Washing Machine Help Forum

unbeknown to us the heating element hasnt been working for a while and we recently got a drain fault error and on inspection every single hose in the machine was full of grey crud and gunk.
i cleaned everything, every hose, the big white plastic container to which the drain hose attaches was also full of gunk. there was loads of change in the hose at the bottom of the drum that leads to the pump.
everything is now spotless.
still getting the drain fault!!
water comes out of the pipework fast enough? so its either the pump or a sensor. thats if there is one.
i have the pump out now. the impellor or vanes can be pulled forward and back 4mm, and it can be moved up and down 1mm. is that normal or has the bearing gone?
when you turn the vanes it has two "tight" spots at 3 and 9 oclock but it springs past these and "bounces".
is this normal?
there is a sensor of some kind right at the bottom of the machine. looks like a smoke alarm!!!
is this what alternatively could be reporting my drain fault if it gets wet?

look forward to help and advice
cheers
al

ps almost forgot if i take the heating element out how can i check it with a mulitimeter?

there is no info on the net for this model so im gonna report my findings.
took element out and its faulty, ie open circuit.
to get element out you have to push it all the way in after removing wires and circular clips plus metal shield, then the rubber seal or plug prises out much more easily.
the sensor in the bottom has a polystyrene disc in it which connects to a switch. its obviously to detect water inside the machine. to my thinking vibration could trigger it which i think has been happening in my case.
taking a gamble that parts available for other models will fit mine so fingers crossed.

Check the pressure vessel on front of tub, sightly above & to right of the heater, they are prone to blockages & cause the fault described.

Hi,

I have this fault - and only cold washes - element gone, I guess. However, and he squirmed slightly, I cannot get the blasted machine open. it seems to have a different front panel to those described online. It's a W1514 but it does not have three hex nuts around the port. I cannot find an answer anywhere. How do I open this blighter up?

TIA, TC

Further...

I have accessed the machine's diagnostics and now have a list of fault codes: F20 F11 F51 F10 (in that order).

For completeness, I am pretty sure that this is not one of the "front panel swings open on a hinge" type.

Soooo, by hook and by crook, and by undoing the door seal, I just about managed to get a multimeter across the element terminals - dead, dead, dead. Whilst I was there I checked t=out the pressure thingy as recommended by Seamy above. It was indeed pretty gunky and may have been part of the problem. Anyway, there is no way I am going to get the element out without removing the front. So any ideas? There seem to be two nylon blocks, one either side at the bottom tat would seem to mean that the front panel must come away from the top first and then be lifted away. There is one central Miele inscribed torx bolt just under the door port but nothing else I can see. The top comes off but reveals little of interest... I shall be sending for an axe any day now. Any ideas would be very gratefully received.

F10 Water Intake Fault. F11 Water Drainage Fault. F20 Heating Fault. F51 Level Switch Fault. All faults listed are related to points mentioned earlier. Pressure switch detects level of water, when gunged up it won't detect water coming in or water draining out so throws up errors. It also can sometimes switch on heater when it thinks water is in tub, element burns out as a result.
Take off kickplate cover, screw are there to hold on front panel, some Mieles have a 10mm nut under door opening needs removed also, push front slightly down & it should then come outwards. POWER OFF before attempting any repairs.

Thanks, Seamy. yes, I had those codes and your explanation rings well and true with me.

One problem: there is no kickplate and so therefore no screws. It's just a plain front all the way to the feet. There is the central torx bolt as you describe however.

So, for all of you curious folks...

I finally got time to pull the machine out of its cubbyhole so that I could get at it. To open the front of the UK Miele W1524:

0 Unplug the machine.

1) Open the door and unfasten the door seal from the front panel.

2 Remove the torx screw from the centre of the machine under the door. Close the door.

3 Remove the top of the machine by undoing one (concealed) torx screw at the front of each side of the top. Then lift the top from the front and disengage hinge-like lug sockets at the rear.

4 Remove detergent draw.

5 Lift the control panel assembly upwards. It sits on three plastic locating points. When it is clear, just rotate it through 270 degrees (from the bottom towards you) and lay it on the top of the machine out of the way. that way, you do not have to disconnect anything.

6 There are now revealed two torx securing screws - one each side. Remove these.

7 The front is now free to be removed. It sits on two locating platic lugs at the very bottom. Ease the RH one up and it will come free. Ease the LH side away at the top. This will expose a plastic housing with the door lock sensor cable. The housing clips into a locating clip and is very easy to just ease the top and the bottom of this away from the housing. I pulled out the door lock sensor plug so that I could remove the front completely and put it to one side.

8 Reassembly is the opposite of disassembly.

This exposes the element which is very easy to pull out and swap. I got one off ebay for 40-odd quid rather than the gold-plated one that Miele sell. Put all the fittings onnto the new element before you slide it in. Make sure the element sits in the locating guide inside the machine. An oily finger wiped around the seal and it will just pop in nice and easy.

Sadly, after changing the element - which was indeed dead - the bloody thing still doesn't heat up. I am wondering if the wee heat probe that sits in the seal of the element is dead as well. That is my next adventure. Anyone got any other ideas?