Washing machine repairists help please

valve90210 · 2 Mar 2016 at 09:42

Hi

I have an old (about 9 years or so) LG Direct Drive Washer Dryer (model number: wd-12331AD) which I fear might be developing a problem. Last night I put on a load of washing and went to bed, I woke this morning to find it unfinished with a UE error flashing on the display. I have had this a couple of times in the past and know that this related to an uneven load in the drum. I've had this a couple of times in the past and it's usually turned out to be when there's been mainly lightweight items and one heavy item like a towel or hoody.

Anyway, I turned it off and took out the load and sure enough there was one towel in there which is obviously much heavier than the other items and would unbalance the drum and hence it won't go into the spin cycle.

I needed to put a couple of shirts that were also in there on a spin cycle to dry them off enough that I could wear one of them today. I stuck them in the machine and put it on a spin. This time it got stuck with 9 mintes remaining on the timer and wouldn't spin.

I had the same issue about a month ago and after a lot of reading up found it to be most likely caused by something blocking the drain. after clearing out the front drain plug and finding a hair pin in there, it seems to be ok and started working again.

This morning I checked the front drain plug and found nothing but a small amount of wet fluff and fibres but it still won't spin.

I've tried a drain cycle which completed but sounded a little more noisy than usual so now I'm wondering what my next step would be and if anyone has any thoughts about what the problem might be and how I might fix it.

tl;dr - washing machine won't do a spin cycle, gets stuck trying to drain and even the load, front drain plug clear, any thoughts on what might be the problem and how I might fix it?

iamtheoneneo · 2 Mar 2016 at 09:51

You will probably find that large mechanical items like this will cost more to repair, than just to go out and buy a new one especially if they are a little old.

Worth calling the manufacturer up to check, but they will no doubt tell you to forget it.

valve90210 · 2 Mar 2016 at 10:35

True though if it is something simple like a blocked filter that can be cleaned out etc I'd rather have that done thank spend a few £100 on a new machine.

darael · 2 Mar 2016 at 10:51

Could be somewhere before the filter that's blocked up. The only way to tell is by going into the machine and having a look.

valve90210 · 2 Mar 2016 at 15:57

That's what I'm hoping and why I started the thread in the hope that someone who knows such devices might be able to suggest what steps might be next in trying to find the problem

hans gruber · 2 Mar 2016 at 16:10

My washer developed a problem and all it cost me to fix it was £25 for a new drainage pump, so it’s worth having a go at fixing it.

Is the error UE or OE? It could be a drainage issue which means checking the pump filter and I would also remove the drainage hose and check it's not blocked. This page says UE isn’t something to worry about. Maybe if water isn't draining properly it is creating waterlogged items and unbalancing the load.

http://www.lg.com/us/support/answers/front-load-washers2014/control-panel

valve90210 · 2 Mar 2016 at 16:16

That's what I'm wanting to hear!

It was a UE error but that's what I'm wondering about the drainage too. the items I removed from the machine this morning were literally dripping wet as the machine was trying to spread the load for spinning.

darael · 2 Mar 2016 at 18:47

Run the machine on a short rinse cycle and when it drains the water check the flow at the drain pipe to see if it's normal or quite slow.

Something else, do you use liquid or powdered detergents? If you constantly use liquid detergents on low temperature washes without performing maintenance washes every month or so, this may lead to blockages.

valve90210 · 2 Mar 2016 at 19:54

When I got home this evening I had a good root around in the front drain plug and managed to find what looked like a knotted up fine necklace. Removed that and as much of the yucky sludge as possible, and tried another spin cycle and it seems to be working again!

At the weekend, if I get a chance I'll pull the machine out and check that the drain pipe is clear too just to make sure all is well.

a1ex2001 · 3 Mar 2016 at 09:35

valve90210 said:
When I got home this evening I had a good root around in the front drain plug and managed to find what looked like a knotted up fine necklace. Removed that and as much of the yucky sludge as possible, and tried another spin cycle and it seems to be working again!

At the weekend, if I get a chance I'll pull the machine out and check that the drain pipe is clear too just to make sure all is well.

Sounds like the necklace jamming the drain pump up, if you have a build up of sludge then I would look to do a few maintenance cycles on the machine to clean it up. Whack it on a hot wash with something like buster plug hole unbloker in the draw I do this once a month or so just to keep things clean and fresh.

valve90210 · 3 Mar 2016 at 09:40

Yeah I'm guessing that was the problem though will keep an eye on it just to make sure it's nothing else.

There's not a huge amount of sludge but doing a maintenance wash does sound like a good idea.

Danthus · 3 Mar 2016 at 14:42

If they can't pump out they won't spin, simple. LG machines are very clever in the way they deal with an unbalanced load, unlike other machines they don't continue to count down the time left while it tries to sort the load out.

They have a period of about 45 minutes to sort the load on the final spin before it starts the 13 minute spin cycle.

I have to take issue with this though.

Something else, do you use liquid or powdered detergents? If you constantly use liquid detergents on low temperature washes without performing maintenance washes every month or so, this may lead to blockages.

Using liquids will not stop the machine from draining, and they certainly do not block the drain pump.

The majority of items that block drain pumps are foreign bodies, coins, hair grips and screws etc.

You get the odd small garment that makes its way through very rarely.

darael · 3 Mar 2016 at 23:05

OldCoals said:
I have to take issue with this though.

Using liquids will not stop the machine from draining, and they certainly do not block the drain pump.

It's only what I've heard when using cheap detergents, powdered included. I'm certain I've read that the liquid forms layers inside the machine and without enough regular hot washes can eventually lead to a mouldy, smelly and blocked machine.

But really, if you wash whites or bedding at 60c or above with biological powder, then this should be enough to stop your machine becoming whiffy.

Mr.Cookie · 3 Mar 2016 at 23:54

As Old Coals said powders and liquids wont stop pumps from working, I have seen eco balls (ball in tub to sump hose that makes machine more economical on detergent usage) get stuck because of poor maintenance.

Personally I recommend powders for a whites wash as they generally contain a bleaching agent (detergents marked for colours are an exception to this) and liquids for colours as they don't. Service wash (hottest wash empty) once a month if machine used daily or separate cleaner and follow directions.

darael · 4 Mar 2016 at 00:27

I'll agree to disagree, as I found it hard it to believe that a liquid could solidify enough to block a pump or machine. But I've spoken with people who have had blocked machines thanks to powder - but this probably due to overdosing the detergent. The blockages weren't in the drawer either, they were in the drainage side of the machine - pipe, pump, I don't know.

I would advise away from the cheaper powders. From my own experience they don't always dissolve in the drawer properly, but usually the blockages were related to using cheap powder.