AEG Wash cycle problem

[arismother]

AEG Lavatmat 52810 Machine works fine on the slow wash cycle and normal rinse and spin cycles.

Problem occurs about 1/2 way during the wash cycle, when  the drum turns quite fast.

At this point the machine sort of has a 'heart attack'. It jolts a bit and makes a loud squeeking noise - sort of like the squeals of brakes in a car when suddenly push foot hard down on the brakes when driving fast (If this makes sense). Then stops that spin. If left alone, it continues with the cycle. Until the next fast spin during the wash cycle.

All other cycles work normally. No noise from the mchine. No movement of the machine.
The Spin cycle, even on 1200 works with no problems.

The problem only happens during the part of the wash cycle when the drum turns fast - which is slower than the speed of the spin cycle, where there is no problem.

 

It does this even when I run the cycle without clothes

This problem started suddenly, no changes had been made to where the machine is located or sitting, it had not been moved or knocked.

The machine is stable. Stands on a straight flat surface. As it has been for the past 6 years.
It is an AEG Lavatmat 52810. It is only used once a week, not over loaded, mostly loaded only 3/4 % of capacity with light weight items. Only 600 spin speed option is used.

 

Once the belt fell off. The belt is in good condition not stretched, worn, torn. The tension of the belt on the things it turns is correct and normal.

At the moment I am using the machine until just before the problematic fast wash turning (about 50 minutes into the washing cycle). Then I switch over from the automatic wash cycle to manually selecting individual the rinse cycle. Then use the drain feature. When that is finished, I then switch over to the individual spin cycle. No problems. Sometimes I don’t use this spin cycle, I take the washing out the machine at the end of the draining.

 

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Has it always done the fast turning halfway through the wash cycle? I'm trying to work out if it's only just started doing the fast turning, or the fast turning has only just started to cause a problem.

Normally the drum should only turn fast on the spin cycle. Going into a spin when full of water normally causes a lot of thumping about and can even throw water out of the back f the machine or soap drawer. Some machines might have a slow controlled spin built into the wash cycle though. If so I would hope it is mentioned in the instruction manual to prevent users thinking something is wrong.

The first time I came across this tactic was about 30 years ago when Hoover introduced it into their washing machines. It was very unusual at the time. The explanation was that the short burst of speed forced detergent deep into the laundry and aided cleaning. Whether it really made much difference in reality I don't know. However, it didn't seem to catch on.

If your washing machine has always done it and it's part of it's process of washing then I would look at the suspension if all of a sudden it's not handling it to well. If it's only just started doing this surge in speed then something more serious is amiss. It could be a dodgy connection somewhere or a fault on the pcb. 

[arismother]

The 'fast turning' I think is part of the normal washing cycle. I am not 100% sure though.

In the wash cycle, the drum turns a few times slowly (aggitating the washing), stops, turns slowly again (possibly in the opposite direction) stops a bit, then aggitates again.

After a while (about 40 mins) the aggitate is a bit faster. Not as fast as on the spin cycle.

 

What suspension? Where is this suspension?

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

The main drum is mounted on suspension. Make sure the belt isn't slipping. I know you said it's OK but screeching noise can be caused by slipping belt. There is a section on how tight a belt should be on this article washing machine drive belt 

If the motor is surging too violently causing the main drum to thump about then there's something wrong that would need an engineer to diagnose.

[arismother]

Originally I thought the problem was the belt.

 

The belt itself is in good condition - not stretched or frayed or any such deterioration,

The belt is not loose, it is firmly on the wheel that turns the drum.

When I 'shake' the drum, it is normal, not loose.

 

Motor surging: why would this only happen during the wash cycle and not the spin cycle?

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

It may not be anything to do with surging but it sounds very similar. Motor surging used to be quite common but maybe not so much now. It's when the machine temporarily loses control of the motor and it surges into a fast spin. It can be caused by faulty connections, or connections that go dodgy when things heat up. Or failure in parts in the motor or pcb. Back in the day faulty timer switches could cause it when they used mechanical motor driven timers to control the wash cycle.

It's characterised by the motor suddenly shooting into spin from stand still but very quickly getting back under control. It causes the drum to thump against the sides, water could be forced out of the machine. It tended to do it on wash and rinse cycles.