Electrolux washing machine stops mid-cycle (counter suddenly goes down to 1 min, then to zero). But works fine on a cold wash.

[Washme]

Hello. I have an Electrolux/Husqvarna QW14692 washing machine. When set to any wash cycle that isn't cold, it stops mid way through the wash, with the counter suddenly going down to 1 and then 0 minutes. It allows me to open the door even though there is water in the drum. No error code is shown. It appears this happens after the first stage of the wash cycle (after 5-10 minutes). If the machine is set to cold the cycle completes. Draining and spinning also work when selected as individual cycles. 

I've removed the heater element and tested both it and the temperature sensor with a multimeter. They both appear fine. 

Any idea what could be wrong?

Thanks. 

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

This fault is often caused by a faulty heating element or connection. What reading do you get on the element?

[Washme]

32 minutes ago, Whitegoodshelp (Andy) said:

This fault is often caused by a faulty heating element or connection. What reading do you get on the element?

The resistance on the heating element was 26.8 ohms and 50,000 ohms for the sensor. The resistance on the sensor went down when I held it, or warmed it up with hot water. 

Thanks for your help on this!

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

That sounds ok. If there’s no connection fault on the wiring to the heater and the element and sensor seem ok there’s nothing else I can suggest you do. 
 

The fault is not one that should happen, and dropping to 1 minute is an anomaly. It happens in some washing machines when the element goes open circuit mid-wash so it tricks the wash cycle software and confuses it. 
 

if a hearing element is open circuit then the software can detect that easily when the wash temperature doesn’t rise by a certain amount in a specific timeframe. Then the cycle aborts and gives an error code that implicates a hearing fault. 
 

So if the water temperature rises at first but then stops rising washing machines can get confused and behave erratically. 
 

It’s possible the sensor could be faulty or have a dodgy connection or even something else including the PCB although I remember once replacing a PCB on one doing the same thing and it didn’t fix the fault. 

[Washme]

Hmmm. I’ll take the top off the machine tomorrow and check the wiring more thoroughly. 
 

Assuming I can’t find an obvious fault there, is there (in your opinion) any point in calling in a professional, or should I just bite the bullet and replace the whole thing? I’m in Sweden, and call outs ain’t cheap!

Really appreciate the help! 

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

How old is it? It might be worth trying a 40 degree wash cycle and poring some piping hot water in through the drawer to see if by any chance it does anything different. If you could get the water to be 40 degrees it wouldn’t need the heater and may work as normal. In which case it would strongly imply the heater isn’t working. 

[Washme]

Not sure of age, it came with the house. Minimum 3.5 years. I’ll try the method you suggest, thanks. 

[Washme]

Ok, I tried adding lots of boiling water and... it worked! Took a couple of goes and many kettles, but on a 30 degree wash it carried on past the normal stopping point. 

So, if this means that heater isn't coming on, what's the likelihood a new element will fix things? Is there a chance it's something else, e.g. the wiring connection to the heater (all this looks ok) or something do with the communication between the main control board/timer/whatever (not sure if these are the right terms, but hope you get my drift)?

[Washme]

Just to add, at the point where the timer goes down to 1 min, the set temperature indicator on the front panel changes from 30 degrees to * (cold). 

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Hi. If the temperature indicator changes from the set temperature to "cold" I get the impression there may be something more than just the heating element at play. As I said if the heating element is faulty and not heating the water then it shouldn't trigger this anomaly behaviour of dropping down to 1 minute, it should trigger a heating error fault, and the washing machine should abort, pump out the water and then display an error code relateing to the water not having heated up.

If you combine this with the fact that you have got an adequate resistance reading that shows that there is continuity going through the heating element the implication is that it is not the heating element at fault. However, it is theoretically possible for a fault inside the element to occur when the element has heated up and expanded but this is quite unusual. If that did happen though, then the jumping to one minute anomaly could occur because one of the known causes of that anomaly is (as I described previously) when the heating element goes open circuit mid wash but has worked okay for several minutes before.

Obviously there's no way to test for this other than to replace the heating element and hope but obviously it's a long shot. The fact that it seemed to complete a wash cycle okay as long as the water was heated very strongly implies that the temperature sensor works okay and the rest of the washing machine does too. All in all it's a difficult one.

[Washme]

So... I just ran it with:

The heater disconnected. Result: it carried on past the point it normally stops, but water (obviously) didn't get hot. 

The temp sensor disconnected (but heater connected). Result: carried on past the point it normally stops, but no sign of the water getting hot. 

Everything reconnected (just as a control test). Result: back to the failure mode. 

Is that behaviour what you would expect? I assumed that disconnecting either the heater or the temp sensor would result in an error code. 

Thanks. 

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Yes I would expect disconnecting the heating element should trigger an error code related to not heating.

[Tibor]

Dear Washme, did you solve the problem mentioned above? I have exatly the same problem with a EWF14780W / ELECTROLUX, when the mashine starts to heat up the water, immediately the timer switches to zero, temp shows * and obviously stops. Starting any program with cold water, all goes fine. 

Thank you.

T.