Domestic Appliance Component Information

The Information given here is a generalization and not for any one Make or Model. Neither is it intended to be a comprehensive breakdown of all the parts in the component, rather just a short overview of what the main function of it is and very briefly how it works, to give you a better understanding of what may have caused your machine to breakdown. We have also listed a few of the more common faults attributed to each component, purely as a starting place in locating the possible cause of the breakdown. It is useful to know what your washing machine is supposed to be doing when it breaks down, so you know what area to be looking in (Every good engineer will know what the next step for the wash cycle would be) and therefore narrow the search field for the fault. I have included in all my manuals a short rundown on how the wash cycle works. For those that have no idea click this LINK
The drawings are purely for illustration purposes only and may bare no resemblance to the components on your appliance.

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Component Name

Some Attributed Faults

Appearance (Varies from one model to another)

CONTROL MODULE (Washing Machine) This is the most complex part of any machine and is pre-programmed with the functions of the appliance it is designed for. Because of it?s complexity it is very delicate and should be handled with care, or in the case of a novice not handled at all. Although it controls most of the functions on a machine it is not very often the cause of a problem, so other areas should be examined first.	Control Module No Motor Action No Heater Machine Dead	Locate Supplier
PRESSURE CHAMBER (Washing Machine) The Pressure chamber varies in appearance from one model or make to another, but they are all situated on the lower part of the outer container either front, rear or under it and they are connected to the pressure switch by means of a thin hose. Air is trapped in the chamber as the machine fills with water and is forced up the hose, (the more water the greater the pressure) until the pressure inside the hose triggers the switch and so turns off the fill valve.	Pressure chamber Overfilling Will wash but Not Spin Door Lock not releasing Will go straight into wash without any water Heater comes on without any water	Locate Supplier
PRESSURE SWITCH (Washing Machine) The pressure switch controls the fill valves, and in some cases will prevent the motor from going into spin. It operates via an internal diaphragm which triggers one or more switches (depending on the type of pressure switch). This diaphragm is controlled by the Pressure Chamber and the small bore hose connecting both. On a multi-switch unit, the operating switch is selected by an external control, i.e. Half Load button.	Pressure Switch Overfilling Intermittent Over or Under Filling Fill Valves Dead	Locate Supplier
FILL VALVES (Washing Machine) The Fill valves, or (solenoid valves) allow water into the machine via a diaphragm which is held closed by the external water pressure on top of it, but when the solenoid is energised it breaks the seal of the diaphragm and allows water to pass, then the water pressure passing under the diaphragm keeps it open, until the power is turned off from the solenoid and an internal spring closes the diaphragm	Solenoid Valves No Water Drum Fills When Power Off	Locate Supplier
DOOR SWITCH (Washing Machine) Door switches or (interlocks) come in different shapes and forms but for the most part they work either by the conventional press switch mechanism, operated when the door is closed, this normally incorporates some kind of pressure valve assembly, to hold the door locked while there is water in the drum, or via a bimetallic strip inside that heats up when an electrical charge is past through it, causing it to bend and so operate a toggle switch mechanism. On this type of door lock there is normally a few minutes delay before the mechanism releases, because it takes a short time for the bimetal strip to cool down.	Door Interlock Machine will not start Door will not open	Locate Supplier
TIMER (Washing Machine) The timer is basically just a series of switches that operate at set times, it has a small electric motor on the end which turns gears connected to internal cams, it is these cams that operate the switches. It feeds from the control module which is the brain of any machine.	Timer No Motor No Heater Erratic Drum Action Spin Faults Machine Dead	Locate Supplier
SPIN MODULE (Washing Machine) (Where Fitted) This module controls the speed at which the motor spins, it receives information via the tacho generator on the rear of the motor and accordingly regulates it�s speed.	Spin Module No Motor Action	Locate Supplier
HEATER THERMAL CUT-OUT (Washing Machine) Some heaters are fitted with an internal cut out, this device registers if the element gets too hot and blows, just like a fuse, these cut outs are not re settable and are a safety feature which should never be over ridden or ignored.	Heater & Cut-out No Heater Machine Stops Washing Poor Wash Results	Locate Supplier
TACHO GENERATOR (Washing Machine) The short version is the "Tacho Generator" is a slightly off set carbon magnet inside a field coil,which is located on the rear of the motor. This sends information to the module, which regulates the speed of the motor.If the magnet comes loose or is damaged it would cause the motor to behave erratically.	Tacho: Motor Spins Constantly Distribute Speed Wrong Erratic Spin Speed Machine bangs when it spins	Locate Supplier
SOAP DISPENSER (Washing Machine) The function of the dispenser is to hold the powder until needed, then to flush it into the tub. This is done by using one or more fill valves, which send water into it washing the powder out. Dispensers come in different types and can have as many as three valves connected to them. The older types have Hot & Cold valves but the newer machines are cold fill only.	Soap Dispenser Leaks Not using all the powder Not dispensing all the fabric conditioner	Locate Supplier
PUMP (Washing Machine) The pump is situated under the washing machine either at the front or the rear of the cabinet and its function is to evacuate the drum of water. Although quite robust for its size it doesn't take too much to stop it from working, blockages being the main cause for concern, although even a cotton bud or elastic band can prevent the impellor from turning.	Washing Machine Pump No pump out Noisy Leaking	Locate Supplier
PECKER ASSEMBLY (Washing Machine) The Pecker is a small pivoting arm which hits on the belt when the door lever is activated. The Pecker Assembly is the whole mechanism which incorporates the pecker. There are various different styles of pecker assemblies and they are not always situated on the motor. They work by forming a bridge between the pivot point of the arm and a point on the motor shaft or belt, (as in the drawing), if the motor is revolving the pecker is pushed off and the bridge is not formed, whereby the cable from the interlock is slake and the door latch is not operated. Preventing the door being opened when the motor is running.	Pecker Assembly Door not opening Door lever loose	Locate Supplier
THERMOSTAT (Washing Machine) Thermostats come in different sizes and temperature settings. They are in all appliances that need to register or manipulate temperatures, whether it be water or air, and are of three main types. The normal one just switches off when a preset temperature is reached and back on when the temperature drops, (or in the case of refrigeration increases.) This is called a cycling stat The second is a re-settable stat that switches off when the heat parameter exceeds its preset limit. This type of safety stat has to be manually switched back on, normally by pressing a button in the centre of the unit. The third type is a one shot stat that trips when the preset temperature level is exceeded. This type cannot be reset and must be replaced. All thermostats are a safety feature and should not be bypassed, to do so could cause the appliance to overheat and catch fire.	Thermostat: No hot water Water too hot	Locate Supplier
THERMISTOR (Washing Machine) Thermistors are a newer version of the thermostat but work in a slightly different way. It is possible to get a more precise temperature reading by using a thermistor because it uses electrical resistance rather than a bimetallic strip. These are also found in most appliances that need to register temperature changes, but do not have the one shot or re-settable options that the thermostat have. As with the thermostat they come in different shapes and sizes, and can be located in a varying array of places within the appliance.	Thermistor: Water boiling Machine stopped Washing not clean	Locate Supplier
EEPROM (Washing Machine) The eeprom Stands for (ELECTRICAL ERASABLE PROGRAMMABLE READ-ONLY MEMORY)and is a memory chip that holds information essential to the running of the appliance. The epprom that comes with the machine is soldered into the module and cannot be easily removed, so normally requires a new module to be fitted at the same time. It is possible to buy a pre programmed eeprom and fit it yourself, however if you are not conversant with this technology it may be safer to get an engineer with the required equipment to fit and reload all relevant information into the new eeprom. {Normally information that is loaded into the eeprom is downloaded from a manufacturers web link via a computer terminal which is connected to the machine}	Eeprom: Any fault will show an error code	Locate Supplier
CONDENSER (Washer Dryer) The Condenser on a washer dryer works by having a trickle of cold water running down the inside, while the moist hot air is passed through it via the fan motor. The cold water converts the moisture in the air flow back to water which is then pumped out by way of the outlet hose.	Condenser: Water leaks Noisy	Locate Supplier
FAN MOTOR (Washer Dryer) The fan motor circulates air in the drum and passes it over the heater/s; these are located in a box section on the top of the drum and connected to the condenser. The dry hot air picks up moisture from the clothing as it passes over it and is forced up through the condenser, where much of the moisture is converted back to water again.	Fan Motor: Noisy Not Drying	Locate Supplier
HEATERS (Washer Dryer) The only function of the dryer heaters is to provide heat for the air flow into the drum from the fan motor. There are normally two thermostats controlling the temperature of these heaters, the first is a cycling thermostat and the second is a one shot (over heat) thermostat. This thermostat should never ever be bypassed.	Heaters: No Heat Not Drying Takes too long to dry Burning smell	Locate Supplier
METERING TANK (Dishwasher) Basically the metering tank is water reservoir for the dishwasher which holds a set amount of water in a number of different compartments. (That is the basic description). How it dispenses the water is somewhat more involving because not all of the water is destined for the wash tub, some is used to refill the salt compartment after the crystals have been flushed through with the saline solution. These tanks usually have a float switch which turns the power to the fill valve on and off.	Metering Tank Too much water Not enough water leaks	Locate Supplier
CIRCULATION MOTOR & PUMP HOUSING (Dishwasher) Although these two items come separately, when there is a leak in the pump housing you will normally have to replace the motor as well, because only on the rare occasion can you change one without the other. The motor turns a large impellor in the pump housing which draws the water from the sump and forces it through the spray arms via internal pipes, these motors are normally capacitor or relay start motors and can be connected up the wrong way, in this case you would get very poor wash results.	Circulation Motor &Pump Noisy Poor Wash Leaking No Wash at all	Locate Supplier
SOFTENER UNIT (Dishwasher) The softener Unit is a container with a sealed compartment for crystals, which soften the water as it passes through them and a compartment that has to be topped up with salt. The salt is used to clean the crystals, and this is done automatically every wash by flushing a saline solution through them. If there is no salt in the container the crystals become clogged and are unable to function, resulting in poor wash results because the powder cannot work properly in un-softened water.	Softener Unit Poor Wash results Salty taste on dishes	Locate Supplier
DISCHARGE PUMP (Dishwasher) A lot of the motors on these pumps are the same as those on a washing machine pump, but the housing (the bit that covers the impellor) differs in its connections. Nearly all have a built in non return flap, to prevent water re-entering the sump when the pump shuts off. Like the Circulation pump these draw there water supply from the sump, an area that should be protected by a filter to prevent foreign objects from entering either pump.	Discharge Pump: Not Empty Leaking	Locate Supplier
Turbidity Sensor (Dishwasher) Turbidity sensors measure the turbidity (how dirty the water is) in dishwashers, and can help save energy and water by reducing the length of time a wash cycle need be on to get the dishes to a set level of cleanliness. i.e. (Lightly soiled dishes need less wash time than heavily soiled dishes). It works by light being transmitted through the water between two points, and the strength of that light beam is measured, (the cleaner the water the stronger the beam.) this information is fed back to the module which takes the appropriate action. These sensors are usually sited in the or close to the heater box, and in the water flow.	Turbidity Sensor: Longer wash time Incorrect Turbidity readings	Locate Supplier
High Pressure Sensor (Dishwasher) The high pressure sensor is located between the wash motor and lower spray arm. It senses the alteration in water pressure via a membrane which is connected to a micro switch. The thinking behind it is that if the water pressure drops below a certain level then the machine will not be able to wash properly. Therefore if the pressure does drop, a series of rectifying procedures take place with the aim of removing the cause of the reduced water pressure.	High Pressure Sensor: Poor wash results Blockage	Locate Supplier
Water Turbine (Dishwasher) The water turbine used on some of the dishwashers is designed to eliminate the dependency on the pressure switch for filling. The unit is fitted in the fill line of the machine and works by the rotation of the turbine as water flows over it. A fixed reed switch registers the number rotations the turbine makes by counting the passing of a magnet fitted to the impeller. It can also act as an over flow preventative because it counts and regulates the amount of water entering the machine. The pressure switch will still be used if there is a fault registered with the turbine and a turbine fault will display at the end of the cycle.	Water Turbine: Fill Fault Blockage	Locate Supplier
DISHWASHER DOOR HINGE (Dishwasher) The diswasher hinge is connected to a spring which counter balances the weight of the door, so that when it is only half way open it stays there, other wise it would fall open as soon as the catch was released, causing it to buckle under its own weight.	Dishwasher Door Hinge Door drops down Squeaking or grating noise Door lopsided Leaking from door	Locate Supplier
COMPRESSOR. (Refrigeration) The compressor is basically a pump with the sole purpose of pushing gas around the pipe work of a refrigerator in order to make it cold.No system repaires are possible without the proper equipment,if a compressor fault is suspected, call in an engineer.	Compressor. Not getting cold Compressor running too hot Condenser not warm	Locate Supplier
DISSIPATER. (Refrigeration) The dissipater is a dish like tray which sits on top of the compressor motor, it catches the water when the fridge defrosts, and the heat from the compressor motor evaporates it.	Not Applicable	Locate Supplier
CONDENSER. (Refrigeration) Gas is pumped around the condenser and in doing so becomes very hot as it gets more compressed, so much so that it turns into liquid and is finally forced into the evaporator. On upright machines the condenser is normally located at the rear of the unit on the outside.	Condenser Blockage Leak	Locate Supplier
EVAPORATOR. (Refrigeration) When the hot liquid form of the gas enters the evaporator it is released into a larger area and released from it?s confines it returns back to gas, which cools very quickly. It is this cooling process that makes the fridge or freezer cold. Fridge evaporators are flat and sit inside at the rear of the unit, whilst the type illustrated are more commonly found in FrostFree units behind the inside pannel.	Evaporator Blockage Leak Loud cracking sound(Ice Bridge)	Locate Supplier
PTC (Positive Temperature Coefficient) (Refrigeration) The PCT is used as an alternative start device for compressors to previously used relay�s. The main property of the PTC is that it only allows current to pass when it is cold but this passage of current also causes a rise in temperature which alters the resistance, it is the higher resistance that in turn reduces the voltage to the start windings. Therefore by placing it in the start winding circuit, it will initially start the motor running until the heat produced by the current passing through it causes the temperature to rise and restrict the voltage which cuts out the start windings and lets the motor continue on just the run windings.	P.T.C Compressor does not start Compressor hums and tries to start Compressor overload tripping	Locate Supplier
TUMBLE DRYER MOTOR (Tumble Dryer) Tumble drier motors are induction type (which means they are either capacitor or relay start. Not brushes). This cuts down the possibility of them catching fire due to the dust and fluff emitted from the drier when in use. However this dust is still the main cause of bearing failure. Because they are induction motors they can be wired up the wrong way in which case they would revolve in the wrong direction.unfortunately the motors on some of the condenser type dryers are very hard to change and require a lot of the machine to be striped down just to gain access	Tumble Drier Motor No Tumble Noisy	Locate Supplier
JOCKEY PULLEY (Tumble Dryer) The jockey pulley is designed to maintain a constant tension on the belt as the drum rotates, for reversing tumble driers there are two pulleys (one for each direction) these are usually connected by a spring whilst the base of the pulley arm is hooked into the cabinet or is connected to the motor in some way.	Jockey Pulley Noisy (squeaking) Belt off (no drum action)	Locate Supplier
TUMBLE DRYER HEATER (Tumble Dryer) The heaters on tumble driers differ from make to make and even model to model. They can be located in the front of the drum or at the rear of the cabinet, but they are all controlled by thermostats or thermistors that switch the power on or off when pre-selected temperatures have been attained. Air is passed over the heater by means of a fan, usually attached to the main motor, and circulates with the washing inside the tub, finally leaving via the outlet hose/opening.	Tumble Drier Heater No Heat Poor Drying Burning Smell	Locate Supplier
FAN-MOTOR (OVEN) (Cooking) The fan is there to assist in a faster cooking process by boosting the circulation of heat around the oven compartment. There is one large fan inside the oven and a much smaller one out side (to keep the motor cool). If this fan becomes loose or unattached the motor over heats and stops.	Oven Motor & Fan: Poor cooking results Noisy	Locate Supplier
OVEN DOOR SWITCH (Cooking) The door switch is located at the side of the oven and has a small plunger protruding through the cabinet, which is pushed in when the door is closed. The function of this switch is to turn the grill off should the door be accidentally closed while it is in operation, because the grill element glows red and can cause a fire if fat splashes on it within a confined space.	Door Switch No Grill	Locate Supplier
CIRCULAR ELEMENT (Cooking) The circular heating element for a fan assisted oven is located at the rear, and is the only oven element you can see that glows red. It is protected by a lining plate with a grill section for air circulation. The fan blade is located in the center of the element which circulates the warm air throughout the oven compartment.	Circular Element Oven not working	Locate Supplier
DROP DOWN OVEN DOOR HINGE (Cooking) The oven door hinge is designed to allow for easy removal and refitting of the drop down oven door. However this is not always the case due to the amount of fat and grease which builds up from normal cooking use. Once the door is fully open there is either a lever (as with the one in the diagram) a disc that revolves to lock the main hooked arm in place or some other means to lock the arm. When both arms have been locked the door will come off with a little upward lift whilst gripping it by each side. There are a few *video examples* of how to remove an oven door and additional videos on removing the hinges.	Oven Door Hinge Door drops Does not close properly Squeaks Is lopsided Poor cooking results	Locate Supplier
INPUT THERMOSTAT (Heating) The input thermostat regulates the amount of charge (heat) that is retained in the blocks overnight, In some cases it is pre set according to external temperatures but other input thermostats allow the user to select the rate at which the blocks should be charged, normally on a 1-9 scale setting.	Input Thermostat Heater gets cold too quickly Heater is far too hot Thermal link melted	Locate Supplier
OUTPUT THERMOSTAT (Heating) The output thermostat (Room temp stat), allows the user to regulate the temperature of the heater to suit. This is accomplished by the connecting arm which opens and closes a vent flap on top of the heater unit, allowing more or less heat to escape. Once set the flap will regulate itself, that is to say, as the blocks get colder during the evening the flap will open more to maintain the set temperature.	Output Thermostat Heater too cold Heater too hot Thermal link melted	Locate Supplier
THERMAL LINK (Heating) The thermal link is a type of heat sensitive white metal which melts at or above a given temperature. It is between two copper pins that allow connection to the power input supply and the input thermostat. If the heater exceeds a give temperature the link will melt and cut the power supply to the heater, affectively turning the appliance off. Because there are a number of different heater ratings the thermal links also vary in heat resistance, this is identified by the colour on the side of the link. If replacing a link be sure to get the correct one for your appliance. Never ever replace a link with a piece of fuse wire or copper wire. This *hyper link* will take you to a web page that has an excellent chart on link ratings and relevant colours. To access the website click on the 'Locate supplier link'. under the picture.	Thermal Link Heater not working	Locate Supplier
HEATER ELEMENT (Heating) Replacing the heater element in a storage heater is real quite easy; unfortunately it also involves the dismantling of the heater unit which is more time consuming than hard. The problem that normally arises from this procedure is when the inner panel is removed to gain access to the charge blocks, on older appliances the insulation is very fragile and if not handled with the utmost care it will fall apart and will need replacing. The easiest way to detect if one of the elements is faulty is just to feel the cabinet itself, if one side is colder than the other then you have a defective element.	Heater Element No Heat Heater gets cold too quick	Locate Supplier

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