I posted some years ago about a little Brandt TX768 top loader I saved from being scrapped. It is a tiny machine, 40 cm wide, a "top loading front loader", otherwise called a Horizontal Axis Top Loader on this site (HA TL).
The machine I had became faulty after a while, it would detect a fault and skip through the whole cycle in a few minutes, bypassing every step. I suspected it was a fault in the thermistor that detects the water temperature, as it would work fine till the heater kicked in, then skip past the heating phase after a few seconds, sometimes completing a cold wash, other times skipping past every step and getting to the end of the cycle in a couple of minutes. Someone on this site kindly sent me a repair manual to follow up the fault.
I checked over the thermistor circuit, and ran a couple of diagnostic cycles, but never got it working and never got a firm answer on the fault.
It is an interesting machine in that the electronic module controls the mechanical timer, the timer only advances an increment when the module tells it to. If the module detects a fault, it will either skip that increment, or depending on the fault, it may proceed directly to "Stop" in 15 seconds per increment steps.
I suspected a module fault or a timer fault, and shoved the machine to the back of my shed. These are a very uncommon machine here, they were stupidly expensive when new. I hoped one day I might find another identical machine, and make one good one out of two.
That day has come. I passed a repairer in a city I visit every few weeks, and spied one of these little machines in their scrap collection out the back. I went inside and asked if I could buy the scrap machine...
"Out the back with your scrap machines there is a little Kleenmaid Brandt top load tumble washer. I wonder if you would like to sell it to me for $20?"
"Oh, you mean the little cheese grater? Sure. It's yours."
I nearly fell about laughing... What a great name for these funny little washers - the rotating horizontal drum is just like a parmesan grater.
The "new" machine has a collapsed drum mount - like the spider on a front loader, but there are two on this machine and they are more like an alloy disc. So I am reasonably confident I have enough bits to make one good machine... I even now have replacements for some cosmetic components that were damaged on the first machine - the window over the dials was cracked, and the trap door to empty the pump was missing. I now have good ones of those parts.
My lucky day...
The machine I had became faulty after a while, it would detect a fault and skip through the whole cycle in a few minutes, bypassing every step. I suspected it was a fault in the thermistor that detects the water temperature, as it would work fine till the heater kicked in, then skip past the heating phase after a few seconds, sometimes completing a cold wash, other times skipping past every step and getting to the end of the cycle in a couple of minutes. Someone on this site kindly sent me a repair manual to follow up the fault.
I checked over the thermistor circuit, and ran a couple of diagnostic cycles, but never got it working and never got a firm answer on the fault.
It is an interesting machine in that the electronic module controls the mechanical timer, the timer only advances an increment when the module tells it to. If the module detects a fault, it will either skip that increment, or depending on the fault, it may proceed directly to "Stop" in 15 seconds per increment steps.
I suspected a module fault or a timer fault, and shoved the machine to the back of my shed. These are a very uncommon machine here, they were stupidly expensive when new. I hoped one day I might find another identical machine, and make one good one out of two.
That day has come. I passed a repairer in a city I visit every few weeks, and spied one of these little machines in their scrap collection out the back. I went inside and asked if I could buy the scrap machine...
"Out the back with your scrap machines there is a little Kleenmaid Brandt top load tumble washer. I wonder if you would like to sell it to me for $20?"
"Oh, you mean the little cheese grater? Sure. It's yours."
I nearly fell about laughing... What a great name for these funny little washers - the rotating horizontal drum is just like a parmesan grater.
The "new" machine has a collapsed drum mount - like the spider on a front loader, but there are two on this machine and they are more like an alloy disc. So I am reasonably confident I have enough bits to make one good machine... I even now have replacements for some cosmetic components that were damaged on the first machine - the window over the dials was cracked, and the trap door to empty the pump was missing. I now have good ones of those parts.
My lucky day...
