Bosch Washing machine filling up with clean water when off

[JohnD]

Bosch Washing Machine E-NR WFL 100gb / 12 FD8108600267

This is not the usual "dirty water running down the drain hose" problem, because the hose goes to a dedicated stand-pipe with its own trap which runs through the wall to a yard gully. The water seemed perfectly clean and did not smell stale or soapy.

Instead I am pretty sure it must be a solenoid valve letting by. When the machine is not used for a few days, enough water gets in to leak out of the open door. It might be relevant that the machine was disconnected and left in the room while builders hacked away at walls and ceiling, so dust, grit, or a bit of brick might have got in somewhere.

This model has a hot and a cold fill hose, and I did notice that when we ran it with just the cold fill connected, water dripped out of the hot fill hose, which I thought strange.

It leaks fast enough to make an impressive pool on the floor in a few hours, once it has reached the door aperture which took a couple of days. I have never tested or changed one of these valves before. Do I need to trace which valve it is first? Or might it be a pipe or connection? I remember it was very expensive getting D&G out for a pro repair when the PCB needed changing, am I likely to be able to do it myself? How? I am a bit of a clumsy numbskull.

edited:
Cor, £33 for one of them?
http://www.espares.co.uk/part/washi.../439312/755040/washing-machine-valve-mag.html

 

[Burnerman]

I think you'll be bang on with your diagnosis - if the machine was mine I'd replace the cold fill solenoid.
I use a local white goods repairer for my bits - usually off the shelf.
Its simple to do - washer top off (usually 2 screws at the back then the top slides backwards before lifting), 2 push on wire connectors and one hose clip.
As for the hot water passing through the pipe, maybe one of your isolators is allowing water through or perhaps not fully turned off.
John

 

[JohnD]

Thanks

the hot pipe, when not connected to the tap, dribbled out of the tap end, which was lying in the cupboard under the sink, when I started to do a cold wash (cold filler pipe connected)

There was more coming out than could have been lying in the pipe.

The machine has a hot valve, and a cold valve, and they are different, so I need to make sure which one is faulty before splashing out on a new part.

 

[Burnerman]

I can't see how water can be back flowing out of the hot fill hose, to be sure..... I'd still go for a cold fill valve replacement.
You may be able to identify yours from e-spares or similar.
John

 

[JohnD]

cold water is mains pressure, hot is from a tank. Is that what leads you to say change the cold valve? Or is it because it gets more use? Thinking about it, I had been doing a few 90deg hot cotton washes before the leak occurred, so it would have been hot-filling We don't usually do that.

 

[Burnerman]

From your original post, I had assumed that the machine would fill even when the hot hose was disconnected - I understand things better now!
I guess the only sure way is to disconnect one fill hose at a time and see what happens - or, with the washer top off, disconnect the flow hoses from the valves in turn to see which one is passing.
I have had this scenario before, but the problem rectified itself - probably due to some grit in the system.
If you look at the inlet filters on both hoses, you'll see what comes through your pipes!
John