"Timothy Murphy" wrote in message
...
My neighbour's Hotpoint washing machine spinner
only works intermittently.
It isn't working, and then when she tries 20 minutes later
it works fine.
I looked at the belt, and that looked OK.

Any idea what is likely to be the problem?


The water level sensor is one option.

These are pneumatic sensors with a tube that runs down to the drain/lower
pipework of the machine. As the machine fills, the pressure in the tube
rises and the sensor switches to indicate water in the machine. When the
water drains, the pressure drops and the sensor knows the machine is empty.
Spin cycles are inhibited if the sensor thinks there is water in the
machine.

In your situation, I'd suspect a partial blockage- causing the pressure to
drop slowly and the sensor being "slow" to think the machine is empty.

All the sensors I've seem are about 2.5" in diameter and maybe 1" thick.
They've a narrow pipe which runs down to the lower pipework and a couple of
wires to the control electronics (or mechanical programmer in the old days).
They tend to be located in the upper half of the case- above the "high
water" point.

In my experience, the blockages tend to be near where the narrow pipe joins
the other pipes. A mix of that grey "slurry" and fluff being the cause. Give
it a good clean and run a rinse cycle.

--
Brian
www.g8osn.net