European Appliance Forum

Hi all, can anyone point me in the right direction in respect of my washing machine problem. I live in Spain and the machine is a firstline (carrefour) front loader.
For a while now the water has not been heating, made evident by the washing coming out dirtier than when it went in.

I tested the element and it works ok, there is, I think, a thermostat next to the element. I get continuity across the black in/ black out terminals but don't know how else to test the thermostat. there are 2 additional blue cable terminals on it, no idea what they are.
During a cycle, I`m sure there is power to the thermostat, can anyone give me an idiots guide to testing the thermostat properly.

Unfortunately, it doesn't look like I can attache a photo on here but I have taken some I can forward to an email address if required

If it is the thermostat, the next problem I will have is locating a spare.

Thanks in anticipation

thanks Don, the model is firstline FL1000/CVA, I have uploaded a pic here http://s769.photobucket.com/albums/xx333/gwilymfloyd/

It's a Merloni-built machine.

The thermostat has two functions. The black wires are connecting a 95c safety thermostat directly in line with the heating element. The terminals should be normally closed, so you should get continuity across them when tested with a meter. The blue wires are connected to a thermistor. This should give a reading in kOhms, falling as the temperature rises.

The prime suspect on any Merloni machine is always the computer board - they are notoriously unreliable. Check for burnt out solder joints and burnt tracks.

Penguin45.

Thanks Penguin45, after removing all the wires and replacing them, I obviously found a loose connection and it is now working fine. What a pain, however, thanks for your help and certainly pointing me in the right direction. The loose wire was deffo on the thermostat. This is a great forum and I will use it again when needed.

Penguin 45, further to your last post when you said that firstline was a Merloni product. Can you suggest where I might get spares for this model online please?

Try the whitegoods spares stores.I have worked on a few machines here in Spain and whitegoods have never let me down.Dave Conway is a mine of information and very helpful.

thanks for that suggestion. I have managed to fix the machine now after buying another one, so we are a two machine family. However I have a question about the one I bought. It is A Hemmerman H1000, where can I get an instruction manual for it, in english?

Sorry i have not come across that machine.It's probably an offshoot of one of the"big boys".If you can identify who makes it i would think that it will be easier to obtain a manual.