The clock shows the time remaining and, no matter what program I select, it only counts down 1 minute then stays, with the machine doing whatever it should at that time. The control board is working, because the drum turns both ways, the drain pump turns on, the door locks as it should, but the timer won’t advance. I agitated a load for over 6 hours and suds were starting to come out the drawer, by the time I noticed. I tried to run a different cycle, with the same result, so I ran the drain program. It emptied the machine, but left the pump running with 2 minutes remaining on the display indefinitely.

Duncan, April 2019

Hi guys. I gave up and got a new washing machine. I put the old one outside and swept the floor, ready to put the new one in and I found a small electrolytic capacitor there. It can’t have come from anything else, so I had on last look before consigning it to the skip. There’s only one board with likely looking capacitors on, so I took it out and brought it to the bench where I used to fix TVs, back in the day. Under the magnifier, I found a position with a dry hole and another with a half amputated leg, from my fugitive capacitor. A quick touch with desoldering braid and a tweak of the short leg, so I could solder it back in, properly, and now I have a spare washing machine, brand new, still in its packaging.
The real mystery is how it worked for almost a decade, with no solder on one leg of a component!

Duncan, June 2019