Sparks from Miele W1 WKC130

[DavidinNorway]

Hi,

The washing machine has visible sparks (and hot metal smell) during spin cycle, appearing to come from the bottom front of the drum.  The inner drum is not concentric with the outer drum, varying from <1cm to >2, and there is discolouration on the inner drum where the gap is narrowest. I think it is probably managing to touch the outer drum and rubbing there during the spin?

The inner drum rotates freely and quietly, and there is no up/down play relative to the outer drum so I am thinking it is probably not the bearings. I took the top off, and couldn't see any obvious problems - no disconnected or broken springs. There wasn't much to see...

I guess the question is: is there any plausible cause for this that would be repairable? I can get a Miele service guy to come and have a look, but that will cost at least £150 (I am in Norway) just to get his opinion.

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Try checking all around the drum for play at a specific point that might indicate a crack in one of the 3 drum spider arms. 

Pull and lift up at the 6 o’clock position. Then turn the drum and inch or so and repeat until you’ve gone all the way around the drum. 

[DavidinNorway]

Hi Andy,

Thanks for the reply. I wasn't able to feel any play at any position.

David

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Hi David. If there’s no play in the drum or bearings it shouldn’t be able to catch on anything. If the drum lip is out of shape by a lot it may have been damaged by an obstruction. But if you can’t see where it’s catching when you turn the drum something must be “giving” and allowing the drum to move during spin and catch on something. 
 

That’s usually something like a hairline crack in one of the drum spiders. If it’s catching on the plastic outer drum you should be able to see damage and burnt plastic where it is catching. It may be at the sides or top. 
 

Is it catching on the door seal maybe?

[DavidinNorway]

Hi Andy,

I see what you mean. I can get a tiny bit of front-to-back play but nothing up/down, and certainly not enough to get contact between the outer and inner drums. Although spinning at 1600rpm with a full load probably exerts more force than I can muster!

The outer drum is metal, and I can't see any damage on it or on the seal.  But there is a brownish discolouration around a few inches of the inner drum where is closest to the outer, and the  edge feels rough there. I suppose something could have gotten caught there, rubbed and then dislodged? In which case maybe it is still somewhere in there? Is there some way of looking for/finding/removing things caught between the inner and outer drums?

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Hi David. Yes, it's possible something got in there and buckled the lip of the drum. However, if you are still getting sparks and friction burning when the drum spins with a full load inside, then the damage is already done, and retrieving an object wouldn't help.

But if the sarks and burning has stopped, it would be worth making sure nothing is inside that could cause serious damage. Check my article out here how to remove an object from inside washing machine