Water not filling. Water inlet valve?

[boblawblog]

The machine does not fill with water at all. Other functions do work, such as the dial is able to rotate, and the spin cycle spins. There are no kinks in the water supply tubes.

After some research, I have deduced that a failed water intake valve is the likely culprit. Can anyone help me identify the model of my washer and the type of intake valve that would be required? I notice that a main difference between intake valves is how they mount to the machine- some mount to the back panel of the machine, whereas others mount to some interior component.

photo of washer: https://prnt.sc/23w1cob

or should i just buy a new washing machine given that this is approximately 30 years old - (the days when appliances lasted and were built locally!)

thanks

 

[repairguy]

I would first disconnect the water hoses and run them in a bucket or down the drain to check water flow. There are screens in the valve that could also be clogged preventing water from entering the machine. If these check out it is likely the valve itself and if the screens are clogged in the valve and it’s 30 years old it would be a good idea to replace the valve anyway.

 

[bradfordwhite]

Does the machine at least BUZZ faintly when it's supposed to be filling?

If it does, then at least it's one way of knowing the valve is getting electricity. That's important from the start.

If it's not getting electricity, it could be a timer issue or a wire could be off or broken.

Yes, the particle screen could be clogged. Which is an easy fix. Just needs cleaning.

 

[combo52]

No Water On An older TL Washer

It is not likely the inlet valve if it does not fill on Hot or Cold at all especially if this happened all at once [ or clogged screens ], do some testing.

 

John L.

 

[gizmo]

It may still be the fill valve...

It doesn't actually state clearly that he has tried both hot fills and cold fills.

People who wash in cold often have the hot tap turned off any way.

"Does not fill with water at all" might mean "not even a trickle" rather than "not hot and not cold."

So the obvious first test is... does it fill with HOT when set to hot fill and hot tap turned on?

If it has been used exclusively for cold washing for a long time, the hot valve might have failed or jammed up long ago un-noticed, and a fault has only been noticed when the cold valve failed.

 

Of course the fault may indeed lie elsewhere, but fill valve is easy to test and cheap, so I would focus there first.

 

<span style="text-decoration: underline;">the perils of online / remote diagnosis...</span>

When fixing other people's washers I often find it is best to almost ignore what the owner says is wrong and start the investigation myself, from the beginning. Of course we can't do that when we are diagnosing online, over the phone or whenever we don't have the failed machine in front of us. What owners say can be quite misleading if they don't understand what happens inside the box. For example, people often would say to me "it doesn't spin" so I could waste ages investigating belts, motor, timer and so on, it turns out the problem is just a failed or stuck pump, it wouldn't spin because it hadn't emptied the water out yet... Another one has happened to me a couple of times is owners saying something like "I don't understand it, at our old home it worked perfectly, after we moved house is won't do anything, it just sits there, maybe it got damaged in transit..." When I get there to check it out, the hoses are crossed (hot hose to cold tap, cold hose to hot tap) and the machine is set to cold wash, and hot tap turned off. So no water flows. Reversing the hoses "miraculously" fixes the problem. It is so simple but people didn't think to check.

 

So... when asking for an online diagnosis, please be VERY clear about exactly what you have tried and what you haven't.

Saying "it doesn't fill with water at all" actually isn't clear enough. Have you tried a hot fill? Do you always wash in cold water? If yes, then the hot valve may just be stuck shut through lack of use.

If selecting a hot fill doesn't work (and you have checked the hot tap is on) then check with a multi-meter if there is power to the terminals of the water valve when the machine it set to fill. If you are not comfortable/competent to use a multi-meter on <span style="text-decoration: underline;">live</span> circuits, it is time to call a professional in.