The short answer
On the WGB models a dead machine and a machine that refuses to start are two different faults. Lights but no action is a lock, a selection or a fill gate; no lights at all is power, and that is a much shorter diagnosis.
What owners of these models report
- It starts only after being switched off and on — A control that needs a power cycle to accept a start is a real fault, but an intermittent one rather than a dead machine.
- A padlock or key symbol is showing — Child lock is engaged. It is designed to be non-obvious and it stops every input until it is cleared.
- The machine beeps when start is pressed and then stops — An input was accepted and a check failed straight afterwards, which usually means a lock or a level condition.
- The door will not latch firmly — A door that rests closed but does not latch keeps the lock from confirming, and nothing starts until it does.
- The display lights but the cycle never begins — The machine has power and is waiting for a condition - a lock, a selection, or a gate it cannot pass.
What it usually turns out to be
- Door lock mechanism failed — Distinct from a door that is not latched: here the door closes correctly and the lock still does not report, and that is a part.
- Programme not actually started — On machines with a separate selection and start step it is common to leave a cycle selected and never started, especially after a power interruption.
- Water not arriving so the first gate never passes — The machine accepts the start, waits for its fill, and appears to be doing nothing at all. Closed taps are the usual reason.
- Child lock or delay start engaged — Ranks high because it produces an apparently dead machine with nothing wrong, and because it is easy to set by accident.
Working the fault in order
- Test the socket with a lamp or another appliance — It separates the dead-machine branch from the waiting-machine branch instantly, and it needs nothing you do not already own.
- Listen for the lock click with the door held closed — A lock that never clicks with a properly closed door has earned suspicion; one that clicks moves the diagnosis downstream.
- Press the door firmly until it latches and listen for the lock — Second because the lock is the first gate the machine checks, and because a soft close is the commonest cause of all.
- Check the breaker and any fused spur behind the machine — Low in the order because it needs access, but it is the finding that explains a dead machine with a live-looking kitchen.
Before you open anything
Safety
Kill the power first. If the machine needs to come forward, walk it rather than dragging it: these cabinets carry a heavy counterweight at the top and they tip more easily than their weight suggests.
Models in the WGB family
Reference| Model number | Family key |
|---|---|
| WGB24600UC | bosch:washer:wgb |
| WGB24609AU | bosch:washer:wgb |
| WGB246AXUC | bosch:washer:wgb |
| WGB25600AU | bosch:washer:wgb |
| WGB25601AU | bosch:washer:wgb |
| WGB256A1AU | bosch:washer:wgb |
| WGB256A2AU | bosch:washer:wgb |
When to call a technician
Stop and call if the machine has already been part-dismantled and will not go back to a known state. A half-assembled drum machine is the one situation where a service call actually gets cheaper by being made earlier.
Other pages for this family
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