Tried The Troubleshooting - Still Won't Drain:(

[pablohoney]

Hi folks,

I have been getting to know my hoover hnl 6166 on an intimate level for the past couple of days, having tried all the recommended advice on this great website, but still no success.

Basically, it's stopped drainng. This is the story so far:

-Initially thought it was the pump as there appeared to be an open circuit when I checked with my multimeter. So, I bought a new pump but alas no joy.

-I can hear the pump (soft hum) during the first part of the wash cycle so I guess it works(?) but when it comes to draining the machine stops and I get an error message 3 (indicating not draining).

-I can drain it manually with the outlet hose into a bucket on the floor

-I've checked all the hoses and the pressure chamber and removed a range of debris: 20p, hair bands and toothpicks.

-I've looked at the wiring and all looks ok - clean and secure.

-The pipe leading to the drain outside is unblocked.

Could the cause be a faulty pressure switch?

If so, how can I know and can this be replaced?

Any other ideas?

Many thanks,

Pablo

[edhorwood]

I can't see it being the pressure switch ? . If water flows through the pipe to a bucket on the floor, then there are no blockages, so it must be a pump issue. You shouldn't be able to hear the pump during a

wash cycle, not until its ready for draining. If memory serves correctly I think if you lay the machine on its back you will see a pipe with 3 outlets. Remove this pipe and clean thoroughly, rinse and roll between your

fingers to remove all limescale. Then reassemble and see if it works. You may see a black tray under the machine which has to be removed first, and you don't have to put it back cause it isn't needed.

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Hello Pablo. The resistance reading on a washing machine pump is pretty high so it could be possible that you didn't have the continuity test meter on an appropriate setting to be able to read it. If it was genuinely open circuit of course then it is without doubt faulty, but if you replaced the pump and it still did not work this implies that the pump was not faulty - so maybe you just didn't have it on the right setting to get the proper reading.

The first thing I would have done under those circumstances was to compare the resistance of the new pump with that of the old. If the old pump was open circuit and the new pump gave a proper reading the new pump was required but if the new pump also appeared open circuit it would prove my theory that the meter you used was just not capable of doing a reading.

If you can hear the pump soft hum during the first part of the wash cycle you may be hearing a recirculation pump. Many appliances have a 2nd pump which operates on the wash cycle to recirculate water back into the drum.

If you can drain the water manually through the outlet hose it at least discount's large blockages like a sock for example though it is possible for a button inside the drain hose to swing open and shut and allow water to drain out at low pressure but swing short and block if the pump tries to pump the water. This is quite rare but technically possible.

A faulty pressure switch can cause it to not empty properly but it should usually empty most of the water out. When it gets to spin you usually hear a click and the whole thing stops. But if it is leaving all of the water in the tub then it cannot be a precious search or pressure system. This is because when it goes into a spin cycle there is a period of up to 2 minutes where the washing machine drum turned slowly and the water pumps away stop it is only after 2 minutes or more when the washing machine attempts to spin that faulty pressure system would prevent the spin. By this time virtually all of the water should have drained out. Therefore if it is leaving all of the water in you can discount faulty pressure system.

Although there are many complications, basically if the washing machine is not pumping the water away it is a relatively straightforward problem. I'd the pump is not getting power, it has a faulty neutral return, or the pump is open circuit. If all these things are okay then the pump must be jammed inside with something. If it isn't jammed, then the only other possibility is that there is a blockage somewhere physically preventing the water from being pumped out.

When the washing machine gets onto the spin cycle (or the drain cycle during rinses) the pump normally makes a particular noise when it first starts up, a bit of a rattle. You should be familiar with this noise. If it's just making a gentle humming the pump is most probably blocked or jammed.

If the pump clearly starts up and is making its normal noise but not empty and it must be blocked somewhere. Troubleshooting this fault is all about determining whether or not the pump is definitely running and taking it from there. If you know the pump is definitely running it has to be a blockage in a pipe, inside the pump chamber, inside the drain hose, inside the you bend etc.

The main problem stems from if people are not totally sure if the pump is running or not, or just assume it is, or guess that it is or guess that it isn't et cetera. In other words "is the pump running?" Is the number one priority before checking anything else. There's no point looking for blockages if the pump is definitely not running.

[pablohoney]

Thanks for the replies guys. Really appreciate it. Reluctantly I've had to bite the bullet and buy a new one. The spin cycle started to play up as well so I felt it was probably time to say goodbye.

Cheers

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

No worries, the advice remains for others. Thanks for the update.