Indesit washing machine does not spin the drum
I don’t want to speak badly about the Indesit brand, but their washing machines sometimes cause a lot of trouble for the user. In particular, with such a washing machine, the drum often stops spinning for no reason. And sometimes it can be even worse - the drum jams so much that it’s difficult to turn it by hand, not only to make it rotate. What are the causes of this problem and how to eliminate these causes are described in this article.
What are the causes of the malfunction?
A list of reasons why an Indesit washing machine does not spin the drum is not so easy to compile. Everything will depend not only on the brand, but also on the model of the washing machine, as well as the components that are installed on it. But in general, based on the opinion of most experts, the list of typical faults can be compiled as follows:
- the drum is jammed by a foreign object located in the tank;
- there were problems with the drive belt and the drum pulley of the washing machine (usually with both);
- the motor coil is “covered”;
- the carbon brushes were worn down to metal;
- the lamellas have worn out due to long-term use of the engine;
- The semiconductor elements of the control module have failed.
It is clear that this list cannot be considered complete, because even such a generally simple washing machine as Indesit is a fairly large set of components, assemblies, individual parts, electrical and electronic circuits, a failure in which can lead to the drum stopping spinning .And if you consider that the behavior of some models in the event of a breakdown is not similar to the behavior of others and, being a non-professional, it is easy to confuse cause and effect, then maybe it is better to entrust the diagnostics to the experts?
Here, of course, everyone chooses for themselves, but if you are reading this article, apparently you are not looking for easy ways, so we will figure out how to independently diagnose and reliably determine why the drum of an Indesit brand washing machine does not spin.
The list of reasons will expand significantly if we consider cases when the drum of the Indesit washing machine spins unstably. In this case, we will not expand the topic and will consider situations when the machine drum spins unstable in a separate article
Belt or pulley?
If you are faced with a situation where an Indesit brand washing machine does not spin the drum, know that most likely its drive belt has broken or fallen off. The breakdown at first glance is not terrible, just think about the belt - I opened the back wall and pulled it back onto the small and large pulleys, but no such luck. If the belt on your Indesit washing machine constantly falls off, this is already a symptom of a much more serious problem - a broken drum pulley. What should I do to check these versions?
- We turn off the washing machine and pull it out of the niche in which it is installed.
- We remove the service hatch or rear wall (depending on the model).
- After we open the service hatch, it will immediately be clear what happened to the belt.
- If the belt is in place, then we continue to look for a breakdown in another place; if the belt has fallen off, then we first inspect the drum pulley (large wheel).
- If the wheel is completely intact and there are no signs of damage, then you can safely put the belt back in place and connect the washer again, but if the slightest damage is found on the pulley, you need to change it. Otherwise, the belt will constantly fly off.
- Next, let's examine the small pulley, which is mounted on the motor shaft. If you find even the slightest deformation, also know that the pulley must be replaced, because it is the cause of the problems.
It’s easy to say it needs to be replaced, but how to make this replacement and is it even possible to do it yourself? Let's start with the big part - the drum pulley. To remove it from the drum shaft, you need to unscrew the bolt, which is located exactly in the middle of the pulley. How to do it?
- We block the rotation of the pulley using a wooden block.
If the pulley is already damaged, then there is no point in saving it, because we are already changing it, the bolt and thread are another matter. They need to be kept intact.
- Lubricate the bolt with WD-40 and wait 30-40 minutes.
- We take a ratchet with a head of suitable sizes and try to unscrew the bolt. You shouldn’t put in extra effort; in this case, the main thing is not to “ruin” the threaded bolt, especially the thread.
- As soon as you managed to gently tear off the bolt, then everything is simple, unscrew it and remove the old pulley, and put a new one in its place, then you can install the belt.
In this situation, remember that after replacing the pulley it is always better to change the belt as well, this gives more guarantees that the Indesit washing machine will continue to work normally.
Something got into the tank
Experts write a lot, talk, and make videos about what happens when foreign objects get into the tank of an automatic washing machine, and how expensive repairs this situation results in.However, users stubbornly continue to stuff things into the drum of the machine without checking their pockets. As a result, at the bottom of the tank you can find paper clips, buttons, pins, screws, ballpoint pen caps, buttons and much more.
And everything would be fine if these foreign objects simply lay at the bottom of the tank, but the fact is that they can cause the drum to jam, which in turn can cause damage to the flimsy wall of the plastic tank.
Important! If the tub becomes jammed due to an object caught in it, do not attempt to spin the drum or start a wash program. The foreign object must be removed from the tank immediately.
You can remove something that accidentally got there from the tank either through the hole in the drain pipe or through the hole in the heating element. In some models of Indesit washing machines, the heater is located at the back. If this is the case, then we simply remove the back wall, disconnect the wires from the heating element, and pull it out of the tank, having first unscrewed the fastening nut. The hole for the heating element is large enough to get anything out of the tank.
If your model of Indesit washing machine has a heating element on the front, it is more difficult to remove the front wall, but you know for sure that the cause of the breakdown is a foreign object in the tank, you can do the following:
- put the washing machine on its side;
- remove the drain pipe from the tank through the bottom;
- through the drain hole to catch an object that has fallen into the tank.
Engine problem
As you know, the engine of the Indesit washing machine drives its drive mechanism, thanks to which the drum rotates.It is logical to assume that if the engine does not work or does not work normally, then the drum will not spin - here is the next possible reason why the drum of the Indesit washing machine does not want to rotate.
In a commutator motor, the brushes may wear out, the winding may short out, and problems with the lamellas may arise. You can read about how to check each engine element for malfunctions, as well as how to eliminate these malfunctions in the publication The drum in the washing machine does not spin Samsung.
Control module triac
Perhaps the most problematic reason that causes the drum of an Indesit automatic washing machine to stop rotating is a malfunction of the control board. This reason can only be accurately detected by a professional who will correctly ring all suspicious semiconductor elements and draw the appropriate conclusions.
Why does the drum of the Indesit automatic washing machine not rotate if the control module is broken? The reason, as a rule, is burnt-out control triacs, which are responsible for controlling the motor. But this is just one of the many conclusions that a master can make after a scrupulous check of your “home assistant”. Therefore, if the main suspicions fall on electronics, do not hesitate to call a specialist. You should not repair it yourself; you can completely damage the control module.
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How to change brushes?
Read here: Replacing washing machine motor brushes
What is the problem? The drum does not spin during washing, but during the spin cycle it works fine.
I turn on the machine, everything seems to be fine. The drum spun 2 times and stopped. And then generally it moves forward a little and that’s it. And so on all the time. The car is new. What is the problem?