Bosch washing machine not taking powder

[Gossamer]

Evening,
My five year old Bosch washing machine won’t take power from the drawer.
I’ve always used tabs in the drum until now.
It seems to try and there’s a buzzing sound but no water goes in the drawer.
It’s never been used this way so if a fault it’s been that way out the box.
Any ideas?
Ta.

 

[robinbanks]

Put the powder in the drum?

 

[Gossamer]

I could but would like to be able to use the drawer.

 

[robinbanks]

What mildly confuses me about your post is that every washer I've known fills its drum through the drawer, thereby washing the powder down. The only time you open the drawer and still see powder is when youve loaded it into the wrong compartment (in a 3 compartment drawer one is for prewash, one main wash and one softener; consult the manual to discover which).

If your washer doesn't fill via the drawer, how else does it fill?

 

[Wayners]

Yeah. That's what I thought.
Take lid off the Bosch washing machine. There are 2 screws normally at the back of lid.
You will see powder draw goes all the way to the back where water inlet pipe is connected.
Water comes through powder draw.
I'm thinking your not putting power in the correct section in the draw.
Check again...

 

[Old Salt]

My Bosch washer drawer has numbered compartments I, II and the softener

 

[Gossamer]

Mine is labelled the same and I’m putting powder in II.
It’s strange as the drum fills with water and it’s washed my clothes for five years with gels and tabs but the powder sits there.
I don't get it.

 

[Wayners]

Take out draw.

Check it over and clean.

How does it look? Any signs it's getting wet? Maybe they nozzle that washes power is blocked. Maybe water is spraying in another department because the powder nozzle is blocked.
Clean it. Test

 

[Gossamer]

Thanks all.
I’ll give it all a clean. I live in a hard water area which doesn’t help.
There’s water in the conditioner compartment (the small central one).
I found the manual last night which suggested the water inlet pipe might be blocked at the filter where it connects to the machine.
I’ll try both.

 

[robinbanks]

But then the machine wouldn't run at all, it'd throw an error code if it couldn't fill with water
Leave the drawer open 2 inches and start a wash (nothing bad will happen; a machine can run without a drawer at all)

What do you see happen inside the drawer?

 

[Old Salt]

With the drawer removed you could try giving it a clean out with a wire curtain doo dah.

 

[Gossamer]

I'll do as suggested tomorrow when I have some washing. it is weird - where is the water coming from if not via the drawer....

 

[robinbanks]

You don't have to wait; you can start a washer with no washing in it. You can then switch it off until you're ready to use it - on Bosch washers you can interrupt the cycle and wait for the machine to say "yES" then open the door. It only says yes if it isn't going to flood the kitchen. Interrupt the fill early enough, having proven the test and it will be fine

If you do fill the washer too much, you can put it in a drain cycle

 

[Gossamer]

Ok I started a wash and it was filling up with water at the back of the drawer compartment which took the water down a Chanel into the machine.
It would appear it can sidestep the various containers.

 

[Johntheo5]

There are 2 water inlets with solenoids I think. When you start a wasĥ the one that bypasses the powder container opens for maybe a minute or two to wet the clothes then the sevond one opens to wash tje powfer out of the conainer, the first one then closes. After a few minutes they change back again until the drum is "full" or something like that, I will check my Zanussi later.