Hotpoint Aquarias Tripping RCD as soon as door as closed.

[jamesthecat]

Hello,

I have a problem with my washing machine which is more problematic due to the design of the kitchen making it impossible to get the washing machine out of its position without pulling apart the kitchen to some degree which i would like to avoid. So getting access to the plugs is a bit of a problem at the moment but there is a a switch for the socket located above the machine so the power can be turned off there,

The machine was in the middle of a hot wash and it tripped the RCD.

Since then i have tried to manually drain the visible water from the drum.
Now when the machine is switched on with the door open it powers up ok as indicated by the 'on led'
As soon as the door is closed then it immediately trips the rcd again.
Having done a little research on the topic it seems like there are a few possible causes.
I am hoping that the problem is to do with the machine door interlock as this is something that it seems straight forward to change and will not require the machine to be pulled out of its position and so i wont need to pull out kitchen worktop and units.

Can anyone confirm that the door interlock is the most likely cause of the problem in this case that the machine powers on when door is open but trips as soon as it is closed? If it is i will give it ago to change the interlock ...but if there is no real concrete indication that the interlock is the culprit here then i will have to reconsider.

Any help wld be very much appreciated.
Thanks
JAmes

 

[rocks1]

Very little chance of door lock causing this, once the door is shut it completes the circuit. If you shut the door and turn on by the wal it will still trip. It has to come out it could be heater/motor/mains surpressor etc causing it. Post up model number.

 

[jamesthecat]

thanks for the reply, i was afraid of that.
WD440 is the model number.
Cheers
James

 

[rocks1]

Right ,odds on it could be the dryer heater on the top. Always going just disconnect the heater wires and see if it trips.

 

[jamesthecat]

Ok great thanks i will try that, if i can just find the heater wires...could you possibly point me in the right direction to access them? Can they be accessed on this model if the machine is only able to be pulled out so it is only 3/4 of the way out by any chance.
Cheers
James

 

[rocks1]

2 screws at the rear corners need to be removed. Lid slides back depending what heater is on top you should see 2 brass nuts shaped like a 50 p piece but the size of a 10p piece. The 2 wires will be on top.

 

[Mickymoody]

I've known of a shorted interlock, blowing mains fuses before..

 

[jamesthecat]

Rock 1
Thank you so much...disconnecting those two wires connected to the nuts and now the machine switches on without tripping the rcd. So that heater thing you said must be the problem.
Could you possibly advise me how do i remove this part? Where is it and is it fairly straight forward to replace with a new part?
Thanks again
James

 

[rocks1]

Undo centre nut. 10mm and pull straight out , it might be stiff due to the rubber swelling but a good tug will do. Try eBay for a heater cost about 15 quid.

 

[southey]

I know this is an old thread, but I just wanted to say thank you!