This page is about problems encountered after fitting new carbon brushes in a washing machine. If experiencing these issues without having just replaced the brushes though some of this article (and links) may still help.
Motor is sparking
A small amount of sparking is normal. Small sparks may occur until the carbon brushes bed in properly. Little minute sparks are often present but as long as they are very small should not indicate a problem. However, if there is a lot of sparking, particularly if it is flashing or arcing around the commutator then the repair is no good and you should stop using the washing machine before it blows something.
Have brushes been fitted correctly
The first thing to check is have the brushes been fitted correctly? It should be impossible to fit brushes the wrong way these days. The brushes come inside plastic holders. The holders are keyed so that they will only fit in the correct motor and the correct way. However, if for some reason someone has taken brushes out of their holders and manually put new ones in then they can be put the wrong way around.
Also, if someone has fitted the wrong brushes and forced them to fit or removed the keying stubs then you need to fit the proper brushes for the motor in question.
A correctly fitted brush has the curved end of the brush trailing against the commutator (the copper segments). If fitted the wrong way round then only the tip of the brush trails against the commutator instead. This would cause a loud ratchety sound and excessive sparking or lack of power.
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If brushes are fitted correctly, but you still have excessive sparking, especially big flashes, this is caused by poor contact between the brush and the copper segments they run on. This is usually because the commutator (copper segments) is worn or there’s a major fault on the armature. There’s nothing you can do except replace the armature – but as most manufacturer’s no longer supply new armatures – the entire motor.
In most cases now, new armatures can no longer be fitted and a complete new motor would be required. I would be cautious about buying an expensive motor unless you are very confident about the diagnosis and fitting.
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Motor is making a strange noise
When new brushes are fitted there is a period of bedding in needed, during which time (especially on first running) they can make a loud noise as the motor turns. This noise should diminish within a minute or so and diminish more after several washes.
As long as the motor isn’t sparking excessively it should be ok and they should bed in. The noise should be the same when the motor is running as when you turn the drum by hand. It is the noise of new brushes riding over the segments of the commutator on the armature which is always loudest before they bed in.
Motor making loud clicking noise?
If there is a discernible click on each revolution, then one of the copper bars on the commutator that they run on could be loose and slightly raised. In serious cases even missing. This can’t be repaired and a new armature or motor would be required.
To test for this remove the motor from the machine and place a fingertip on the commutator (the copper part with small individual sections). Slowly rotate the armature from the end where the belt fits. See if you can feel if one of more of the copper bars is slightly raised or not. If so the motor needs replacing (if it’s economically viable).
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My partner has just replaced the brushes on my beko wmb61221. I put the machine on a drain/spin just to test see if it worked. There is a high pitched sound which i gather is normal from reading the other comments. After about a minute on full spin i noticed a burning smell at which point i switched the machine off. My partner said there was no sparks. But he took the brushes off and theres a little chip taken out on the back of one of the brushes. When you push the brush all the way in on the spring about 2-3 mm is still outside of the brush casing
Hello Carla. When brand-new brushes have been fitted into a washing machine motor they do tend to make a high pitched ratchety is sound until they have bedded in. You shouldn’t get a smell of burning though. And if there is a chip taken out of the back of one of the brushes it could cause sparking if it has affected the surface that runs on the commutator segments.
It is possible the brush got damaged or cracked before it was fitted and the piece has broken away causing a problem but it there is a raised comm bar on the armature it could have broken the brush and would result in excessive sparking and burning. if you place a finger on the copper segments of the motor and slowly turn it by hand you can detect if any of the segments are raised up. If they are then the motor is no good.
I am not sure what you mean by 2 to 3 mm is still outside of the brush casing but the brushes should be fitted so that all of the curved face fits flush onto the copper segments.
hi just wanted to know if it normal for a few sparks under my washing machine to appear when its in a high speed spin,as I’ve bought a new machine from a.o .com . and put it on when i went to bed and turned the lights out and noticed the blue sparks. i was worried but thought its nothing to worry about…the spin speed is 1600
Very small sparks aren’t anything to worry about. If new it should hopefully bed in after several wash cycles. If large sparks or accompanied by a sparking or gratering noise then something isn’t right.
I had new brushes fitted yesterday. I did a couple of washes, and the machine seems to be screeching when spinning. Is this normal until the brushes have bedded in, or should I get the chap back.
Hayley. Screeching isn’t normally associated with carbon brushes. A high pitched screeching on spin is more likely to be caused by a motor bearing or even the drive belt. However when new brushes are fitted the motor is often noisier for a few washes until they bed in. If the noise sounds obviously wrong call them back.
WOW Andy thank you, this is really helpful. We just replaced our brushes and noticed some sparking and of course the louder than usual whirring. We will try it for a few loads of laundry and keep an eye on it since it sounds exactly like what you describe. Thanks so much.
Hi Andy
Hotpoint Aquarius wasn’t spinning so checked out pipes which were full of hair clips cleaned it out and it doesnt spin until you give ita shake now it spins but the motor is sparking quite bad.could this be a result of me putting the machine e on its side? Or if water went on the motor when I was cleaning out the pipes would that cause it to spark?
Hello Lee. On a Hotpoint Aquarious the motor always used to be on top of the tub. If so it shouldn’t get water on it. It’s possible the brushes are worn. Check them out using this article Hotpoint and Creda carbon brushes diagnostics
Normally it’s OK to lay a washing machine down on its front or back as long as all the water has been drained out first.
Hi Andy
Took out brushes which were worn right down replaced them and now spinning. Still sparking a lot on fast spin tho? Doesn’t spark on slower spins.Gonna do a few slower washes to try bed in the brushes. If sparking continues what would you recommend ? Thanks