Washing Machine Not Spinning

by / Friday, 29 August 2014 / Published in Motors, Washing machines

We are always asked about customer’s washing machine not spinning, there are a few reasons this can happen and some are very simple fixes and I will list them below and then go in to more depth.

Common washing machine faults that lead to the washing machine not spinning or not spinning properly.

  1. There could be a blockage on the drain system. The pump filter may be blocked or the hose from the drum going to the pump may be blocked. If your waste pipe is fitted onto a fitting or goes on to the sink drainage this may also be blocked.
  2. The motor carbon brushes may be warn, if the motor does not have brushes then there is a chance that the motor capacitor has failed.
  3. The belt from the motor to the drum may be snapped or has come off.
  4. The motor itself may be have blown or become faulty.
  5. The PCB known as the printed circuit board or module may have become fault (this is usually due to something electrically shorting it).
  6. An electrical wire may have broken.
  7. You may have a timer fault but this is very rare.

 

Washing machine Blockages if it doesn’t Drain, So It Will Not Spin

If your washing machine has a lot of water in it when it comes to spin this will either stop the machine spinning or you will get water coming out of the machine sometimes from the soap drawer.

you will need to find out why your washing machine didn’t drain the water Normally this would be something obstructing the drain pump from correctly draining the water away but you may have to dig a little deeper than that on occasion. You will often find small coins, bra wires, baby clothing, soaks or keys toys etc find their way into the pump manifold (this is the plastic housing that the pump is mounted onto with the hoses attached) something may have blocked one of the inlets or outlets and, on occasion, these can get into the drain outlet hose and block it. also check the washing machine drain pump is actually working.

You can do this using a multimeter and a simple continuity check of the drain pump’s motor coil live and neutral connections as it will either make a circuit or not. If it does, then the winding’s are okay and it should run, if not you need a new drain pump.

Also check the drain pump rotor the seals can fail and the rotor area can fill with water making the pump fail. On an induction pump this will be solid and turn with the cooling fan on the back of the drain pump but on newer magnetic pumps the rotor will turn with a little resistance then “flick” to the next position repeatedly and the same way in both directions. If it’s loose or broken, you need a new drain pump for your washing machine.

Blocked Washing Machine Filter

If your washing machine or washer dryer doesn’t spin the first thing to check is the filter if the machine has one. Blocked filters are the most common cause of not spinning, Pull the filter out and clear out anything that you find in the washing machine drain pump, for more info on how to do this please see other articles about washing machine drain pumps. You really should do this on a monthly.

Check the pipes leading to the pump they can get blocked with small items of clothing.

Blocked outlet hoses are very common especially when they are connected with push fittings strip them down and check for blockage see pictures.

Washing machine motor carbon brushes.

Carbon brushes do wear down and this can cause a spinning problem with your washing machine but, the machine has to be a few years old for this to be the problem and it is easily checked,

It is better to catch this problem early as if this problem is left to long then it can lead to damage on the PCB you can read more about how to check and replace washing machine carbon brushes in our other articles and videos.

Washing machine belts

Belts don’t stretch but they can snap due to bearings or the drum not turning freely. If the washing machine drum bearings are worn then this can lead to the belt coming of, on some manufacture the drum pulley wheel can become loose.

Washing machine motor

Motors can fail but they can also be checked of the machine either by using a meter or you can bench test them see tutorial on this.

Washing machine PCB’s printed circuit board or module

These can fail and are expensive to replace, they normally fail after there has been an electrical short or fault (badly worn motor carbon brushes are a common cause of PCB failures)

Washing machine wiring faults

Wires can sometimes break due to metal fatigue or they sometimes burn on the motor connection normally due to a leak on to the motor wiring plug.

Washing machine timers

This is a very rare on modern appliances but it can happen.

 

Washing Machine Spin Out Of Balance Detection

What happens is that the electronics in the washer detect an abnormal load and it will then abort the spin cycle, or at least it will not reach its top spin speed. Normally due to badly loaded machines like one large towel.

This happens for a few reasons; the first and main one is that it stops the machine from bouncing about due to an abnormal load that will make the drum move in an ellipse shape resulting in the machine “walking” forward or sideways and even with this protection in place this can still occur if the flooring is not sound enough you can read more about installation of a washing machine in your manual.

This is to stop the outer drum of the washer (the bit that holds the water in it) from hitting the sides of the actual outer cabinet and causing damage.

This causes issues on modern machines as most cannot actually spin single items of clothing, the out of balance control is too harsh (for good reason) and the machine will not spin at full speed under these conditions. Please remember that some of these electronic controls are very sensitive and any indication that an out of balance condition would occur will cause the machine to abort. So if you have this the best advice I can offer is to re-distribute the load and try again.

106 Responses to “Washing Machine Not Spinning”

  1. Mike says : Reply

    I have a hotpoint top load washing machine that is having trouble spinning unless the load is really light.
    I replaced the belt and it is not slipping, ran it with front off to make sure.
    If the load is light and I help it start to turn it does spin okay. Once it is going I put one piece back in at a time and it keeps spinning fine.
    I am guessing it may be the clutch but am not sure, the clutch is expensive so I don’t want to replace that and hope it works. What else should I be looking for?
    It drains like it should and pumps the water out just fine, just won’t spin unless the load is very light.
    Any help is greatly appreciated.
    Thank you.

  2. Mangaliso says : Reply

    Hi Paul,I have a Defy twinmaid 1000,it is starting what could be the fault.

  3. Mangaliso says : Reply

    Hi Paul,I have a Defy twinmaI’d 1000 washing macnine, it is not turning when plagued what could be the reason

  4. Lisabela says : Reply

    I have a bendix washing machine. It fills when started and immediately starts flooding from underneath.

    I have cleared the filter.

  5. Bill says : Reply

    My machine washes and empties but then doesn’t spin. I’ve checked the pressure switch – now what?
    Are there separate brushes for spin v wash?

  6. Marty says : Reply

    Electrolux Time Manager 7kg Ecowash system. EWF1074.

    Runs through all wash cycle through to empty water. But the last step spin just freezes without starting with the timer permanently stuck on 1:00 (1 minute to go)

    Marty

  7. Ola says : Reply

    Hi my indesit washing maching front loader is not spinning but draining water please i need a help. The motor has no brush

  8. ANETA MILISAVLJEVIC says : Reply

    Hi i have an electrolux 8kg time saver washing machine. The drum spins on the spin, rinse cycle but wont do anything on a normal cycle expect pump water in. Any ideas. It has had the motor brushes changed 5 months ago.
    Tga6

  9. Jay says : Reply

    My washing machine comes spin very slow and wouldn’t change cycle

  10. JehJeh1102 says : Reply

    I have a DEFY top loader washing machine DTL148, it does not spin since 2 weeks back and at times it shows E6 on the display board, I’d like to know what the problem could be with my machine and also how to fix it.

  11. Sean Gillin says : Reply

    Is it ok to hire an engineer considering the lockdown as I know someone whose washing machine is faulty.

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