Hi

I have a Zanussi 1186 washing machine which is increasingly reluctant
to spin. Rather than spinning it just reverse tumbles slowly for about
5-10 minutes and then stops. It does this whether or not the drum has
anything in.

I checked the belt isn't slipping, I checked the motor windings and
everything is Ok.

As a last resort I read the troubleshooting section in the user guide.
Unlike the usual "is it plugged in, yes, then call an engineer" I
found:

"Not spinning is because the unbalance detection device has cut in
because the laundry is not evenly distributed in the drum....the
laundry is redistributed by reverse rotation of the drum....if after
ten minutes the laundry is still not evenly distributed....the machine
will switch off.."

So what I need to know is, what exactly is the "unbalance detection
device", where is it, and can I fix it, replace it or bypass it?

Thanks for any help.

Mark

On Sat, 03 Jul 2004 10:20:13 +0100, Mark wrote:

Hi

I have a Zanussi 1186 washing machine which is increasingly reluctant
to spin. Rather than spinning it just reverse tumbles slowly for about
5-10 minutes and then stops. It does this whether or not the drum has
anything in.

I checked the belt isn't slipping, I checked the motor windings and
everything is Ok.

As a last resort I read the troubleshooting section in the user guide.
Unlike the usual "is it plugged in, yes, then call an engineer" I
found:

"Not spinning is because the unbalance detection device has cut in
because the laundry is not evenly distributed in the drum....the
laundry is redistributed by reverse rotation of the drum....if after
ten minutes the laundry is still not evenly distributed....the machine
will switch off.."

So what I need to know is, what exactly is the "unbalance detection
device", where is it, and can I fix it, replace it or bypass it?

Thanks for any help.

Mark
If you take the lid off,it will probably show itself. It has to sense
loading in the drum so it'll probably be directly mounted on it or
there may be a mechanical linkage to it. I wouldnt bypass it
though,i;d get a new one if poss.

Hi

I had this with our servis machine recently and after some research I found
several reasons for not spinning at full/half speed. It can sometimes be
caused by the machine not thinking that it has emptied all the water from
the drum.

The common cause for this is the "air pressure value", it 's either the
presssure pipe blocked, or the valve itself. This unit then informs the
controller that the water has emptied and it is now safe to spin.

The pipe usually feeds from the bottom of the drum to the valve, usually
located at the top of the machine.

I hope this helps, but someone else told me that it is sometimes motor
bushes, but I don't think this usually happens, just watch the motor suring
spin and see if the bushes "arc"

David Hodgkinson

"tarquinlinbin" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 03 Jul 2004 10:20:13 +0100, Mark wrote:

Hi

I have a Zanussi 1186 washing machine which is increasingly reluctant
to spin. Rather than spinning it just reverse tumbles slowly for about
5-10 minutes and then stops. It does this whether or not the drum has
anything in.

I checked the belt isn't slipping, I checked the motor windings and
everything is Ok.

As a last resort I read the troubleshooting section in the user guide.
Unlike the usual "is it plugged in, yes, then call an engineer" I
found:

"Not spinning is because the unbalance detection device has cut in
because the laundry is not evenly distributed in the drum....the
laundry is redistributed by reverse rotation of the drum....if after
ten minutes the laundry is still not evenly distributed....the machine
will switch off.."

So what I need to know is, what exactly is the "unbalance detection
device", where is it, and can I fix it, replace it or bypass it?

Thanks for any help.

Mark
If you take the lid off,it will probably show itself. It has to sense
loading in the drum so it'll probably be directly mounted on it or
there may be a mechanical linkage to it. I wouldnt bypass it
though,i;d get a new one if poss.

tarquinlinbin wrote in message . ..
On Sat, 03 Jul 2004 10:20:13 +0100, Mark wrote:

So what I need to know is, what exactly is the "unbalance detection
device", where is it, and can I fix it, replace it or bypass it?

If you take the lid off,it will probably show itself. It has to sense
loading in the drum so it'll probably be directly mounted on it or
there may be a mechanical linkage to it. I wouldnt bypass it
though,i;d get a new one if poss.


I believe theyre fitted to enable much lighter duty mechanical parts
to be used. Bypass it and when it spins an off balance load it might
all come apart quite destructively - so better to fix it


Regards, NT

"Mark" wrote in message
...
Hi

I have a Zanussi 1186 washing machine which is increasingly reluctant
to spin. Rather than spinning it just reverse tumbles slowly for about
5-10 minutes and then stops. It does this whether or not the drum has
anything in.

I checked the belt isn't slipping, I checked the motor windings and
everything is Ok.

As a last resort I read the troubleshooting section in the user guide.
Unlike the usual "is it plugged in, yes, then call an engineer" I
found:

"Not spinning is because the unbalance detection device has cut in
because the laundry is not evenly distributed in the drum....the
laundry is redistributed by reverse rotation of the drum....if after
ten minutes the laundry is still not evenly distributed....the machine
will switch off.."

So what I need to know is, what exactly is the "unbalance detection
device", where is it, and can I fix it, replace it or bypass it?

Thanks for any help.

Mark
I had this on a Zanussi washing machine (can't remember make), wouldn't spin
or if it tried to spin, it would either spin fast for a second then back to
slow tumble, or spin at some slow speed that certainly wasn't 600 or
1200rpm.

Anyway cost about £50 labour/callout + £60 controller module. The faulty
module was a motor controller module, attached to motor (or nearby) which I
had not spotted when I took the machine apart. It looked like a cover to a
junction box but in fact was a small PCB with electronics on.

When replaced full fuctionality was restore. Looked like a blown diode and
"over warmed" resistor on the faulty board board causing the fault.
Interestingly on the replacement module the diode and resistor were much
much bigger, so looked like an inherent design fault.

In message , Ian Middleton
writes
I had this on a Zanussi washing machine (can't remember make),

I'd guess it was a Zanussi

ducks

--
dave @ stejonda