Faulty Clarke ES150 Pressure Washer

[Milleniumaire]

Hi, this is a long shot, but I have a Clarke ELS150 Pressure Washer and it has stopped working. It was last used about 6 months ago when it was fine. It has been stored in a warm garage since and today, having purchased a new snow foam lance to pre-wash my car, I connected the pressure washer up and when I turned it on it tripped the garage circuit breaker. This happens every time I turn it on, which suggests there is an electrical fault with it, or is it possibly a pressure fault?

I don't suppose anyone has any experience of this type of problem with pressure washers and could give me a clue as to what the problem is? I removed the front and inspected the electrics, but they look okay i.e. no sign that the capacitor has blown and the plug fuse is working. All connections are sound.

Here's the manual for my model. Unfortunately, the troubleshooting guide isn't much help.

Thanks.

 

[Burnerman]

Are you able to turn the motor in any way, just in case it's seized temporarily?
John

 

[Milleniumaire]

I tried a number of times to power it up, resetting the tripped circuit each time. On one occasion, it did start and ran a bit. As there was no water feed, I turned it off. I confess, I thought it had somehow sorted itself out. Unfortunately, when I tried turning it on again, it wouldn't start (same problem) and I've been unable to get it to start again.

I called machinemart this afternoon as that's where I purchased it from (in 2007). They have a service guy that repairs them so I'm taking it over tomorrow.

 

[DaveHerns]

Is it tripping the RCD or MCB?

 

[Milleniumaire]

The MCB

 

[DaveHerns]

Water in the wiring or the motor has seized.

 

[DaveHerns]

PS What rating is the MCB? Strange that the plug fuse doesn't blow

 

[Burnerman]

The motor is water cooled, but I think there's still a fan on the end that can be spun......it's taking too much current to start and as Dave says, a tight motor or some water on the wiring are the likely suspects.
John

 

[Milleniumaire]

Dave, the MCB is a Hager MTN116, B16, so is 16amp. The plug fuse is 13amp, so I agree it is very strange that the plug fuse isn't blowing before the MCB trips. I have checked the plug fuse and there's no sign of it blowing, plus if it was then the MCB wouldn't be tripping when I powered the power washer on. I've also tried replacing the plug fuse,

John, I have hand turned the fan at the top of the motor (it is protected by a plastic "basket"). While it is solid to turn, it doesn't feel as though there's any resistance.

I also checked all the wiring for water, but it was as dry as a bone. That doesn't surprise me as it hasn't been used for 6 months and has been stored in a warm garage. There's also no sign of water leaking from the hose attachment area at the bottom of the power washer.

Maybe the motor is tight, I did start to take it apart yesterday, but didn't go all the way. To be honest I wouldn't know how to identify a tight motor or know what to do about it.

It's going to machinemart this afternoon, who charge £20 + VAT for the first 30 minutes of investigation/repair. That should be long enough to diagnose the issue and I can then decide whether to bin it or repair it.

This is the second Clarke Power Washer I've owned - the first one failed due to leaving it in a shed over winter and it freezing up! My fault! This one is more disappointing as I've only used it a hand full of times. I went for Clarke as I thought they were better quality, but if it needs to be replace maybe I'll go for a cheap Karcher knowing it won't last very long and treat it as disposable

 

[DaveHerns]

Get one from Aldi or Lidl and it will have a 3 yr guarantee.

 

[DaveHerns]

Just a thought but an air compressor has a valve to stop the motor starting against the pressure of air in the tank. If a pressure washer has the same and it's broken your motor could be struggling to start under load and drawing excess current. The MCB probably trips before the fuse blows as they react quicker.

 

[Dave54]

Get one from Aldi or Lidl and it will have a 3 yr guarantee.

I've had a couple or three over the years, (although never had a Karcher). They have all failed after a year or so of very occasional use.
Bought a Lidl one, and that's lasted longer than the others put together.

 

[Milleniumaire]

The machinemart service guy has now checked my Clark Power Washer and says he can't find a problem. He has been able to turn it on and use it without any problem - no tripped circuits for him! I won't get it back until after the Bank Holiday, but if it still trips my circuits (and I've no reason to assume it won't) then I'm at a loss! I use lots of different power tools in the garage without issue, so surely if the Power Washer continues to trip the circuits, there must be something wrong with the electrics on it.

 

[Burnerman]

What current rating is your MCB? It'll need to be a 16A one.
John

 

[DaveHerns]

Strange that it worked OK 6 months ago without the MCB tripping. It would appear that the start up current has increased. Does it still trip if run dry (briefly) with no pressure in the system? Maybe that's what MM are doing