Hi all.
If the door interlock is removed will the machine still work?

Thanks.

Arthur

"Arthur 51" wrote in message
...
Hi all.
If the door interlock is removed will the machine still work?


prolly depends how you remove it, if you just remove the mechanical bits and
leave the wires dangeling, prolly not,

you may find the interlock mechanism also does the door closed sensor, so
you'd need to ensure the door closed sensing bit still does it's job, and
maybe add a resistor to the interlock wires to make it think it's still
operating the solenoid.

i am most likely talking bollox by the way, i've never looked at the
interlock bits in a washing machine, i have no desire to open the door
whilst it's on my self,
and i dunno why you want to either, but i'm guessing your interlock is
playing up or something?

"Arthur 51" wrote in message
...
Hi all.
If the door interlock is removed will the machine still work?


Most washing machine door interlocks break the live feed, acting like a
switch, so if that switch is bridged out, the machine will work, but not
safely, because with the interlock removed, the drum will spin, fill with
water, heat, and flood with the door open, so not a good idea. Some
interlocks also incorporate a lock mechanism that operates by water
pressure, so the door cannot be opened whilst the machine contains water,
and if the interlock is removed it leaves an open pipe which will leak
water. Most, if not all, will contain a thermal delay to prevent opening the
door whilst the machine is still spinning, this is to prevent someone diving
in to remove the clothes when the cycle has finished, but before the drum
has stopped rotating, which could result in a broken arm. The door interlock
serves a very useful purpose, and with a new one only costing a few pounds,
it must be a better bet to replace it than remove and bodge it.

"Harry Stottle" wrote in message
...

"Arthur 51" wrote in message
...
Hi all.
If the door interlock is removed will the machine still work?


Most washing machine door interlocks break the live feed, acting like a
switch, so if that switch is bridged out, the machine will work, but not
safely, because with the interlock removed, the drum will spin, fill with
water, heat, and flood with the door open, so not a good idea. Some
interlocks also incorporate a lock mechanism that operates by water
pressure, so the door cannot be opened whilst the machine contains water,
and if the interlock is removed it leaves an open pipe which will leak
water. Most, if not all, will contain a thermal delay to prevent opening
the door whilst the machine is still spinning, this is to prevent someone
diving in to remove the clothes when the cycle has finished, but before
the drum has stopped rotating, which could result in a broken arm. The
door interlock serves a very useful purpose, and with a new one only
costing a few pounds, it must be a better bet to replace it than remove
and bodge it.

The problem I have is...
Yesterday I did a wash followed by a tumble dry cycle. When long after it
was finished, the
door wouldn't open. I pulled the plug but it continued to be locked. I
left it till this morning
to try again..still locked. I then put the plug back in and still locked.
I was too afraid to tell the wife.
However, I went into the kitchen later to find the washing that had been
stuck inside was now in
the laundry basket. The lock had become released since I last tried it.

It did this to a lesser degree last week after a domestic appliance engineer
changed the lock.
before they left they let the machine run empty but after it finished it
wouldn't open.
I called them back the next morning and you know it...the engineer opened
the door as easy as you like.

Arthur

"Arthur 51" wrote in message
...

"Harry Stottle" wrote in message
...

"Arthur 51" wrote in message
...
Hi all.
If the door interlock is removed will the machine still work?


Most washing machine door interlocks break the live feed, acting like a
switch, so if that switch is bridged out, the machine will work, but not
safely, because with the interlock removed, the drum will spin, fill with
water, heat, and flood with the door open, so not a good idea. Some
interlocks also incorporate a lock mechanism that operates by water
pressure, so the door cannot be opened whilst the machine contains water,
and if the interlock is removed it leaves an open pipe which will leak
water. Most, if not all, will contain a thermal delay to prevent opening
the door whilst the machine is still spinning, this is to prevent someone
diving in to remove the clothes when the cycle has finished, but before
the drum has stopped rotating, which could result in a broken arm. The
door interlock serves a very useful purpose, and with a new one only
costing a few pounds, it must be a better bet to replace it than remove
and bodge it.

The problem I have is...
Yesterday I did a wash followed by a tumble dry cycle. When long after it
was finished, the
door wouldn't open. I pulled the plug but it continued to be locked. I
left it till this morning
to try again..still locked. I then put the plug back in and still locked.
I was too afraid to tell the wife.
However, I went into the kitchen later to find the washing that had been
stuck inside was now in
the laundry basket. The lock had become released since I last tried it.

It did this to a lesser degree last week after a domestic appliance
engineer changed the lock.
before they left they let the machine run empty but after it finished it
wouldn't open.
I called them back the next morning and you know it...the engineer opened
the door as easy as you like.

If it does this again, just try firmly pressing the door in where the catch
fits, then operating the catch again, some interlocks can bind and doing
this can release them.

"Harry Stottle" writes:

"Arthur 51" wrote in message
It did this to a lesser degree last week after a domestic
appliance engineer changed the lock.
before they left they let the machine run empty but after
it finished it wouldn't open.
I called them back the next morning and you know it...the
engineer opened the door as easy as you like.

If it does this again, just try firmly pressing the door in
where the catch fits, then operating the catch again, some
interlocks can bind and doing this can release them.

Another possible issue is that some machines have a delay
after they stop before they permit the door to open. If it
does, perhaps it's the delay timer that's on the blink?

--
Jón Fairbairn
http://www.chaos.org.uk/~jf/Stuff-I-dont-want.html (updated 2009-01-31)

On Sun, 1 Mar 2009 13:50:44 -0000, Arthur 51 wrote:

I was too afraid to tell the wife. However, I went into the kitchen
later to find the washing that had been stuck inside was now in
the laundry basket. The lock had become released since I last tried it.
snip
I called them back the next morning and you know it...the engineer
opened the door as easy as you like.

The door opened by itself and the washing made it own way into the laundry
basket? I suspect "operator error" rather than anything wrong with the
lock/latch. They can be a sticky, pushing the door closed against the
rubber seal ensures there is pressure on the latch which can stop it
releasing unless that pressure is removed by pushing the door by the
latch.

--
Cheers
Dave.

"Jon Fairbairn" wrote in message
...
"Harry Stottle" writes:

"Arthur 51" wrote in message
It did this to a lesser degree last week after a domestic
appliance engineer changed the lock.
before they left they let the machine run empty but after
it finished it wouldn't open.
I called them back the next morning and you know it...the
engineer opened the door as easy as you like.

If it does this again, just try firmly pressing the door in
where the catch fits, then operating the catch again, some
interlocks can bind and doing this can release them.

Another possible issue is that some machines have a delay
after they stop before they permit the door to open. If it
does, perhaps it's the delay timer that's on the blink?

--
Jón Fairbairn
http://www.chaos.org.uk/~jf/Stuff-I-dont-want.html (updated 2009-01-31)

My daughter's Hotpoint has a device that touches the belt - I guess it is to
sense when it last moved - to start some sort of timer device. Not sure how
it works but it could cause trouble.

"Jon Fairbairn" wrote in message
...
"Harry Stottle" writes:

"Arthur 51" wrote in message
It did this to a lesser degree last week after a domestic
appliance engineer changed the lock.
before they left they let the machine run empty but after
it finished it wouldn't open.
I called them back the next morning and you know it...the
engineer opened the door as easy as you like.

If it does this again, just try firmly pressing the door in
where the catch fits, then operating the catch again, some
interlocks can bind and doing this can release them.

Another possible issue is that some machines have a delay
after they stop before they permit the door to open. If it
does, perhaps it's the delay timer that's on the blink?

This delay is/was usually due to a bi-metal thermal switch built into the
interlock, when the cycle has finished, no power is fed to the lock and the
thermal switch cools allowing the door to open. Now that the machines are
more electronicised, this could have changed, but this is how it used to be.

PS electronicised fooled the spell checker, it couldn't even offer an
alternative :-)

On Sun, 01 Mar 2009 16:44:07 +0000, Jon Fairbairn wrote:

"Harry Stottle" writes:

"Arthur 51" wrote in message
It did this to a lesser degree last week after a domestic
appliance engineer changed the lock.
before they left they let the machine run empty but after
it finished it wouldn't open.
I called them back the next morning and you know it...the
engineer opened the door as easy as you like.

If it does this again, just try firmly pressing the door in
where the catch fits, then operating the catch again, some
interlocks can bind and doing this can release them.

Another possible issue is that some machines have a delay
after they stop before they permit the door to open. If it
does, perhaps it's the delay timer that's on the blink?

And bloody annoying these delays are - our machine has a countdown timer
and if you're waiting to put a second load in, you see it reach zero, the
machine stops and it then won't let you open the door for another three
minutes. Twenty seconds would be more than adequate.

SteveW

Arthur 51 wrote:
However, I went into the kitchen later to find the washing that had been
stuck inside was now in
the laundry basket. The lock had become released since I last tried it.

I suggest you find a different way to help the missus around the house
as obviously neither she nor the machine appreciate your efforts!

Andy

On Sun, 1 Mar 2009 16:57:15 -0000, John wrote:

My daughter's Hotpoint has a device that touches the belt - I guess it
is to sense when it last moved - to start some sort of timer device.

On our old Hotpoint it was just a free swinging pecker that pushed against
the belt. If the belt wasn't moving the pecker stayed vertical and
mechanically allowed the door to open. If the belt was moving the pecker
didn't remain vertical and the door could not be opened. There was an
electrical interlock as well, so you couldn't open the door during a
static part of the cycle.

--
Cheers
Dave.