Sounds like the timer circuit might have faulted, I am no washing machine Eng. But I have had a similar fault....
Don't panic all that you need is a Philips screwdriver, a pair of pliers and the sense to switch off & unplug the mains whilst you tinker on!
I have a Hoover AC170 (1995) started to fill with water and just when it should have started to move on through the cycle (program) it stood still. I could hear a wearing sound which directed my attention to the control circuit. I can only guess that the washer must have been overloaded or out of balance and thrown the circuit or drive mechanism out of sink hence the fault.
I removed the lid & front door panel (3 screws at base of panel) which required the door seal to be removed & the plastic pipe which attached to the soap dispenser tray. I also removed the door close mechanism via two BA bolts to allow the front panel to be moved out of the way. The control circuit in the AC170 is housed bottom RHS of the washer. I had the washer tilted back with a chock as the control board mount is anchored to the base plate and requires a slight twist of a galvanised clip to free. Two further screws hold the plate in position etc. I made a simple sketch of the Timer circuit (rectangular galvanised box with about 48 spade connectors on) and numbered each spade & associated cable. You need to remember which way around the timer goes as well. Once all the wires were removed Note - Remembering which way each socket went (on close inspection a 4 way connector is numbered 1 to 4) or via colour of cable orange/red, the timer can be removed to a bench for major surgery!
The timer circuit spare for the AC170 is priced at £113 so it is worth getting the surgical instruments out (fingers) and having a go as its 50% of a new washer if you fail! Or if your lucky you may get one at your local tip.
The Timer unit on the AC170 has about 3 Galvanised twist locks (slim metal strips 5mm long that are twisted to keep the plates together). Be careful when straightening these as they need to be put back when fixed.
Once these twist locks are straightened you should be able to ease the lid off with a small screwdriver pushing the plastic clips free. Watch that the unit stays in some form of position as you could end up with a pile of bits as there is limited support for the gears & cam switches. When I opened the timer up from one side, there were about 4 plastic gears and I checked these for wear or misalignment or not meshing together. Although I didn't find any I noticed a white plastic arm looked to be floating about doing nothing. I repositioned this so that it locked into a plastic noble on the base of the plate which the gears are mounted. I also went for broke and had the other side off the cam was removed and I managed to locate this plastic leaver behind the finger switches which seemed to be central to the function of the timer. I knew that the drive motor was OK as it had been trying to drive but must have become disengaged. It sounds good and the more I told myself I hadn't lost the plot & that the washer would actually work once I put everything back together I continued.
I was unsure where to position the cam (the big white cog) which has the sequence or program for which the finger switches act on and make the pump, motor, spin work etc. So I located the white leaver in the middle of a flat section (note - incorrect) and reassembled the washer.
Once I had put the washer back together and turned on the power the washer started immediately to fill with water and then stopped even though a program had not been selected. I then selected a program and started the washer, it worked fine apart from when the cycle should have stopped just after the spin cycle it decided to throw in some more water. I then had to select a spin cycle and once I guessed it had had enough of a spin I switched the supply off.
Not totally fixed but I know that the timer circuit could be fixed and it was just a matter of repositioning the cam. But I wasn't too hard on myself as 5 loads of washing later I know I can have another go when the washings done!
If you strip the timer you'll understand how setting this up is a bit tricky when any sensible Hoover Eng. would just replace the timer & probably wouldn't be able to advise you where to position it anyway.
Hope the above helps,
AG
Mad Max, August 2008
