Gotta be one or two surely!?

I've got a Hotpoint WDF740G washer dryer. About 2.5 years old now.  Last winter had an intermittent door lock fault at the end of the cycle.  This winter it's becoming less intermittent!  

Basically at the end of the cycle, the machine finishes and beeps to say it's done.  After 2 minutes the door should unlock.  However sometimes it doesn't unlock, then all the lights flash, F06 is displayed (door lock fault) and the drain pump runs constantly for several minutes - this is quite worrying as I'm not sure if the pump could burn out or cause a fire as it's only designed to run loaded for a few seconds at a time. . I have no access to the power plug (behind the machine) so just have to let it go.

The fix for this is getting to the machine after the 2 minutes but before the lights and pump...and giving it a whack next to the door where the lock is.  Door then unlocks as expected.

So my question is, is this a simple door interlock fault, or is there likely more to it as the pump runs as well?  If it is just the interlock, where's best to buy one?  Don't want cheap rubbing bit don't want to over pay either!

I had a look at the interlock today, isn't stiff or dirty but the solenoid may be weak I guess?  Odd thing is it only happens in cold weather, but still happens after ~3 hours of drying when the machine is obviously hot.

 

F06 is a door lock and program selector error code.

What you can try is take the top off and look at the wiring conections going into the front door.

Make sure they are tight.

If they are then its possibly the front control board is at fault.

It may not be selecting the correcting cycle or not telling the main control board that the current wash cycle has ended and therefore won't allow the door to open for safety reasons (no flooded floors) it then throws up the F06 error code.

(I'm no expert but have taken over maintaining my own washer/dryer since the warranty ended, I've fitted 2 new heat sensors in 3 years, failure is usually down to burnt lint on the sensor causing incorrect heat settings and drying that takes forever.)

16 minutes ago, Stoney871 said:

 

What you can try is take the top off and look at the wiring conections going into the front door.

Make sure they are tight.

MAKE SURE THE POWER IS TURNED OFF BEFORE PUTTING YOUR HANDS IN ABOUT THE WIRING!!!!!!

True dat

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I had the same on a Hotpoint dryer but the other way round,shut door and all red lights flashing and a f0?? fault forget the number.

So would not start,checked wires all fine so gave the door a nice hard shut a few times and worked,said it was door catch electrics fault but just slam the

door when i get it,thing is it's a less than 12 months old thing on the recall/swap.

5 hours ago, jace1969 said:

I had the same on a Hotpoint dryer but the other way round,shut door and all red lights flashing and a f0?? fault forget the number.

So would not start,checked wires all fine so gave the door a nice hard shut a few times and worked,said it was door catch electrics fault but just slam the

door when i get it,thing is it's a less than 12 months old thing on the recall/swap.

Yeah, this was only 18 months old when it started happening, not really good enough considering how much they cost!  

12 hours ago, Stoney871 said:

F06 is a door lock and program selector error code.

What you can try is take the top off and look at the wiring conections going into the front door.

Make sure they are tight.

If they are then its possibly the front control board is at fault.

It may not be selecting the correcting cycle or not telling the main control board that the current wash cycle has ended and therefore won't allow the door to open for safety reasons (no flooded floors) it then throws up the F06 error code.

(I'm no expert but have taken over maintaining my own washer/dryer since the warranty ended, I've fitted 2 new heat sensors in 3 years, failure is usually down to burnt lint on the sensor causing incorrect heat settings and drying that takes forever.)

I was hoping to avoid having to pull the machine out really...  I'll have to eat a tin of spinach beforehand I think!

 

I know that feeling.

The missus has the habit of leaving pens, tissues, lighters and various hospital type detritus (pins/tape/temperature probe caps etc) in her pockets and throwing everything in to wash.

Lost count of how many times I've had to de-crud the drum and door seals.

Must admit though i left my passport in the leg pocket of shorts once but at least it was the missus that put the shorts in the wash.

Cue washed out passport and a costly replacement bill.

On 12/5/2017 at 2:44 PM, Stoney871 said:

The missus has the habit of leaving pens, tissues, lighters and various hospital type detritus (pins/tape/temperature probe caps etc) in her pockets and throwing everything in to wash.

Medical Pen torches survive the wash quite nicely. As do USB flash drives!

If you're a little tech savvy, maybe remove the interlock mechanism and see if you can clean it up a little - do NOT use brake cleaner (I forget what I tried cleaning, but the O rings ended up double the size!) and maybe re-grease/oil if required. As Stoney's said, check all connections too.

My mums machine has a green emergency door release "pull" that slots in behind the front cover, where you remove the filter. Works even when machine is in action but will stop the cycle for obvious reasons.

I'll be honest, it's £10 for a genuine new door lock on ebay so I'm going to try that before going any further, should arrive today and only takes minutes to swap over.   I just don't think I've got the strength to push the machine back at the moment and don't want to pull it out and get it stuck in the middle of the kitchen lol.  I'd be more annoyed to find that I'd pulled the machine out and it ends up just being a broken lock, than to lose a tenner if it's something else.

This also has an emergency door release built into the lock...but it's only accessible from the top, so you'd have to remove the machine and the lid to get it, not sure how much use that is in an emergency!  

So...that went about as well as anything I attempt...

Fitted the new door lock...started the machine, the solenoid clicked several times which didn't sound good but the door locked and the machine ran it's cycle...  BUT when it finished the lock wouldn't open, got the F06 fault again with the pump running, no amount of tapping around the lock would open it...  Ended up pulling the machine out to get to the plug at 10pm tonight (cheap evening electric!).  Removed the lid and opened the door manually...  Put the washing on the rack and replaced the old lock...  Started the shortest cycle I could find while the lid was off and out of its hole just in case I needed to manually open it again...  Friday night fun...

Worked perfectly with the old lock, even opened at the end of the cycle as it should! . Turns out the new lock was a different model, despite looking identical, the model number is pressed into the white plastic so hard to see as well.

Anyway, while I was there, did a visual check of with and plugs all seem tight.  No signs of burning, melting or leaking that I can see.  Not really what to think now, whether to try another new lock with the correct model number or try something else. 

 

Same control panel layout and everything as my folks machine!

Is there not a green pull square thing under the front bottom cover to the upper right corner of the filter housing?

I imagine there will be a sensor on the lock, you could check this wiring back to the control unit (and check all connectors for security and corrosion) - if you have a multimeter check for continuity. Check for water on the front panel board also as it's tempremental with the slightest bit of moisture.

No release there but the hole is there in the panel and there was an extra tab on the new interlock that I didn't think much of at the time.  I reckon that is what the green cord hooks on to though, so it'll cause the same action as the manual unlock from the top. 

So it seems these models may have been fitted with both types of lock...

I do have a multimeter but I haven't used it in so long the battery has died now.  Did a plug check last night but all were secure and couldn't see any water or corrosion anywhere.  I guess it's possible the board may be getting a bit damp from condensation but leaving no trace.

Tbh I was surprised how clean and new it all still looked inside.  For something that's constantly wet and hot and in a kitchen environment, I expected minor leaks,  mould, rust and fluff everywhere...