Repair of malfunctions of Whirlpool washing machines
Currently, the market in the CIS countries consists mainly of Whirlpool washing machines assembled in Italy or Slovakia. Italian machines are quite expensive and less common, but Slovak washing machines are available in every household appliance store. Perhaps due to European assembly, such machines break down infrequently and repair of Whirlpool washing machines is required only by one out of 15 owners of such equipment. However, you need to study its features, because you never know!
External signs of typical breakdowns
In any complex technology, especially household equipment, anything can potentially break. If you list all possible breakdowns of modern Whirlpool automatic washing machines without exception and describe their elimination, you could write a book about it. Therefore, in this article we will only talk about typical defects, which, according to statistics provided by service centers, occur most often.
- Water does not leave the machine after washing.
- Washing programs are glitchy, don't work as they should, or don't activate at all.
- The water collected for washing does not heat up according to the set program.
- Water leaks during washing from under the closed hatch cover.
Note! These typical signs of breakdowns contain serious faults, the elimination of which is a priority task, since otherwise the Whirlpool washing machine may break down completely.
The water remains in the machine and does not go away
This has probably happened to you too: you put the laundry in the drum, set your favorite washing program and go to another room to do household chores.After a while, come back, the machine is frozen, there is a full tank of soapy water and the washing is of course not completed. You restart the machine, history repeats itself, the wash cannot be completed because the water does not leave the tank. What to do in such a situation, and what is the cause of the problem? There are three main reasons:
- there is a blockage in the drain pipe or drain filter;
- there is a blockage in the drain hose or sewer;
- The electric drain pump is broken.
But before you start to find out the cause of the breakdown of your Whirlpool machine, you need to prepare it yourself, namely, turn it off and drain the water from the tank manually. You can quickly and safely remove all water from the tank using the emergency drain hose., which is located next to the drain filter. You need to place a basin or other container under the hose and open the plug and all the water will flow out. Next, let's start looking for a breakdown, moving from simple to complex.
- Place a container or rag under the drain filter hole and unscrew the plug. We clean the filter from dirt and put the plug in place.
- Carefully unscrew the drain hose and clean it of dirt, then screw it back into place.
- Check to see if the drain is clogged.
The above steps do not involve disassembling the Whirlpool washing machine, so after carrying out “general” cleaning, try starting the machine again. If nothing has changed and the machine still refuses to drain the water, then you will have to climb into its body.
Important! In almost all models of Whirlpool washing machines, to get to the drain pipe and pump you just need to turn the machine on its side and remove the bottom.
To get to the details that interest us, we perform the following steps:
- remove the powder tray;
- disconnect the machine from the water supply, sewerage and electrical networks;
- put the machine on its side;
- unscrew the fasteners and remove the bottom;
- take a multimeter and measure the resistance at the pump contacts;
- changing the drain pump to a new one, if the problem is not there, then move on to the next stage;
- loosen the clamps of the drain pipe and remove it;
- We clean it from blockages and put it in place.
Washing programs glitch and do not turn on, the water in the tank does not heat up
It happens that after turning on the washing machine, its control panel seems to go crazy. The display begins to blink, and all the lights and toggle switch indicators echo it. In this case, the washing program may not be set. If you encounter something like this, Immediately unplug the machine and wait about 1 minute. Then turn on the Whirlpool washing machine again and if the problem persists, call a technician. The problem here is the control board, and it’s extremely difficult to repair it yourself; it’s better not to waste time and effort.
But if your machine refuses to wash in warm water, then you can not only determine the problem yourself, but also fix it yourself, without the help of a specialist. Most likely the reason lies in the heating element or thermistor; in any case, you will have to check both elements at once. We proceed as follows.
- We turn the washing machine with the back wall towards us, so that it is convenient.
- Unscrew the bolts and remove the back wall of the machine.
- We unscrew the bracket, which will interfere with working with the heating element.
- At the bottom of the tank we will see two protruding contacts - this is a heating element. There are four wires coming to it, two in the middle to the thermistor and two at the edges to the heating element, you need to disconnect them all.
- We take a multimeter and measure the resistance of the thermistor contacts.
- If everything is in order, we measure the resistance on the heating element.
In this case, you will most likely discover a malfunction and will have to replace the heating element. Usually, when removing the heating element from the tank, the cause of the breakdown becomes clear immediately, since the surface of the heating element is completely covered with scale. If there is only a small amount of scale, then the heating element will not burn, but it’s another matter if the layer of water stone is more than a centimeter - this leads to a breakdown of the element of the Whirlpool washing machine. We will replace the heating element with our own hands.
- We have already removed the contacts with the wires, now we will unscrew the plastic shield.
- Next, unscrew the bolt that is located between the large contacts of the heating element.
- We take the contacts of the heating element with our hands and pull it towards ourselves; if the heating element does not move, try to gently shake it. The rubber gasket will interfere a little, but nothing can be done
- Having pulled out the heating element, we also remove the gasket.
Note! Experts recommend not installing a new heating element on an old rubber gasket; it is better to change it along with the heating element, since leakage for this element is the worst thing.
- We take out dirt and pieces of scale from the resulting hole, thoroughly clean the edges, and then insert a new gasket.
- We insert a new heating element and screw it on.
- Screw on the plastic shield.
- We connect the contacts with wires to the thermistor.
- We connect the contacts with the wires to the heating element, put the bracket and the back wall in place.
Water leaks from a closed hatch during washing
If, during washing and rinsing, water leaks from under the hatch of your Whirlpool washing machine, first a little, a few drops, then more and more, then you need to carefully inspect the largest rubber gasket in the machine - the cuff.It is impossible not to notice the cuff, since it encircles the opening of the hatch and serves to prevent the release of water from the tank to the outside.
Pay special attention to the bottom edge of the cuff, as dirty water often accumulates there. And if you don’t wipe it off, the rubber of the cuff in this place begins to crack and burst. In the future, as soon as you touch it a little, it breaks. A torn cuff cannot be used because it will not hold water and will have to be replaced. First, let's properly dismantle the old cuff.
- Open the hatch cover as wide as possible.
- We take a flat-head screwdriver and try to pry off the thin wire clamp that is located on the outside of the cuff and holds it in place.
- As soon as we manage to pry it off, we put a stronger screwdriver under it and begin to move in a circle until we find the connecting element with the bolt.
- Loosen the clamp and move it to the side.
- We grab the cuff with both hands and forcefully pull it out.
Be sure to purchase only an original cuff for replacement, which will fit neatly into the groove of the hatch of this model of the Whirlpool washing machine, otherwise problems may arise.
Unpack the new cuff and push it into the groove. In this case, you need to do everything carefully and, of course, not use any sharp tools like a screwdriver. As soon as we manage to put the cuff in place, we put a clamp on it and tighten it. We check that the hatch closes normally and start a test wash.
To summarize, we note that European-assembled Whirlpool washing machines are relatively reliable and do not have many typical breakdowns.More often, problems arise due to the fact that the user himself does not take good care of his “home assistant”, does not clean the hoses and filters on time, does not wipe the cuff, and all this ultimately results in a malfunction. Take care of your washing machine and you won’t have to repair it often!
Interesting:
5 reader comments
When filling with water, water flows from under the powder tray. During initial filling. I turn it off, turn it on again, everything is fine.
I start the program, water is drawn in and heated. and that is all. It just sits there and doesn't wash. The drum does not spin. Even just when I scroll it, it goes hard.
You dropped your washing machine and broke the lid mount, how do you fix the plastic lugs? Help!!!
After the wash starts, the machine stops and the “contact service” message lights up.
It washes, starts spinning, does not develop speed, goes into styling mode.