Washing Machine Woes

[Stuart Coyle]

My Electrolux washing machine decided to cause trouble recently. Showing an E10 at various intervals. This error apparently means that there is a problem with the water flow. Checked the obvious suspects: tap, inlet filter, kinked pipe, solenoids. All fine. Then I check online and theres lots of stories about this problem, and it usually ends up with a $137 replacement control board plus service fees.

Sure enough theres one cap on the board that has spilled it's guts all over the place. One lousy cap.

Now I'm not sure why this would cause the problem that I see. As far as I can tell there is a pressure sensor that measures the water level and the
microcontroller times how long it takes to fill, firing off this error if it takes too long. Maybe because this cap is on the switching regulator the voltage is wrong for the level detection sometimes.

Anyway the real question I have for the folks here more experienced at repairing this stuff is what else may be damaged? I guess the LNK304GN is okay because the machine was mostly operating. The diodes and resistor measure fine and look fine once I have cleaned all the capacitor innards off them. I haven't powered the board up and measured voltages as yet (I know...I know..golden rule and all)

I will replace the capacitor, but does anyone have a recommendation for a better replacement since this is a common problem with these boards.
The capacitor is marked "HRR 152K 1KV"

[mij59]

Do not power on without the capacitor, its part of the snubber circuit.
Not sure if the LNK304GN has survived, check for a short between pin 5 and 7.
The blown capacitor is a high voltage ceramic capacitor with a capacity of 1n5, try to get a bigger capacitor with the same properties.
 

[Stuart Coyle]

I wasn't going to power it on without the capacitor.
Thanks for the tip I will check the LNK304GN for a short as you suggested.

[briandorey]

If you live in a hard water area is is also worth checking the pipe to the pressure sensor where it goes into the main drum as they often clog up with rock and residue from the washing powder and that can cause a blockage so the pressure switch/sensor thinks its not filling or filling very slowly.

If you remove the small air chamber where it goes into the main drum to clean it you should use a waterproof sealant when reassembling the join as they have a bad habit of leaking and make a mess on the floor!

[Stuart Coyle]

Thanks @briandorey, I will check the pressure sensor pipe too just in case. Ive seen that problem in another machine, though in that case it just kept on filling until water went everywhere. At least this one has a timer to prevent that issue.

In the meantime I will wait get a $0.05 capacitor to arrive and hopefully fix it.