I have a Samsung Ecobubble washing machine that is less that 2 years old, model WF90F7E6U6W. It appears to not heat the water any more but also reports no error codes either. Given that this is a modern machine with extensive controls, how is it possible that it can be unaware that it is malfunctioning in such a fundamental way? The machine only knows when to turn off the heater when a thermometer indicates the correct temperature had been reached. Even on a 95c wash, the heater is never coming on and temperature remains stone cold. I can also confirm that the power usage never indicates any significant load from a heater element switching on. How can it not be aware of the error?
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2That is interesting. I have never heard of a washer machine that heats the water. Looking up your model on the internet and looking through the owner's manual I don't find any reference to the machine heating the water. Every machine I have ever seen just uses the hot water provided from your domestic hot water supply. Can you give a reference to where you got the information that the washer heats the water?– ArchonOSXJan 3, 2016 at 13:53
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@ArchonOSX - I was just doing the same search because I'd never heard of a washing machine with a heater either. It does have a water heater, but the only reference in the manual is that the hot water attachment is optional. I found the reference here.– CominternJan 3, 2016 at 13:55
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1@Comintern Thanks, kind of an oblique reference to it. What'll they think of next? Their owner's manual only mentions it in one spot: "For the best stain removal performance, we recommend using the hot temperature option in this cycle, where the wash temperature is increased using the internal heater for the overall cleaning of a wide variety of stains." Sounds like they need to call an appliance repair service.– ArchonOSXJan 3, 2016 at 14:11
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1@ArchonOSX I newer owned washing machine that did not heat it's own water. Even ones from 1971 did have own heater. of course, it wasn't any good at temperature stabilization, but hey, it was decades ago.– MołotJan 3, 2016 at 16:15
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1At least in western europe practically all domestic clothes washing machines are front-loading and more often that not have a single cold water supply. They have an electric heater element maybe 1 or 2kw in order to provide washing programmes up to 95 degrees celsius, but normally used within the 30-60c range. Enzyme detergents need 30c minimum to work.– PGizzleJan 5, 2016 at 11:34
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2 Answers
Obvious guess is that your ceramic heater element(s) are shot & I couldn't find them online in a quick search, for your model. Take it apart without effecting operation & see if you can confirm by hand or multi-meter. But, it could be a number of things from a loose connection to a dead thermistor. I'd get an Appliance Repairer if you use the heating option regularly.
The wire connecting the temperature sensor was broken. While the machine reported no errors to the user when pressing the required two buttons on the front panel (spin + option buttons?), a maintenance mode can be entered by pressing and holding the same two buttons then powering-on the machine. The maintenance mode reported the error immediately, but this mode is cryptic.
I can only assume that the error was missed in normal mode, or somehow cleared, or its a plain bug in the error reporting mode.
My wash now gets to 40c again :)
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Wow, that's great! I was wondering if these machines finally had actual self diagnostics yet. I know I learned something.– IggyJan 16, 2016 at 6:07