Bosch WVG30461GB/01 won't lock and start

[Georges]

Hello,

It is my first post here, and I hope I will find some help about this matter.

I have this washing machine Bosch WVG30461GB, which started acting up a while back. So I'd click on the start button, after having selected the program, the door would click once and then click again, the machine would beep twice, the lock icon won't come on and the machine won't start.

It used to be intermittent, and in the instances where it didn't start, retrying a few times usually got it working again.

About a week ago the issue became permanent, no matter how much I retry the issue persists.

After having checked the obvious things, including no blockages or anything stuck in the pump. I looked a lot on the internet, and it seems most answers pointed towards the interlock being the faulty part, I took it out, bought a new one and installed it, but nothing changed the issue is still the exact same.

An additional thing I did actually try, is I took the old interlock, opened it, removed the locking mechanism from it (the mechanical tongue that locks the door), and then I forced the solenoid in the locked position, low and behold the machine starts, most of the time, sometimes it still doesn't but retrying a couple of times usually works. obviously this is not very safe as the door can be opened at any time.

The last test I did is I started disconnecting the different parts of the machine one by one thinking that if there was a short circuit somewhere this might help me find it, but none of  this helped, every time I disconnected something and tried it did the same exact thing. except a couple sensors that when disconnected didn't allow me to click the start button in the first place.

So here I am super confused about what the issue might be. Sorry about the long post, but I thought the more information I give the better you would be able to diagnose and hopefully shed some light on what might be going on.

I thank you all in advance.

Regards.

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Hello Georges. Wow, I get a lot of extremely dedicated people here who refuse to give up. You must have been very annoyed and puzzled when the new door lock didn't work. It does sound like a potential door lock fault unless somehow the door lock isn't receiving enough power to activate it. If you fitted a brand new lock and fitted it properly and have the same fault it's most likely something else. The only other thing I can think of is a possible issue on the PCB not supplying enough power but I wouldn't know how to test for that. 

I don't know if this article helps at all but worth a look just to fully understand how the door interlock on a washing machine works and just in case there's something there that helps. Also just make sure the door catch on the door is fitting inside the lock OK and nothing is loose or broken.

[Georges]

Thank you for the quick reply Andy, I had had a quick look at the control PCB, nothing seemed odd/burnt on it. the interlock that I have is a solenoid based one, I tried it on the machine while I had it in my hand, and mechanically it was doing the right thing.

I am sure I installed it right, as it is literally just plugging the cable and clicking it into place.

I am not sure why it clicks twice though,  is it locking and then detecting a fault somewhere so it unlocks, hence the second click. or does it attempt a first time to lock, detects that it didn't manage to do that and then tries to lock again hence the second click?

someone on another forum suggested that it might be a fault with the motor control pcb or an earthing fault, not sure about these, I haven't had a look at the motor control pcb though to see if there is anything odd with it, I will during the week end.

"extremely dedicated" lol , well I am a mechanical engineer,it comes with the territory I suppose

and what confuses me even more  is that when I force the interlock to think it is locked, most of the time (as I have to try a few times every time I want to run it) the machine runs normally, and does a proper wash / dry cycle, with all the washing, spinning, draining and drying working properly. without that override it never runs.

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Earth faults and earth leakage faults can cause some strange faults. Have you tried it in a different wall socket just in case? It’s a long shot but worth a try.

[Georges]

Hello again, just to give you an update. so I went ahead and worked on it a bit more this last week end, different sockets gave the same result, and the problem persisted if I had disconnected the motor board completely, but then I worked a bit on the control board, disconnecting cables, testing, trying to clean plugs (they weren't dirty or anything, just though it might be a lose plug or smtg). reassembled everything and low and behold everything works as expected. we did a few washes and 2 days later the same problem is back!! so I redid similar manipulations to what I had done the previous time, but this time there is no luck I can't get it to work again, I thought of doing a reset but couldn't find the procedure for it, and thought of running the test programs but I couldn't find their descriptions anywhere, and it seems most of them don't run because of the existing problem (as the machine can't lock properly)
So at the end, I called up bosch and they are going to come over and have a look. I will let you know what it turns out to be.

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Thanks for the update Georges. It sounds like you are having a very frustrating time. You must have been delighted then gutted when it worked for a few washes then failed again. Please let us know what the engineer finds.

[Georges]

Hello Again,
So the problem turned out to be the main control board. The guy didn't do any tests, he said he's seen this same problem before, just got there took out the board put in a new one and bob is your uncle.
Since the machine is still pretty new, bosch provided the parts for free, and I only had to pay the callout fee of 95£. So it wasn't bad after all.
He suggested it might be one of the relays misbehaving on the old pcb, I went ahead and tested all the relays one by one, all seem to be working fine. When I find a bit more time I will play with that pcb a bit more, to see if I can discover what was causing the issue, it is a fun exercise, but there is a lot of super tiny smd components on that board, so it might not be that easy to figure things out...maybe I can serial connect to it,a nd see if it is spitting out any errors on a serial monitor...

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Excellent. Many thanks for the update. So it sounds like there is a relay on the PCB that is involved in locking the door. The door locks don't historically work like that, they usually just get a mains supply and when the door latch pushes inside it just moves a latch across and sends power to the rest of the machine and activates a small bi-metal strip. That system has been in use for over 40 years. If they have involved the PCB and a relay that seems like an over complication and as you've found a big escalation in potential repair costs. (how a normal door lock works.)

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

I've just added a link to this thread in the article about door locks btw.

[Georges]

Indeed there is a relay that drives the door lock.

The door lock on this machine doesn't have a bi metal strip, it rather has a coil that, when activated, pushes a catch like those on those push to open kitchen cabinet doors, that latches and causes a switch to close feeding back that the machine is now locked, so the relay basically activates the coil for a very short period and then releases it, because now the catch is active. to unlock the coil is activated again and the catch goes back to the unlocked position. If I ever manage to discover why the coil was activated twice causing the door to unlock I will re-reply to this thread, it is tricky though, as it might be the software, one of the ICs, one of the components/tiny smd components or a loose joint or broken track especially that it was intermittent.

I was surprised he didn't hook up his computer to the board and analyze to try and figure out what caused the issue in the first place, I guess it is easier to just replace the part and move on to the next job.

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Hello Georges. If he's familiar with the symptoms an engineer will always just swap the part over if he has one and it's not a big job. They aren't taught to test them. I'm pretty confident that you know more about PCBs that him or me. Appliance engineers just replace the boards. No parts are made available by the manufacturers to fix them, and no tools or technical info supplied to diagnose. If the engineer said it was possibly a relay on the PCB  then there must be a relay involved. I can't think what the purpose would be if the door lock has a relay. A guess would be that the relay on the PCB needs to activate and stay activated which then powers the door lock but a fault meant it activated and switched off?

[taciturn]

Hello Georges

I have the exact same problem. I changed the interlock with no joy. I have changed the operating module in error (cost £90)!!!. Can you please let me know which pcb you are talking about and where is it located? Would much appreciate it as Bosch are offering appointments 2-3 weeks in the future.

If you have the part number I will be eternally grateful.

Thanks.

[flyhigh15@gmail.com]

** Exactly same issue **

Hi Georges and everyone on this forum,

I have been buying Bosch appliances as I trust their quality until lately when my Bosch washer dryer started giving me issues and is now completely broken down. When searching on google I came across this thread and I have exactly the same problem so thought of asking the options I have to get it fixed.

I bought my BOSCH wvg30461gb on 28-Jan-2016 from Currys and the clicking sound started mid 2018 followed by a complete breakdown last week (second week of Jan 2019).

Please suggest what I must do. I am hoping Bosch will repair it at no charge - if not then to get it repaired outside myself (suggestions welcome for where you expect good service).

Thanks

Lynn

[Skistones]

Hi same problem here too. Any fixes that don't involve a new PCB at £300 pretty pretty please?

[Kris]

On 02/06/2019 at 12:48, Skistones said:

Hi same problem here too. Any fixes that don't involve a new PCB at £300 pretty pretty please?

 

Hi 

I am having the same issue now, did you find any solution which doesn't involve £300, my guarantee period is done last year and didn't renew unfortunately. Any help is appreciated please

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Hi Guys. If you have exactly the same problem you have to accept it is probably caused by the same fault, a faulty PCP. The same or very similar symptoms can have different causes so you can't be sure. It needs an engineer to diagnose it. You could try contacting QER electronic repairs to see if it can be sent to be tested or repaired.

[Skistones]

On 23/06/2019 at 18:04, Kris said:

 

Hi 

I am having the same issue now, did you find any solution which doesn't involve £300, my guarantee period is done last year and didn't renew unfortunately. Any help is appreciated please

Yes and no. I drained it and cleaned the pump filter as best I could and lo! it worked. But only once. Then same problem started again and cleaning and draining didn't work a second time.

Before that I did have an engineer out who tested lots, including testing the door lock thoroughly and it was completely fine. His conclusion was that the pcb wasn't receiving the message that the door was locked, so it refused to start and unlocked again. He tested bits of the pcb but couldn't see which component was the problem.

Andy -  I was hoping that it might be possible to just buy new relays or components and solder them on, or at least give that a try. It's such a waste of resources to have to ditch a whole machine which is otherwise perfectly fine for the sake of a few circuitry bits. Yet it doesn't make sense either to spend £300 on a circuit board when I can buy a Miele with warranty for £120 more.

This site is a great resource - thank you for all your work running it!! 

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Hi Skistones. Many thanks for the update. Yes appliance engineers have never repaired pcbs other than the odd dry joint soldering. There is no technical information for them even for the trade. However, many technical minded electronics experts have repaired their own using equivalent electronic parts. They clearly have experience and knowledge about these things that is never imparted to even the most well trained domestic appliance engineers. There is a company that specialises in repairing washing machine pcbs though, so anyone wanting to attempt that route could try contacting QER electronic repairs.

[KeithMason]

Exactly the same issue here.

Press start. The door locks (1 click heard) - then it unlocks (1 click again) - then stops, and will not proceed.

Replaced the door lock. no luck.

Followed the 3 wires that connect to the door lock, back to the the control board at the back/bottom on the machine, and they have no breaks.

I pulled out the control board next (at the back/bottom) -  I don't have the expertise to test everything, but checked the relays operate, and any other big/obvious resistors and capacitors which seem okay.

The rest are very small surface mounted components and chips, so I have to chance of diagnosing this any further.

I get an E61 error which is the door lock.

But, its a new door lock - The machine can sense that the door is shut, and also sense that it's locked, so seems like some kind of logic error.

Stuck at this point. Currys repair team suggested a new board,  but as its £180, their repair service do not over it, and they only cover parts up to £150

This kind of thing is annoying, and the machine is like new, but they expect me to trash it, and buy a new machine.

Anyone had any further experience with this issue ?

Thank you

 

 

[KeithMason]

in addition, to my issue (which may just be coincidence)

Initially - I had a very noisy drain pump, so the engineer replaced that with a new one.

The day after, this issue started. He came back the day after, he said something was loose behind the door lock.. fiddled a bit, and that seemed to fix it.. all good.

Now, 10 months later, its started to do the same thing again.

I can't see how replacing the Darin pump could have started all this, but someone here may have an idea ?

Thank you.

[asofrosty]

Hi All,

 

Just got the exact same issue here. Can anyone please assist and advise where this control board is located? is it at the front, top right behind the program selector or is it bottom rear?

Just a bit confused not sure if its the control module or the operating module that needs to be replaced. 

 

Thanks in advance

[KeithMason]

Control board is at the bottom-back - you access it by taking off the back panel. It also has a small ‘piggy-back’ board clipped onto it called ‘dryer unit’

Ive just sent my board to QER to see if there is anything they can fix, although there are a lot of small chips and surface mount components, so I’m not super hopeful, but worth a try. A new board from Bosch is £150

will update once I get feedback from QER

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

21 minutes ago, KeithMason said:

Ive just sent my board to QER to see if there is anything they can fix, although there are a lot of small chips and surface mount components, so I’m not super hopeful, but worth a try. A new board from Bosch is £150

will update once I get feedback from QER

Please do. I recommend them a lot but never get any feedback as to whether they've been helpful or not.

[KeithMason]

Just chased up QER - they said they could not find a fault.

So at this point, I think I have exhausted all my possibilities, and better go and buy a new machine now.

I may try and rip a few parts off the old machine before scrapping it, maybe worth a little on eBay to go towards a new machine :-)

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Many thanks for the update Keith. Can you say how much they charged to check it?