The machine stopped mid cycle and dial kept on turning. I turned off the machine and put to a reset mode and turned on again. The dial still keeps turning. I have tried putting through a drain and short cycle, but still no joy. I have counted the flashes and we have 14 and then 11!
Any ideas what the problem may be. I have been advised to buy a new machine as this is a common fault with the machine.

J Dale, September 2006

This is in addition to the best answer already provided below by Stu (the best and most informative answer) and by Stig (the second best answer). In my case I had the fault described by them, but also over the time, I had a second fault which resulted in exactly the same behaviour of the control dial -- in both cases it kept turning on without stopping. However the second fault was not due to a blockage (as described below by Stu and Stig), but it was due to a faulty heating element. This post is about this second fault.

(1) SYMPTOMS: Both faults have similar manifestations -- the control dial starts turning and keeps turning on without stopping. However, when this is due to blockage the control dial starts turning when it is mid cycle with water (obviously) remaining in the washing machine. When this is due to faulty heating element the washing cycle first takes unusually long time and seems never to complete -- after this long time an attempt to manually switch to the next step in the cycle results in the control dial turning without stopping. In this second case the front door window of the machine remains cold to touching (normally it is never hot -- it can only be slightly warm, but in this case it remain cold).

(2) DIAGNOSTICS: To diagnose a faulty heating element you need to open the service cover on the back side of the washing machine. WARNING: DISCONNECT THE MACHINE FROM THE MAINS BEFORE ANY WORK ON IT. NEVER DIAGNOSE OR REPAIR THE MACHINE WHEN IT IS CONNECTED TO THE MAINS. The service cover is held by six screws -- remove them and then pull the cover downwards (not upwards as you would think intuitively). The contacts of the heating element are on the back of the stainless steel tub, exposed, and can be easily recognised by the fact that the thickest wires go to them (there a few thin wires going to the various sensors close to them). Disconnect the wires and check the resistance of the heating element with an ohmmeter -- it must be around 25 to 50 ohm. A faulty heating element will have resistance of an open circuit (infinity) or very high one (kilo-ohms or mega-ohms). If you do not have an ohmmeter then possibly you are not quite qualified to carry out the repair too, so please ask a qualified person to help you -- you are almost sure to have a friend or relative who does possess an ohmmeter (also known as multimeter). An electrician would know how to check the integrity (continuity) of the heating element even without an ohmmeter, so no further advice is given here.

(3) REPAIRS: Simply buy a new heating element (you can do this on the internet too). Make sure that what you order is for your model. (In my case I checked Amazon and eBay and both had the part at a reasonable price between £10 and £15 as of 2017). To remove the old heating element you need to unscrew the two screws. Installing the new heating element is simple, make sure that you make it water tight and do a test run before using the machine for real washing. WARNING: CLOSE THE SERVICE COVER BEFORE THE TEST -- NEVER OPERATE THE MACHINE WITH THE SERVICE COVER OPEN, NOT EVEN FOR TESTING (UNLESS YOU ARE A QUALIFIED TECHNICIAN).


Hope this helps.

RF Engineer, August 2017

Had exactly the same problem and was resolved exactly the same way. Had to use a shallow oven tray to catch the water from the machine and after removing the filter I found one of my baby daughter stickers, about the size of a 2p piece blocking the filter. Restarted the washer and working perfectly. Would recommend stuffing a few old tea towels or similar underneath the washer just below filter before you start emptying.

Peter Mc, August 2011

removing the filter and clearing out what was in it worked for me. Found a shirt collar stiffener and a Levis tab!

Grateful, April 2011

The Stigs answer was just the ticket. Took off the filter cap as suggested, removed the water,there was no blockage but a few fibres floating so I guess this was the problem. Washing machine is working a treat.

sdc, January 2011

the cycle has finished but the door wont still open, turned it off at the mains- waited turned it back on still nothing, the door is still not opening!! and ideas?

Jojo, September 2010

i've just used stigs method also. found a hair grip jammed in the propeller. Thanks all.

Lee, June 2010

Used Stig's approach - i.e. removed filter and found several coins, twigs etc. Reset, and it worked perfectly. Thanks a million Stig!

Rory, April 2010

i have just fixed a wd12x,dial kept turning and wash would not complete,ie would not empty.at first checked dial but found it ok,then checked pcb board for any signs of damage this too was ok,lastly i checked the filter[front of washer bottom right]remove cover[pulls off]and turn knob anti-clockwise and remove,be aware that if your machine is full of water it will come out so have some cloths and containers ready.once you removed the filter knob check in side with a torch, usually coins are tobe found or a piece of material which will be restricting the propeller in side,remove any items you find,replace filter knob hand tight,replace cover.reset machine by turning dial to stop/reset then turn on machine and select programme.any problems with dial turning constant check filter first.there are no special skills required to do this fix,if you can make a cuppa your qualified.cheers.

stig, April 2010

Hairdryer worked a treat on circut board, thanks alot!!

John, August 2009

I'm a little late answering this for you as you've probably bought a new machine already, but hopefully someone else with a similar problem may stumble across this thread, and if one machine gets fixed because of my post, then it's worth it. Ok....so I had exactly the same problem. The washer would fill with water, and fail to drain. The pump would start to work, and no water (or very little) would come out of the pipe. Resolution....remove the blocking article (usually a rogue sock!!) This is how to do it.

1. First unclip the waste pipe from the drain, and blow down it (rather forcefully), if it is a blockage, then you should find it gets easier to blow the longer you do it.
2. Unblock---now the hard bit. You need to get your washer in a position where you can tilt it on its side.
3. Underneath, near the pump, you should see a large black rubber pipe, with a silver clamp around it. Squeeze the clamp together until it frees the pipe from the pump (a pliers seems to help with this).
4. Remove the blocking article and blow down the pipe to make sure there is no other blockage.
5. Clamp the pipe back on again (make sure it's on tight, or you'll flood your kitchen!!!)
6. Put the washer back in place and try it out.

If this has helped anyone, please let me know by sending me an email...my washer was really getting on my nerves and I'd love to be able to have helped someone.... slendrum@tesco.net

Stu, December 2006

hi 14 flashes is dryer motor fault 11 flashes is drain pump not working.its possible the pump is faulty and needs replacing but its also possible the main circuit board is damp they suffer from this a lot try removing the main board (rear bottom left)and drying it with a hair dryer if no joy try the pump

phil grimshaw, September 2006