How to check the washing machine motor?

In the washing machine, the motor plays the most important role, in fact, as in all other appliances. But what to do if you suspect that the engine is broken - how to check the motor of the washing machine? This will be discussed in this article.

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Determine what happened to the engine

We can say with confidence that this is the most unpleasant breakdown, which entails a complete failure of household appliances and high costs for its repair or for the purchase of new equipment. In order to check the washing machine motor for an open or short circuit of the rotor winding, in order to prove or refute the breakdown, you will be required to use a multimeter:

1. Turn your multimeter into a resistance measurement state.
2. Then measure the resistance between absolutely all adjacent lamellas. The guideline is simple - it should be equal everywhere, namely within 20-200 Ohms.

Important! In the event that there is a break, then the resistance will be maximum. During inter-turn short circuit, the total resistance of the entire winding will be much less.

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Checking the motor rotor

To check the electric motor of the washing machine for a packet of iron:

1. Switch the multimeter to buzzer mode.
2. After that, connect one end together with the iron of the rotor, well, and the second one by one move along the lamellas.

Important! The multimeter should not emit any signal.

Now you must check the stator winding to find or not find the inter-turn circuit. For this:

1. With a multimeter in the special buzzer mode, alternately close together all the ends of the wiring.
2. The multimeter must be “silent”.

Important! If you saw or heard a multimeter signal, it means that you have found an inter-turn circuit.

When you find a short circuit, in order to check the breakdown of wires on the case:

• close one end of the multimeter;
• the second one is shorted to the wiring.

There should be no signal.

Important! If it is, it means that the integrity of the insulation is broken in the wires and that it is broken into the case. In this case, your washing machine may sometimes be shocked.

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Check the entire stator winding of your motor

If you find an open or shorted windings, then starting to repair such an engine does not make any sense. Naturally, there are options to rewind the winding, but this action will cost a little more than buying a new one. That is why with such a malfunction, your motor must be completely replaced or the very part that is malfunctioning. The latter option is available subject to the possibility of acquiring one, for example, only a rotor or only a stator.

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Overview of engine varieties

In absolutely any washing machine, the drum rotates. For this, an engine is used.

What are they:

• Collector - used by equipment manufacturers Ariston, Indesit, Electrolux, Kandy, Zanussi, Samsung, Veko;
• Asynchronous single-phase - used in Siemens, Bosch, Mile, and also some of the Ardo models;
• DC - Aeg, as well as Asko;
• Brushless, that is, with direct drive - modern Lg, as well as some Samsung models.

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Malfunctions of the collector and asynchronous motor

Since these engines are used by most manufacturers, respectively - the need to check the motor of the washing machine occurs more often, we consider the possible causes of malfunctions and types of malfunctions.

Common events:

1. Damage and wear to the brushes. Characteristic indicators - loss of power during a large load of linen, during burning sparks.
2. Short circuit, as well as breaks in the windings of the rotor and stator. Reducing power, increasing temperature, and as a result, thermostat protection is triggered.
3. Depreciation, as well as peeling of collector lamellas. In this case, the case is heated, the appearance of sparks. Using a tester, check the resistance of adjacent lamellas. It should be the same approximately 0.2 ohms. During the increase, a break in the winding is possible.

Important! Various malfunctions of the collector motors are caused by the following reasons:

• interturn circuit or breaks in the windings of the rotor or stator;
• brush wear;
• defects of collector lamellas, for example, their peeling.

In fact, there may be many more reasons, but we will dwell in detail only on the above, as the most characteristic and frequently encountered.

Wear of collector brushes

Worn brushes on the surface of the commutator motor must be replaced immediately, ideally with original ones. But what if there are none?

In most cases, the wear of the brushes can be determined by means of an external inspection or by how intensively the motor collector sparks - as if under load, that is. in the machine’s tank there is linen, even without this load - in this case, abundant sparking occurs, but not around the perimeter of the collector.

Important! You must take into account the fact that a similar phenomenon occurs when new brushes are not yet ground to the collector itself.

Lamella breaking

Due to the fact that the lamellas are broken, they can lose contact with the section of the entire rotor winding. They can also heat up too quickly and too much, and in some cases peel off. The lamels are fixed with adhesive on the collector. And the electrical connection together with sections of the rotor winding produce special hooks.

Important! The most common option for breaking this engine part is breaking the cord in the rotor section itself in the places where it connects to the lamella.

It will be much worse if, due to excessive overheating, the lamella exfoliates. This failure occurs due to a short in the winding section, between the lamellas, as well as rotor jamming.

Important! A similar defect is due to the fact that electricity passes through the lamellas, which is much higher than the working level.

This defect can occur at the moment when the bearings are wedged or when the washing has started inside the vertical loading washing machine and the drum leaf has not been fixed in the closed position.

Important! Most often, such a defect of the lamellas says that there may be some other damage to the electric motor or the machine is not used for its intended purpose.

Can this be fixed?

1. A small peeling, which does not exceed half a millimeter, is removed using a collector groove using a special machine.
2. After that, carefully inspect and clean absolutely all parts of the part from dust, chips, remove burrs.

Important! To determine the presence of such a malfunction, you can slowly rotate the rotor with your own hands. In the event that you hear a characteristic crack it means that, most likely, this breakdown is present.

Inter-turn short circuits, open circuit in the rotor or stator windings

In case of breaks or inter-turn faults of the windings, the occurrence of characteristic defects is possible - the motor does not work, that is, the breakage occurred in the stator windings.

This defect is also possible due to the overheating factor of the motor housing due to inter-turn faults inside the windings. During a significant temperature of the case, as a rule it is more than 90 ° C, a special mechanism - a safety thermostat - must necessarily work. It destroys the motor power circuit.

Important! Normal is the temperature of the engine casing, which does not exceed 70-80 ° C. This temperature reaches during the long wash cycles of your washing machine.

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Stock footage

Now you know how to check the motor of the washing machine and what can be detected as a result of such testing of equipment. We hope that your suspicions were reckless, and the cause of the malfunction of an expensive washing machine lay in more commonplace malfunctions, cheap in repair.