Bosch WTE6920GB Condenser Dryer Not Collecting Water

[LeadFarmer]

My Bosch WTE6920GB isnt collecting water. It just beeps and the 'condensed water' red light is flashing.

Ive cleaned the filter on top of the water tray and Ive pulled the condenser out from the bottom left of the machine and cleaned it. In doing so I noticed that water has collected behind it in a well. If I soak this up with a towel the machine works ok for a while, but then beeps again. The water tray remains empty, and the well fills up again..

Any ideas?

 

[Leccy758]

Pump or pipework clogged is the most common I see with this fault.
Pump is behind the right hand side panel as you look at the front.

 

[LeadFarmer]

Thanks Leccy

I cant seem to access the pump, and cant see a side panel on the right.

Ive taken the top off but this only access the top of the drum. I was then able to see the pipe that leads to the water tray though. I was able to blow/suck through this pipe (which tasted nice) so does this mean the pipe is clear?

Should I remove the back panel and investigate further, or just call the repair man?

Thanks

 

[Leccy758]

I cant remember off hand how to remove the side panel but you dont need to remove the back one to take it off.. IIRC you only need to remove some screws from the back edge and it lifts away and up from the main part of the appliance.

The pump is near the drive motor and gets clogged with fluff, bacteria, etc. the pump chamber has a float in it which shuts off the heater etc to prevent the machine being damaged.

 

[LeadFarmer]

Thanks Leccy, I appreciate your help. Ive taken the side panel off and removed the belt tension spring. (See photos)

I assume that the pump is at the bottom where the two cable terminals/connections are? The water pipe seems to feed from this. Ive unplugged the terminals and undone the screw but the pump/housing doesnt want to come away. It moves but wont come out.

Is there a knack to getting it out, and if I remove it can I access it to clean it out? You can probably see from the photo that below the two terminals it is quite wet!!

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[Leccy758]

Its fiddly and to be honest I have broken a few of the plastic covers that go over the pump,

It is held in place with some tabs which you can prise with a screwdriver. Once the cover is off you can access the pump area (it does rattle around abit in there) and lift the pump and float out to clean,

before fully assembling I usually run the appliance on cool setting while flushing a little water through with the belt off of the motor and tensioner.

 

[LeadFarmer]

Leccy758, thanks to your assistance Ive finally removed the pump

I gave the pump a wipe and reconnected everything but the original fault still occurs (beeping and red 'Condense water' light is illuminated). The well that the pump sits in is full of water and still isnt being pumped up into the water collecting tray.

Ive taken some photos of the dismantled pump.

1) Does it look knackered, should I get a new one.
2) Is the part number for the pump 263297 (at around £70)?
3) Is the float you mentioned a seperate part that I havent seen yet?

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[Leccy758]

looking at those pics the motor looks fairly corroded, the impeller underneath in the white clip on plastic housing has a tendancy to get clogged and or sieze.

The float is usually in the same housing next to the pump ?? has a micro switch attached to a polystyrene float

See if this link works
http://www.bosch-eshop.com/eshop/bosch/gb/prodp.htm?prod=WTE6920GB/01&ESHOPTYPE=A

page 5 on the drawings listed up the top
Pump 263297 listed at £62.58 (for model WTE6920GB/01) dont which edition yours is and not looked to see if parts are different.
Float 263299 listed at £10:52

 

[LeadFarmer]

Thanks for those links, I think I'll buy a new pump & float.

By the way, does the float switch activate the pump? Only whilst I had the pump & float out of the machine, I connected the terminals back onto them and switched the machine onto a cycle. I pressed the float switch with my finger but the pump didnt work. Should it have done, or does the float switch operate something else?

Many thanks

 

[Leccy758]

The float switch is a safety device to prevent the machine carrying on when it is full of water. It usually switches off the heater and turns on the fill/empty water light. (as the water level in the pump reservoir rises the float raises until it operates a micro switch)

You can probably get those parts from elsewhere cheaper and in my experience it is usually a blocked or failed pump or impeller rather than a float switch.

 

[LeadFarmer]

Many thanks again for your help & advice

Im going to order the pump today. When I pressed the float switch the machine kept turning so I guess, as you say, it just switches the heating element off, to prevent more water filling the reservoir?

Thanks again, hope to have it all resolved soon

 

[LeadFarmer]

New pump fitted. All working perfectly now, many thanks