There are two completely different symptoms that many people confusingly report using the same language. So it’s important to make sure you are looking at the right article. If when you say the washing machine is not spinning you mean (as many do) that the drum is not revolving on any part of the cycle then you need a different article – washing machine drum not turning.
If you are investigating a fault where the drum is turning normally on wash and rinses but it’s just not doing the fast spinning at the end then continue with this article.
Not Spinning Because it can’t Drain the Water Properly
The first thing to check is has it pumped out the water properly?
A washing machine will not spin if it hasn’t pumped out the water, either at all, or just not fully within the set time allowed due to a partial obstruction. However, don’t start suspecting a pump problem unless it’s obvious that the washing machine hasn’t drained the water out, and has left quite a lot inside. Don’t mix up the amount of water that will naturally be left inside from laundry if the washer hasn’t spun with the amount left if it’s failed to pump it away.
Try it on a spin cycle again. Can you hear the pump running? Can you hear water going down the drain or into the sink u-bend? If you suspect a pumping out fault follow this article – Washing machine won’t empty water
Load Out Of Balance
If the water seems to have been pumped out but it just won’t do the spin then check the wash load. Modern washing machines have built in out of balance protection and will refuse to spin out of balanced loads to protect against serious damage.
The worst loads for this problem are single items which are heavy when wet, or small loads, particularly if they have a single heavy item amongst them.
Therefore there is always a possibility there isn’t an actual fault. A quick check would be to see if the washer spins with no load in, or with a totally different (fuller more balanced) load. If it does, check this article carefully to understand this problem – Washing machine wont spin just one item or very small loads
Not spinning due to pressure system fault
Maybe it just thinks it isn’t draining water because it’s not getting the “water has now gone” signal.
The washing machine needs a signal from the pressure switch to tell it when the water has gone. A faulty pressure switch (or more commonly a blockage in the pressure bottle) can stop the signal being sent. So the washer refuses to spin. It will do the slow turning at the beginning where it distributes the laundry, pump out the water, but then after a few minutes just stop.
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To understand how a washing machine controls water levels and knows when the water has drained away see this article – How washing machines control water levels (there are links in the article to common pressure system faults and DIY repair help).
Not spinning because motor is faulty
It is possible for a worn motor (or more commonly worn carbon brushes) to cause it to struggle to get up to spin speed but manage to turn the drum on wash and rinse. Normally such a fault would also cause problems on wash and rinse so it’s not too likely. However, if when it gets to the spin cycle the motor appears to attempt a spin but makes a strange grating or crackling noise and sounds half-hearted (maybe fluctuates up and down in speed) there could be a fault on the motor.
If the motor is sparking a lot you can suspect worn carbon brushes. Note that many washing machines don’t have carbon brushes any more. How can you tell? Open the door and spin the drum by hand. If it is virtually silent it’s probably a brush-less motor. If it makes a whiny ratchety sound that’s probably the brushes running over the segments in the armature.
If it is not sparking excessively it could be an issue on the PCB or a connection fault – get an engineer in. The most common issue with motors is worn carbon brushes (How do I know if I need to fit new carbon brushes?).
Belt Slipping
If a drive belt is worn it could be slipping. It’s not so common these days but should be easily observed with the back panel off if this is what is happening.
Summary
If the water is being pumped out OK, and it doesn’t appear to be an out of balanced load, then proper fault finding is necessary. This really needs the use of a continuity test meter and proper knowledge of washing machine repairs.
If it isn’t caused by any of the faults described above it only really leaves faults on the main PCB (or module), connection faults, more complex motor faults etc. It would be unwise to start buying parts speculatively, which could easily prove an expensive mistake.
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Hi
i have a hoover front loading machine it will go through a full cycle without clothes even a spin but with clothes in it and it wont spin u can hear it working just the drum not going round when clothes are in it
please help?..
many thanks
Hello Charlie. If the drum will spin round without load in, but not when laundry is inside the possibilities are either the drive belt is loose and the motor pulley is slipping inside the belt with a load to turn, or the motor isn’t receiving full power and cannot cope with the extra power required to turn the drum with washing inside.
The latter could be caused by worn carbon brushes (which should create a sparking sound that is often described as a grating or crackling sound). Another more rare possibility is a fault on the main control board not supplying enough power to the motor. Some of these faults are described in detail on the sister article to this one here washing machine drum not turning
My Bosch excel is starting the final spin but not completing the fast spin. It goes round slowly for 3 minutes then the timer switches from 8 to 1 and stops. Its draining just not properly spinning so clothing very wet. Any advice greatly appreciated
Hi I have a servis-WP1249F2W.
Water is draining away but it’s just not spinning properly at all. It’s like it struggling with small/medium/large loads.
The filter is clean but clothes are still coming out soaking.
Arrrgh HELP !!
Thanks
Alice
Alice: It could be worn carbon brushes, I’ve added a new section to the article above called, “Not spinning because motor is faulty or belt slipping”.
Karen: Your symptom is described in my section, “Not spinning due to pressure system fault” above.
Hi Andy
My query, though probably not unique, is not on the previous thread or FAQ’s. I have a Miele W3260, (an excellent machine), which does not carry out the final spin, resulting in wet clothing. This does not happen 100% of the time, but when it does, it is on a 60 degree wash. It will not happen on a 90 degree or other wash programme. It can be quite annoying, as my wife would use the 60 degree wash most of all.
The machine itself is only about 4 year old and still under warranty, so I could get the Miele engineer out, but I am not sure if they would levy some sort of charge, for what might be a simple solution.
Would appreciate your thoughts on this.
Many thanks
Dennis
Hello Dennis. It’s unusual for a washing machine to not spin on one cycle but spin fine on another. All of the things that prevent the fast spin should prevent it on any cycle. Make sure the wash cycle hasn’t been accidentally customised with a no spin option. Make sure when you select the 60 degree cycle that it is set to do a fast spin. Other than that, make sure the load being washed is not an out of balanced load as described in the second paragraph of my article.
Hello Andy,
I have a Bosch WAK28261GB, and it has suddenly stopped spinning properly. I thought it was a problem with draining first (as clothes were wet), or the wet load preventing the spinning cycle from getting up to the higher RPMs., but I can see the pump working when I take the filter out, and the spinning still fails when there are no clothes in the drum (and there’s no sign of any water).
When the spinning starts to speed up and it sounds like it is about to high the high RPMs, it cuts out and continues with the low RPMs. The high RPMs never start in a spin/drain cycle.
When the drum spins, there is a quite-high-pitched whining noise, which seems unusual. When I slowly manually spin move the drum, it sounds like it is rubbing against something, and it is this noise which devlops into the whining noise when the machine spins up in the cycle. What can this be, and where should I start looking?
Hello Richard, I’m afraid everything I can advise upon is in my article. You can discount the first possibility mentioned, (Not spinning because it can’t drain the water properly) because the water seems to be pumping out ok but the other possibilities left are discussed in the article including the possibility that it needs an experienced engineer to sort out. The causes that can be investigated by a competent diy person are all listed in the article. Check the section, “Not spinning due to pressure system fault”, if it doesn’t help there’s not much else you can do except get an engineer.
Hello Andy,
Thank you for your reply. It turns out that I did have to call an engineer. The motor had gone bad, and was replaced. This machine was about 3 weeks old. It is working fine now with the new motor.