Just had the same problem and as it gets worse it will only run with the start button held in. The problem for me was the stop start relay board (which is quite a common issue). The board can be purchased complete for under £ 20 or the capacitor on the board can be removed (unsoldered)and a new one fitted. This was the route I went down, I purchased it from Maplins and it cost 44 pence. 250v .22mf I had to get a different profile to the original which was cylindrical (the new one is rectangular) to make it fit the board I had to solder an extra piece of wire on it.
FIRST POWER UNIT OFF AND REMOVE POWER PLUG FROM THE WALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!
To get at the board first remove the top panel by removing the three screws at the top rear of the machine and slide the top panel out. Then slide the two plastic side rails rearwards which will expose two screws which hold the plastic control panel in place (the main control panel at the front of the machine).
You then need to remove all the screws holding the front (main door) panel in place. I put the machine on it's back which made this task much easier. The first two are under the now loose front control panel (see above). Then take out the four hinge screws (one long one short on each hinge... take note of position). On the lock side of the door remove the two screw and finally there are three screws underneath the front panel (bottom edge). Once these are removed it is possible to gently move the whole panel from side to side to release the rubber seal from the drum and you can then lift the panel aside enough to gain access to the stop side pcb. Take it easy at this stage as the panel only needs lifting enough to expose the pcb and it's fixing screws the whole panel doesn't need to be completely removed. The pcb is located to the top right side of the front of machine (roughly the size of a business card) as the front panel is now released you should be able to see and remove the two screws that hold the pcb in place. Take photos of the wires connected to the pcb and once you are happy with the positions of the connectors gently remove the four spade type connectors. Now change the whole board or change the capacitor on the board Maplins capacitor BX78 polyester 0.22uf 44p (as mentioned above this is a different profile to the original ((rectangular not cylindrical)) and requires one of the pins to be extended to fit). Before re assembly use a vacuum to thoroughly clean the inside of the tumble dryer (It will be full of dust and fluff).
Reassembly is the reverse of the strip down but pay attention to the realignment of the front panel, the door seal needs to be gently worked back through the hole in the front panel which is a little tricky.
This information is provided purely as advice to anyone who has the skills to attempt such a repair. I accept no responsibility for any damage that may be caused in attempting the repair or any problems the repair may cause to the machine in the future.
The repair worked fine for me, took maybe a couple of hours and cost 44 pence!
Wave10, November 2013
