Miele WT945 - no water going into drum

[Harry Bloomfield]

I am wondering whether the drain pump relay is not on the mainboard out elsewhere on the machine with a wire from wherever the relay is going to the mainboard???

Not easy to follow, on a screen, but M8 appears to be controlled by the pcb on the lower right. The pcb shown in that third image.

 

[wijcc]

There is a secondary board (EFL900) that has 3 orange and black with connects to the mainboard (EPW900). The reason I thought relay for the pump might be elsewhere is that in there is mention of M8 (drain relay) in both the diagrams and in one of the diagrams it looks there is a 2 pin/wire connector going to it???

 

[opps]

I think you should consider asking Miele for an estimate of how much a repair might cost.. They may do a fixed price repair which includes parts and labour. The problem with replacing boards yourself is that there can be different boards for different machine serial numbers and even if you manage to get the correct one it may need to be programmed on the machine. Plus you still do not know if it is a board fault or not, nor which board it is. You may well end up chasing your tail and replace one part after another and still not repairing the fault.
There is very little information available about Miele machines so it makes DIY repairs difficult.

Miele moved to single PCBs some time ago. It makes repairs more difficult for consumers but cheaper in terms of Miele engineer costs. The cost of the PCB increased, but, again, was offset by labour costs.

Years ago, I had a Miele washing machine that went haywire. Turned it on and it would instantly go into full spin. I phoned their tech support. They said it was a fault with the PCB and that a new PCB was required. I asked how much a new one would cost. They refused to sell me one directly. They insisted that I pay for an engineer visit and that I would then have to cough up whatever the engineer deemed appropriate. This predated the fixed fee.

I used sleight of hand to get it fixed for free... the machine was less than 2 years old. I explained that I didn't think a £750 (2007 prices) machine failing because of a PCB was acceptable. Without wanting to go into details on a public forum, I managed to get an out of (12 month) warranty fix for free.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

There is a secondary board (EFL900) that has 3 orange and black with connects to the mainboard (EPW900). The reason I thought relay for the pump might be elsewhere is that in there is mention of M8 (drain relay) in both the diagrams and in one of the diagrams it looks there is a 2 pin/wire connector going to it???

What was the result of the test, with the pump unplugged?

 

[Diver Fred]

I'm inclined to think that the flexible pipe from the powder drawer to the drum or the flexible that connects drum to drain has either split of come off the drum.
Open the filter door and take the 'filter' out and try letting water into the machine. Does water come out or not. Let us know.

 

[wijcc]

I'm inclined to think that the flexible pipe from the powder drawer to the drum or the flexible that connects drum to drain has either split of come off the drum.
Open the filter door and take the 'filter' out and try letting water into the machine. Does water come out or not. Let us know.

There is only one pipe that goes to the drum from the drawer and it is connecting up fine and with no blockages

What was the result of the test, with the pump unplugged?

Darn, I forgot to do that test before taking the controller boards apart. Will put everything back together and try that, most likely tomorrow now. Feeling a bit under the weather today.

To me it looks like the relays are on the smaller board (EFL 900) and maybe others elsewhere on washing other than on the main board (EPW 900). I can only see one seller on ebay selling complete mainboard with the EFL 900.. that is in germany without any guarantee. Is it possible to buy just the relay(s) and get someone with better soldering skills than me to replace them?

 

[pto]

the relay for the pump is on the main board

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Is it possible to buy just the relay(s) and get someone with better soldering skills than me to replace them?

We have more, or less established, that the pump relay is fine, because it does switch off. Were it the relay, it is probably one of the easier parts to source, and to replace.

 

[Honj]

I believe this machine has a service mode.

1. Switch it off
2. Close the door
3. Turn Washing and Drying selector switches to Finish.
4. Press and hold Soak and Water Plus and switch machine on with usual On/Off switch
5. Correctly entering the service mode will cause the Soak/Pre-wash LED to flash.

To check for any stored error codes, switch the programme selector to "Rinse out fluff". The other programme options test other functions and may cause the machine to fill up with water, heat up etc etc.

If any faults recorded these will be displayed consecutively , if no fault the letter "C" is shown. If any other LEDs flash at this time, make a note and report back here.

Is your machine's machine number < 34350214?

 

[wijcc]

Here is better versions of the circuit board CAD drawings if they are helpful - managed to digout an old scanner instead of using the phone to take pics

diagram1 hosted at ImgBB

Image diagram1 hosted in ImgBB

ibb.co

diagram2-1 hosted at ImgBB

Image diagram2-1 hosted in ImgBB

ibb.co

diagram2-2 hosted at ImgBB

Image diagram2-2 hosted in ImgBB

ibb.co

index hosted at ImgBB

Image index hosted in ImgBB

ibb.co

We have more, or less established, that the pump relay is fine, because it does switch off. Were it the relay, it is probably one of the easier parts to source, and to replace.

I thought that if the relay was stuck in open position that may be the reason why it stays open, when in wash or rinse mode as the machine fills and pumps out water at the same time????

I will try putting the machine back together then first try.. a cycle with the pump disconnected.
Then will try the service mode to see if there are any error codes

Thanks.

 

[wijcc]

I believe this machine has a service mode.

1. Switch it off
2. Close the door
3. Turn Washing and Drying selector switches to Finish.
4. Press and hold Soak and Water Plus and switch machine on with usual On/Off switch
5. Correctly entering the service mode will cause the Soak/Pre-wash LED to flash.

To check for any stored error codes, switch the programme selector to "Rinse out fluff". The other programme options test other functions and may cause the machine to fill up with water, heat up etc etc.

If any faults recorded these will be displayed consecutively , if no fault the letter "C" is shown. If any other LEDs flash at this time, make a note and report back here.

Is your machine's machine number < 34350214?

I get the flashing red light "Water inlet/drain indicator" when I put on a wash or rinse cycle, after it fills the drawer for a few mins/i can see the water coming in and hear the drain pump going - letting the water out the drain hose.
Is that not the error message??

 

[Honj]

After step 4 does the Soak/Pre wash LED flash slowly?

 

[wijcc]

Some good news... I am not sure what happened but I put the machine back together today after taking it apart to check the 3 circuit boards on front panel and thought why not try the machine again... and it now works!.
I did an empty rinse cycle and it worked without any errors. So I did a short wash cycle with half a load of washing and it again worked with no hitches.
I am not sure what I did or why it has started working again as I had previously did at least two resets of machine and multiple test washes & rinses. I had just given up and decided come cut my losses with this machine as I have a long and good run with it this morning - I am not very good with things like soldering and other delicate fiddly stuff and was looking at getting new machine (was looking at a bosch 6 series on offer - washer only and not a washer dryer like the miele as I never really use the dryer function)!
Will see how long it continues to work for, thank you for all your help everyone.. not sure what made it come back to life but I will not complain

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I am not sure what happened but I put the machine back together today after taking it apart to check the 3 circuit boards on front panel and thought why not try the machine again... and it now works!.

What happened, was that there was some oxidation on the terminals of one of the connections, and what you did unplugging the various parts, was cleaned off the oxidation, to remake the contacts. Anyway, well done for persisting with it!

 

[wijcc]

Everything looked fine on the boards.. there was no rust or "chalking"/white powered anywhere but I will go with it and see how long it lasts.
For anyone interested Miele do a £289 fixed price repair.. but didn't check if they would cover my machine as usually they cover stuff from 15 years ago.