Zanussi washer dryer stops working within seconds

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Hi all,
I appreciate any help with my problem,
I have a Zanussi essential 1200 washer dryer. It developed a problem when it was barely 2 years old.
- when put in any washing cycle it starts working but stops within 5 seconds and enters into Pause mode and door latch is released.
- when in drying mode it works but no hot air is produced.
I suspected the fault in the heating element of the drying section.
I disconnected the supply to the heating elements (4 wires for the dryer) and did the following:
- Any washing cycle will work perfectly
- I measured the resistance of both heating elements and found it to be 63 ohms each, is this within what is expected?
- there doesn't appear to be any earth fault in the heating elements.
- during the drying cycles and with the terminals disconnected the voltage at the terminals supplying the heating elements is 121V each, but with the terminals connected the reading is 0V.
- Connecting back any terminal (even a single one) for the heating elements will cause the original problem to occur i.e. washing cycles not working.

please help,
I can upload photos if that helps,

Younes


 
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You say there does not appear to be a short to earth, but what did you test with, a multimeter is no good in this situation you need a good insulation tester like a megger etc..What is the supply socket protected by? It sounds like something is dragging the volts down, but you would expect an rcd to trip with an earth fault.
 
Thank you jj4091 for your input
I only used a simple multimeter with the knowledge that if there is an earth fault the RCD will trip as you said.
However, as I said the voltage at the heater terminals is 121V, does that mean a transformer is used? and if so will an earth short at the transformer secondary cause the RCD to trip?
 
It depends on what type of transformer, if any, is used but what volts did you get from each leg to earth. It's beginning to look like a board fault.
 
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Its a classic fault on these because I'm guessing you rarely ever use the dryer and that's why its happened. The error code stored will be ED4 if the model number starts ZWD . Replace the dryer element you were right in the first place.
 
.... what volts did you get from each leg to earth. It's beginning to look like a board fault.

I get 121V from each leg, however, this voltage is always present even if the machine is in Pause mode. while the voltage between terminals is only present briefly at the beginning of each washing cycle or continuously during drying cycles but zero in Pause mode.
 
Its a classic fault on these because I'm guessing you rarely ever use the dryer and that's why its happened. The error code stored will be ED4 if the model number starts ZWD . Replace the dryer element you were right in the first place.

The machine was in a rented house and I don't know how the tenants used it

Indeed it is a ZWD model (ZWD12270W), and the stored error code is ED4 (after searching the net on how to access it:)).
It is intriguing that the lesser you use it the higher the risk of it developing a fault, I would have though the contrary!, but it seems it's a case of use it or lose it :)

Thanks for your help, I'll get a heating element and see if it solves the problem.

Younes
 
The problem with some mineral insulated elements is that they can absorb moisture into the insulation, only a tiny amount, but it builds up if not used & eventually causes a short circuit. If that's the case with yours a couple of hours in a hot oven may sort it.
 
The problem with some mineral insulated elements is that they can absorb moisture into the insulation, only a tiny amount, but it builds up if not used & eventually causes a short circuit. If that's the case with yours a couple of hours in a hot oven may sort it.

That makes good sense, I had a similar case with the pump of my boiler causing earth faults, a kind user of this forum suggested warming it in an oven and that solved the problem. I suppose the heating element can support a higher temperature than the pump.
What temperature setting would you recommend?

Thanks for the follow up
 
I have a zanussi zwd1627ow1 - the dryer is causing the machine to trip out the electricity supply. We don't use the dryer. What wires do I disconnect so the washing machine can work normally?
 
Thanks for that CaptainCaveman - I disconnected the 4 spade terminals & machine dead as a dodo. Is there anything else I can try? There are a couple of connections along the side of the heater box.
Our French washing machine man said it was the heating element of the dryer causing the problem.
Cheers
 
If you have a supply for sure to the machine then it isn't going to be the drying element if there's no display it could be the pcb or something has blown the pcb or is causing a low insulation problem causing your RCD to trip . If your unsure then you need a proper engineer to take a look maybe not the guy you called ;) ;) And don't touch the connections on the side either you'll make matter's even worse !!!!
 
Hey all, Don't ask me why but the ZWD 1200 Washer Dryer works fine for the washing cycle after disconecting the heater cables. Thanks I will have a clean shirt for the weekend.
 
We too have had error ED4 on our Zanussi Essential 1200 ZWD12270W. Disconnecting the dryer element wires did the trick and the wash cycles now work. I would like to replace the dryer element myself but cannot find any guidance on how to do it. There do not appear to be any repair manuals for this machine on the web, not that I can find anyway. Can anyone help with instructions on how to do it, please? Thanks!
 

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