks for your suggestions.
The belt was intact and all pullies looked good. I tried a spin cycle with the back off and it did not look like the motor attempted to turn. It moves by hand so there is no seisure issue that I can see.
Where is the motor controller and is there an easy way to test it vs. the motor?
Thanks
The belt was intact and all pullies looked good. I tried a spin cycle with the back off and it did not look like the motor attempted to turn. It moves by hand so there is no seisure issue that I can see.
Where is the motor controller and is there an easy way to test it vs. the motor?
Thanks
2 Other Users Have The Same Problem
Comment by zinnia68, posted on Feb 24, 2008
i had the same exact problem with my beloved Bosch WFK2401 as described by redson, steveBBB, and winslow17. everything seemed fine except the drum wouldn't turn, and the digital timer seemed to just automatically reduce the time remaining by skipping past all the minutes any drum-turning would have taken up. my clothes were soaking wet and did not get clean.
the repairman (from Mr. Appliance, a national chain) wanted to replace the whole motor plus the circuit board. good thing i found this website the night before. i asked the repairguy if it could indeed be the carbon brushes, and he said it was certainly possible, however he was not authorized to open up the motor, only to replace the whole thing. and charge me almost $500 for the privilege. more to include the circuit board "because those two things usually go kaput at the same time."
but i know my washing machine. it's my baby. i didn't want to alter its soul one bit. so i ordered the carbon brushes from an online parts distributor (not bosch, then recruited a male friend to give me some courage and lend me some tools (i'm female, somewhat handy, but not too familiar with tools). i printed out winslow17's post, and that was all i needed to get started. everything i describe here is from working from the back panel (so the "back" is the machine's actual "front")
there were a few minor differences in how i got it done. first, there's no way to get around having a Torx screwdriver, you absolutely need one -- to get the rear cover off the machine, and also to detach the green ground wire from the motor (don't mess with the other wires, you can work around them still attached). you need a 13 inch socket wrench to remove the two bolts holding the motor in place -- one in front and one in back. make sure someone is holding the motor up as you undo the bolts, or else it will plop down hardand maybe damage it. to remove the motor you need to move it back and down carefully, then rest it on a short stool or box next to the machine so you can save yourself the trouble of having to disconnect or cut any wires.
it is easy coz you will not need to open up the motor as the carbon brushes are accessible on either side. to pop the brushes out, you need to just slide the silvery metal clip bit up and then back and down, pushing at a strategic point where the grooves on the clip let it slide out. as you remove each brush, make sure you pay attention to how the sloped part was angled in. the second brush will be positioned in the opposite way.
the trickiest part really is putting in the new "brushes" (carbon sticks that brush against the motor) because you have the copper spring/coil the needs to get shoved in until you can reinsert the equally tricky clip to hold the whole brush contraption in place. note that, like the brushes, the second clip will also be positioned in the opposite manner as the first.
make sure you have inserted the brush all the way in until it touches the motor. keep pushing it in gently until you feel it stop; you should not be able to see the top of the carbon piece once it has been inserted fully. all you should see is the copper springy coil thing and the clip.
then just work backwards to reattach the motor and the green grounding wire and then the rear cover.
the repairman (from Mr. Appliance, a national chain) wanted to replace the whole motor plus the circuit board. good thing i found this website the night before. i asked the repairguy if it could indeed be the carbon brushes, and he said it was certainly possible, however he was not authorized to open up the motor, only to replace the whole thing. and charge me almost $500 for the privilege. more to include the circuit board "because those two things usually go kaput at the same time."
but i know my washing machine. it's my baby. i didn't want to alter its soul one bit. so i ordered the carbon brushes from an online parts distributor (not bosch, then recruited a male friend to give me some courage and lend me some tools (i'm female, somewhat handy, but not too familiar with tools). i printed out winslow17's post, and that was all i needed to get started. everything i describe here is from working from the back panel (so the "back" is the machine's actual "front")
there were a few minor differences in how i got it done. first, there's no way to get around having a Torx screwdriver, you absolutely need one -- to get the rear cover off the machine, and also to detach the green ground wire from the motor (don't mess with the other wires, you can work around them still attached). you need a 13 inch socket wrench to remove the two bolts holding the motor in place -- one in front and one in back. make sure someone is holding the motor up as you undo the bolts, or else it will plop down hardand maybe damage it. to remove the motor you need to move it back and down carefully, then rest it on a short stool or box next to the machine so you can save yourself the trouble of having to disconnect or cut any wires.
it is easy coz you will not need to open up the motor as the carbon brushes are accessible on either side. to pop the brushes out, you need to just slide the silvery metal clip bit up and then back and down, pushing at a strategic point where the grooves on the clip let it slide out. as you remove each brush, make sure you pay attention to how the sloped part was angled in. the second brush will be positioned in the opposite way.
the trickiest part really is putting in the new "brushes" (carbon sticks that brush against the motor) because you have the copper spring/coil the needs to get shoved in until you can reinsert the equally tricky clip to hold the whole brush contraption in place. note that, like the brushes, the second clip will also be positioned in the opposite manner as the first.
make sure you have inserted the brush all the way in until it touches the motor. keep pushing it in gently until you feel it stop; you should not be able to see the top of the carbon piece once it has been inserted fully. all you should see is the copper springy coil thing and the clip.
then just work backwards to reattach the motor and the green grounding wire and then the rear cover.
Comment by SteveBBB, posted on Jan 21, 2008
I have the same problem with a Bosch WFF1401, the machine carries out the washing cycle with the exception of the drum does not rotate, or spin. I removed the motor and the brushes are about 1/2 to 3/4 inch. I noticed that the control panel has a number of transistors/resistors a number of which have a black shading around them. The household RCD needed resetting and the washing machine fuse also needed resetting. Does this sound terminal?
Best Solution
posted on Sep 05, 2007
GuideWe had the same problem on a 7-yr. old WFK02401 washer that had been used daily for 7 years. Bosch's approved repair people quoted us $350 for installing a new motor. In fact, all it needed - knock wood - was new motor brushes, for which I paid all of $45, including shipping (or cheaper, if I'd ordered directly from Bosch.) To replace these requires a half-inch wrench and a bit of confidence and common sense. I won't go into all the details, here, except to say that you need to remove just two bolts, unattach the bundle of wires strapped to the motor housing, take out the motor, replace the brushes, and put back the motor. There may be a problem with one of the control modules in the machine - electronics that oversee the washing cycle and turn the motor and other items on and off during same - in which case you may want to find a repair person. I just learned that there is a circuit diagram pasted under the machine's top cover; it includes some resistance values (ohms) that can help with troubleshooting, I believe.
Bosch's own repair/service people - third-parties, all of them - are not going to want to replace brushes; they make more money doing entire motors, I imagine. Also, they do not like it when a man watches them work or worse, when a woman (aka my wife) asks them smart questions. They are used to having their way with slightly intimidated and ignorant females - trust us, and pay us. But that's another story.
Bosch's own repair/service people - third-parties, all of them - are not going to want to replace brushes; they make more money doing entire motors, I imagine. Also, they do not like it when a man watches them work or worse, when a woman (aka my wife) asks them smart questions. They are used to having their way with slightly intimidated and ignorant females - trust us, and pay us. But that's another story.
Solution #2
posted on Apr 11, 2007
GuruFirst step is to see if the drive belt that connects the motor to the drum has come off the pulley.
If it has, check that the pullies are intact (I've seen the spokes on the big drum pulley on other machines break just where they join the hub, which makes the pulley rim all wobbly - I've also seen the end of the motor spindle pulley snap off). If the pullies are OK, then try putting the old belt back on to get you back working in the short term - but buy a replacement (if the belt is old, tired or damaged, it will probably come off again pretty soon).
If the belt hasn't come off, you could be looking at a motor or motor controller problem.
Any recent history of Radio/TV interference, or of the motor sounding particularly groany of late might point you in the direction of new brushes for the motor (which aren't hard to change).
If you get no joy with that lot, post back with a note of what you've done and seen to date and I, or someone else, will walk you through how to check the motor windings.
A.
If it has, check that the pullies are intact (I've seen the spokes on the big drum pulley on other machines break just where they join the hub, which makes the pulley rim all wobbly - I've also seen the end of the motor spindle pulley snap off). If the pullies are OK, then try putting the old belt back on to get you back working in the short term - but buy a replacement (if the belt is old, tired or damaged, it will probably come off again pretty soon).
If the belt hasn't come off, you could be looking at a motor or motor controller problem.
Any recent history of Radio/TV interference, or of the motor sounding particularly groany of late might point you in the direction of new brushes for the motor (which aren't hard to change).
If you get no joy with that lot, post back with a note of what you've done and seen to date and I, or someone else, will walk you through how to check the motor windings.
A.
Comment by zeusfaber, posted on Apr 13, 2007
This is going to have to be a bit generic, as I don't recognise your model number, so can't be sure what sort of motor you're dealing with.
If you haven't got a multimeter, suggest you buy yourself one (it needn't be expensive, and once you have it, you'll find it's useful for all sorts of jobs).
With the machine disconnected from the electrical supply, unplug the cable that connects the motor to the rest of the machine. You may also find taking the motor right out gives you better access.
Carefully remove and inspect the brushes. Make sure that they haven't worn to the point where the springs are no longer pushing them against the commutator. After refitting them, but before reconnecting their wires, measure the resistance between them. Expect it to be in the order of tens of ohms, and to remain in that range as you slowly turn the motor.
Look for a pair of wires going into the windings on the body of the motor, and measure the resistance between these. Again, expect it to be of the order of tens of ohms.
If that all looks good, and you can't see anything obviously wrong with any of the wiring, trace the motor wiring back and see where it goes.
If you find a starter capacitor (will look something like the item pictured on http://www.tdspares.co.uk/proddetail.asp... you might try replacing it on spec - it's cheap enough for you to be able to afford to get it wrong.
Hopefully that'll get you started.
A.
If you haven't got a multimeter, suggest you buy yourself one (it needn't be expensive, and once you have it, you'll find it's useful for all sorts of jobs).
With the machine disconnected from the electrical supply, unplug the cable that connects the motor to the rest of the machine. You may also find taking the motor right out gives you better access.
Carefully remove and inspect the brushes. Make sure that they haven't worn to the point where the springs are no longer pushing them against the commutator. After refitting them, but before reconnecting their wires, measure the resistance between them. Expect it to be in the order of tens of ohms, and to remain in that range as you slowly turn the motor.
Look for a pair of wires going into the windings on the body of the motor, and measure the resistance between these. Again, expect it to be of the order of tens of ohms.
If that all looks good, and you can't see anything obviously wrong with any of the wiring, trace the motor wiring back and see where it goes.
If you find a starter capacitor (will look something like the item pictured on http://www.tdspares.co.uk/proddetail.asp... you might try replacing it on spec - it's cheap enough for you to be able to afford to get it wrong.
Hopefully that'll get you started.
A.
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