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?


--
Timothy Murphy
e-mail: gayleard /at/ eircom.net
tel: +353-86-2336090, +353-1-2842366
s-mail: School of Mathematics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland

Timothy Murphy wrote:
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?


Sounds like a sensor or cut-out problem.
Something overheating?
Water level too high because of partially blocked outlet, filter or pump?
Built in time delay for safety reasons?

Does the machine make any noise when the spin is activated but does not
work?

"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

Invisible Man wrote:

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?

Sounds like a sensor or cut-out problem.
Something overheating?
Water level too high because of partially blocked outlet, filter or pump?
Built in time delay for safety reasons?

Does the machine make any noise when the spin is activated but does not
work?

Thanks for your response.
Yes, I think there is a noise when the spin is activated,
as though the motor is trying to turn, but cannot.

I tried spinning by hand, and the bearings didn't seem too bad.

--
Timothy Murphy
e-mail: gayleard /at/ eircom.net
tel: +353-86-2336090, +353-1-2842366
s-mail: School of Mathematics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland

Timothy Murphy wrote:
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?


worn brushes.

In article ,
Timothy Murphy writes:
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?

Describe "isn't working" in a lot more detail.
Exactly what happens?

Also, what's the spin speed? (Things work differently
on the high spin speed models.)
If it's a high spin speed model, does spin work at the
lower speeds (or conversely, only at high speeds)?

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

Any idea what is likely to be the problem?

Brushes?

Or possibly an intermittant 'door open' sensor preventing the spin from
starting - Not an uncommon problem with my Hotpoint machine.

Al.

The Natural Philosopher wrote:

Timothy Murphy wrote:
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?

worn brushes.

Thanks for all the advice.
The mention of water sensors made me wheel the machine
on my Lidl trolley to the washing machine service station
in the next street...


--
Timothy Murphy
e-mail: gayleard /at/ eircom.net
tel: +353-86-2336090, +353-1-2842366
s-mail: School of Mathematics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland