Washing Machine Help Forum

[Beechend]

Model: Zanussi Jet System 1200; FJ 1295; Product No: 914787016; S/No: 42400666; Manf 1993

Hi, advice appreciated please… I’m having trouble diagnosing whether this is a timer problem, cam wheel wearing out, or water level sensor or somesuch. When using F or G programme the cycle now more-often-than-not stops at the pump-out point after the wash but before the spin cycle – about a couple of mm past the ‘G’ on the dial where there are some small triangles printed onto the lettered ring around the dial – and won’t move on to spin until turned manually. If not remembered the pump carries on pumping till dry and eventually one of us remembers what that loud buzzing noise is coming from the utility room………. It doesn’t seem to matter whether rinse hold is selected and longer wash programmes such as C don’t fail at this stage; think it may have failed once on the D spin-only cycle, and this doesn't pass through F or G. We first noticed this when we came in after shopping to the smell of electrical overheating – the rotor had run dry and eventually overheated and stalled the pump. I thought it was down to gunge fouling the rotor but after dismantling, checking that the pressure switch (connected by a small bore pipe to the top of the pump housing) was mechanically activating, then cleaning and flushing the entire system with a bottle of limelite descaler, the problem has returned with increasing frequency. The pump motor seems to be holding up, but of course it's not doing it any good either. Will the timer and/or cam wheel respond to a careful application of WD40 or will this kill it for good? Is replacement the best option? Any ideas please?

[Martin]

We first noticed this when we came in after shopping to the smell of electrical overheating – the rotor had run dry and eventually overheated and stalled the pump.

It is impossible for the pump to run dry as it will always have at least 500ml of water in the sump hose and filter chamber it cannot empty. You will always need a shallow bowl to catch this excess amount when removing and cleaning the filter.

It does appear symptomatic of a pump/drain out problem you have though? Pumps usually wear out first and on average last about 3 years or so in general?

Mind how you go squirting WD40 about too, not the ideal course of action to be honest.

[Beechend]

Hi Martin

Now that's interesting - this machine has always had a practically dry sump where the filter locates - we've never had any problem with spillage when cleaning the filter, just thought it was a welcome improvement over the other machines we'd had! Likewise, whenever I've drained the hose there's not been more than a cupful of water left in it. Just for interest I've used a wooden spoon as a dip stick two minutes ago and there's not even half an inch of water on the end of the handle. But I wouldn't have thought this characteristic was a problem would you?

I definitely know that the pump-out motor/assembly hasn't been replaced on this machine since we've had it, but it didn't make any unpleasant noises until the wash cycle problem, hence my thoughts that it's the timer or some associated component that's faulty.

Regards

TJ

[Penguin45]

Sounds like a pressure chamber problem to me...... Cleaning agents won't generally clear them - removal and flushing is about the only method guaranteed to work.

Penguin45.

[Beechend]

Thanks for the advice Penguin45

I checked as best as I could visually that the pressure chamber was free of debris and scale etc and just did a suck and blow on the narrow bore tube to the pressure switch on top of the drum to check if the stubby pipe on top of the chamber was clear - seemed to be ok. I reassembled everything and listened very carefully to the pressure switch and was able to hear it softly 'click' as the water was discharged from the machine on the pump-out part of the cycle (I presume that this 'click' should tell the controller that the water has been ejected from the drum?) But the problem remained and the cycle still 'stuck' at this point.

I then tried the careful and sparing application of wd40 through a couple of the apertures on the side of the controller and the cam on the front and am happy to report that the cycle no longer sticks on F and G, but it still slips on D where it seems to be down to a worn part of the cam. However, we always use D when we're around, and we can hear when it stops spinning - so quiet! - so this isn't a problem.

One last thing - not related to the washging machine. Since registering on the UKwhitegoods site, I've discovered that my e-mail address has been spoofed - I started to get 'undeliverables' coming back to my inbox about an hour after registration and they've continued at a rate of about 5 per day ever since from webmasters etc all over the place, which I'm informed could mean that 1000's of spam e-mails have been sent out 'in my name'. At first I thought it was an error on my pc but I've carried out all the checks recommended by Norton, Microsoft and other security advice and it would seem it's nothing to do with my pc - it hasn't been zombied or whatever - but there's nothing I can do to stop this. I don't whether this was just coincidental or whether it means that the ukwhitegoods server is compromised in some way. Perhaps you or one of the other moderators could look into this just in case.