Washing Machine Not Spinning
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- The belt from the motor to the drum may be snapped or has come off.
- The motor itself may be have blown or become faulty.
- The PCB known as the printed circuit board or module may have become fault (this is usually due to something electrically shorting it).
- An electrical wire may have broken.
- 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”Âť 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”
I have an AEG Electrolux Lavamat 16830. It stops then drains the water slowly then completes its cycle. What should I do?
Sorry I forgot to mention that first time water fills then it washes and drains. Second time the water fills and drains straight away and the program finishes.
Hi I have a bell machine that stopped spinning I emptied the filter found a twisted piece of fabric and a hair clip in removed and put back together
Still won’t spin , thought this was the problem . It is still draining
Hi I have a beko machine that stopped spinning I emptied the filter found a twisted piece of fabric and a hair clip in removed and put back together
Still won’t spin , thought this was the problem . It is still draining
I also have a beko machine that drains but won’t spin. Any ideas on how this can be fixed kelli or anyone? Opened the filter and found a 5p but still won’t spin. Any help would be much appreciated. It’s just over a year’s old.
I got a Automatic Defy DLT 146 8kg Top Loader delivered today, read the manual, checked everything and tested it, it washed, spinner well but after 15 minutes it just threw water out and was no longer spinning, just did a low sound standing in one place with no movement at all… could this be a factory fault? Must I return it or is there something I can do?
Fit a new capacitor (usually 20 microfarad x 400V)
Hello, I have a Samsung front load VRT not sure of the model number. We moved house and now my washer won’t spin. It goes through the wash cycle just fine, but will not spin at all. I took the clothes out and did a spin cycle only and it looks like it wants to spin but becomes imbalanced. When I move The barrel by hand there is a rubbing sound in one spot. HELP!
Siemens front loading washing machine. Model-WM07A165 IN/24, 6 yrs old. No power supply to the machine. As per technician report the PCB (power module) got burnt / defective. need to replace with new one. But doesn’t find out the cause of burning or non functional of PCB. Kindly let me know the cause of failure of PCB. What are the causes and to check the parts ex. motor carbon brushes etc?
I have a Hotpoint Aquarius 1100 WM63, it is about 17 years old and has now developed a fault. Yeah, I should just buy a new one, but when it worked, it did a great job.
Issue – The machine switches on and the goes through the timed programs, turning the drum clockwise & anti-clockwise, adding water etc. However, it will not drain the water at all and there is no fast spin cycle whatsoever. If I disconnect the drain hose and keep it below drum level, the water gravity feeds out, so I can drain the machine.
Is the absence of the fast spin cycles due to the machine not draining? Does the machine have some way of detecting if water hasn’t been drained, which then locks out fast spin and only allow the slow clockwise, anti-clockwise rotation?
Any help appreciated, thanks.
My mashing can not start
I need a lot more information to be able to assist you with this fault but I would first check the door lock on the on off switch.
Appliances Engineer
I have a Maytag Neptune TL. It is making a lot of noise, and now during the spin cycle, it aborts. I redistribute the clothes, and it will start again, but then after 1 minute, aborts again. Occasionally it will leak a little water. It’s 12 years old, but only used for 2 or 3 loads a week. Just wondering if it’s worth fixing or just needs to be replaced.
The first thing I would do is check the bearings in the machine as they may be warn as it is 12 years old. they are replaceable you can see a video on the website showing you how to check bearings.
Appliances Engineer
Hi I have a zanussi Lindo 100 and it won’t drain or spin. No filter on the machine but how do I check it drain pump blocked???
Hi I have an age Electrolux 16830 washing machine the last couple of washes it has been very noisy when on spin now when I run machine it fills water then the drum doesn’t not turn then resets cycle after about 10 minutes?
Our Bosch was not spinning the cloths correctly, had to do 2 or 3 spins, but machine never got into 1200 or 1400 speed, so I removed the motor and checked the brushes, they were down to 1\4 of original so changed them, replaced motor but will not go into any spin at all, have checked the filter and pump etc nothing. Any suggestions.
I have a beko washing machine and it fills up fine and drains fine when i put it to the drain option but the drum does not go round on the wash or spin cycle. I have checked the filter and there is nothing in it. Any idea why the drum has stopped going round?
I have a whirlpool duet wfw9150ww00 it will fill with water and start after a few spins it will stop working and will make a buzzing sound. Door lock light is on.
after that it wont work at all or unluck door. Already check water pump drain.
I have a zanussi 1200. When goes to spin cycle ‘G’ it does spin but the clothes are still wet? Any ideas guys? Thanks
check for blockages in the pump
Appliances Engineer
I have a bush F841QW it will was but won’t spin… 8 emptied it checked the filter I put it on a spin with nothing in it and it worked… I half loaded the machine and put it on it washed but stop as soon as it got to the spin cycle.
My Neff integrated washing machine stopped spinning after having heavy towels in and the washing machine was banging about. .??
check for blockages and motor brushes
Appliances Engineer
My washing machine will spin when I drain the water myself with the little pipe thing but will not spin when there is water init and won’t drain its self a Blomberg WNF 6341
check motor brushes please
Appliances Engineer
I have Whirpool AWO/D1000EX sometimes spin sometimes not spin, brushes are exchanged,the outflivs is working and control programs
spin is working (4 times reset button 5seconds) Which may be a mistake? Washing machine PCB’s printed circuit board or module maybe.
which is to replace the diode or sou?
Best regards
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Appliances Engineer