HOTPOINT AQUARIUS WF 541 (FLASHING LIGHTS?

Vincent S's solution works perfectly. Fixed my machine in about an hour. Got component from Maplins. Thanks Vncent for the tip.

John Skelley
August 2017

Hi just adding my thanks to whoever worked out which capacitor fails, just changed mine at the grand cost of 25p and washing machine back working again now (a bit different from the wife's view that we needed to buy a new £350+ washing machine).

Nottstom
November 2016

my hotpoint work for about a min and than it drains and all the light flash put new pump new door lock and had board checked help

ade
September 2016

Hotpoint Aquarius WF440 1st and 3rd buttons flashing with start button...

santhosh
August 2016

Just replaced the C17 capacitor and machine working perfectly.

John S
October 2015

Hi.

June 2015. Hotpoint Aquarius 541 bought about 2008. Stopped working with all lights flashing. Based on the advice here I did the following.

Located the control panel with the C17 capacitor. On my machine, this was done by going around the back of the machine and opening the screws around the bottom oval shaped plastic cover/panel, the one where the hose comes out. The circuit board is enclosed in a white plastic case inside this hole and on the left hand side. You have to take off all the connectors. I took photos. However, the connectors are keyed with slots in the circuit board so would be hard to get them wrong. I did find the photos helped so really suggest you take photos. To finally get the white plastic case out, you have to undo a screw on the bottom left back on the outside of the machine itself. There is also a white soft plastic cover on the bottom left outside. Lever this off. Underneath is four plastic clips in an oval shape plastic holding type ring helping to hold the white circuit board case in place. These clips are released by sliding the plastic oval upwards. The metal hole into which the oval fits is wider when you slide it up and so the plastic oval just slips inside the machine. The plastic case with the circuit board is free to come out. (Note to reinstall push the plastic oval out through the hole from the inside and then slide it down). Once out, open the plastic case which is just held like a clamshell with clips. Having taken off the top cover, C17 is very evident, it is in the middle of the board and is marked C17. It is a 680 microfarad electrolytic capacitor at 10 volts. Note it is polarised so the replacement has to go in the same way. Specifically, the negative pin of the capacitor goes on the side of the Integrated Circuit (IC), i.e. the negative pin goes into the hole marked with a white round O around it. The capacitor itself will have a minus sign on the side to show which of the two pins is negative. Remove the circuit board from the bottom plastic clam part. Remove the faulty capacitor by unsoldering it and replace with same (I used a 680 microfarad at 25 volts). Reassemble in reverse. Mine seems to be working fine. Powered up, no red lights and machine is back on its first wash. I just wanted to thank all the good, kind folks on here who contributed and especially whoever worked out C17 was the problem. I am very grateful indeed and I hope the above may help someone else in turn.

Vincent S
June 2015

It was helpfull
change c17 job done thank you very much

abdi
June 2015

Hi I also changed C17 now machine is up and running . The only tip I would give is take a digital photo of where all the plugs fit on the PCB ( if your memeory is like mine lol) Thanks to all for help

Brian
June 2015

Great answers and help. Replaced the C17 Capacitor and my machine is now back up and running. 59p well spent. Cheers all.

Corb
June 2015

Don't for get people it's guarantee for 5 year anything with a motor ask odbusman if it breaks down fully

jayiceman
April 2015

Hot point Aquarium washer dryer 9 years old
Fault All programs after 8mins. Running mech
goes into rinse hold and drained all water out. Rinse hold flashing and ON/OFF light flashing.
Cancel Switch wiki not clear Rinse mode,

Corcoran michael
March 2015

Hi, Thanks for the advice. My C17 capacitor is faulty and I wonder if someone could help me locate one online as I live in the Czech Republic now. I have looked on Ebay but cannot find a supplier. Ian
Sorry I have posted seperately under C17 capacitor failure in error.

Thank you

Ian
January 2015

...eventually had to replace the C17 capacitor.680uF 10v electrolytic.gave a friend a tender to solder and replace it.saved my landlord and myself a small fortune in these times of austerity! Thank you all for your invaluable posts.

Isaque
January 2015

all lights flashing...
turn off at the mains.clean filter(often have to disconnect rubber pipes to remove obstructing items,if the the front doesn't unscrew).turn back on at the mains, holding down machine's on/off button at the same time (thank you so much mrs robinson)

isaque
November 2014

What does F-8 mean on my Aquarius

julie
November 2014

Changed the capacitor C17. problem fixed for less than a couple of pounds. and an hours work Thanks to all above.

Colin Bailey
November 2014

Just to add we had the flashing lights of doom - left the washer turned on over night and they were still flashing in the morning

Changed the capacitor mentioned above this morning and now all is fine - its a very simple job and cost a total of 30 pence (5 capacitors from e bay £1.49)

Definitely worth a try for an hours work and less than a pound

carlofbrigg
October 2014

Hi
I have a Hotpoint WF541 it gets half way through the wash and then the Reduced Creases light, Mini load light and on/off lights starts to flash and the machine stops. It normally works again after a few attempts but its not for working today. It fills up with soap suds and conditioner is not draining away!

Any suggestions how to fix this?

Thanks LA

LA Gould
September 2014

Just had same problem, and tried Liz Robinson's solution - it worked, hurrah, thanks Liz

Christine Butler
September 2014

Thanks so much Liz Robinson. Its been driving me mad these flashing lights. The maual didn't give me any useful information and within 10 seconds it works again thanks to your advice.

mrs s soper
February 2014

All of the lights on my machine were rapidly flashing and it was unresponsive when I tried pressing the On/Off button.
I cleaned out the filter and put it back. Still got disco lights.
Then after having the machine turned off at the plug socket, I held down the On/Off button whilst I switched the socket back on. And it is working again - no disco lights!
I will follow Graham's previous advice and not turn the machine off using the On/Off machine button. Fingers crossed it won't misbehave again. Our machine is approx. 6 yrs. old so i don't suppose we should complain ;)

Liz Robinson
January 2014

Leaving the machine on standby definetly works .a bit of a pain though

Paul ohare
August 2013

hi my machine water does not drain out it continuos on

bash
July 2013

Thanks to whoever originally found the solution to replace the C17 capacitor. Not the greatest at soldering, but found the C17 which was clearly marked on the PCB and simply levered it out with a small screwdriver and soldered the replacement back. The most difficult task was locating the PCB which on my machine was on the bottom LHS looking from the back of the machine (after removing the inspection plate). I had assumed from earlier posts that it was the RHS and got very confused as there was nothing there!
Didn't follow the advice to photograph wiring before removing PCB connections, but as all the connections could only plug back into the correct socket/connectors, it would have been virtually impossible to get it wrong.
Pleasantly surprised when I switched the machine back on that everything worked like new (my soldering skills not as bad as I feared). No more Chrismas Tree Lights! Thanks again and I'd recommend this solution to anyone getting the same problem.

Tony K
February 2013

i had this trouble with my washhing machine, but now i leave the on/off button on so the red light is on all the time. i have warned everyone to not turn it off, and this way i no longer get the all the lights flashhing across the front of the machine and the machiine works fine. i dont know if you have tried this with your machines, but its quite simple, when i used to turn my machine off after use, the lights across the front go off like a mini disco, so now i just leave the on/off switched on and its been like this for a year with no problem, and the light does not use loads of power either as its only a tiny bulb.. try it

Graham
February 2013

My wife's WF541 (sorry our) washing machine had all the lights flashing and I have fixed it for less than 50p. Not my skills in diagnostics, but from very useful info on the www Re: failure of the 680uf 10v 105 Deg Capacitor. Very easy to remove enclosed PCB from rear lower panel just make sure you photo connections a make a sketch!
PCB pops out easyily and the offending Capacitor will be obvious from its bulgingtop or reverse side discolouring. Wiggle about until it snaps or applyn heat with iron (preferred). Not position for Neg tail that goes into hole with white circle around base! Good luck.

Rees Marshall
November 2012

i have just read that flashing red lights on start up means that the door is not closed.
one solution was taking the door off, the chap then explained that the catch had become loose, he fixed it and the red lights stopped

del cambridge
May 2012

The only thing you can do in the short run is to keep the machine permanently on standby, mine's been working in this mode for several months now and seems ok apart from slightly higher electricity bills. Gives you time to buy a new one. Of course, not from Hot Point. // If already can't turn it on, try switching it at the socket quickly off and on, several times if necessary. Should do the trick.

Vaih
March 2012

i have this happen alot, but if u switch the machine off for a minute and then back on it works....or seems to so far.

pauledwards
March 2011

Just in case it helps anyone... we had the same problem, and it was fixed by a deft blow to the program select button!!! Suspect it must have been a bad connection in the switch, but seems to be gone for now!

HTH
John

JohnJ
January 2011

E u rules apply! the machines should last at least 10 years so claim repair/replacement through this E U directive!

A L Miller.
December 2010

scrap it and never buy another. 3 yrs seems to be the life of these models.

A L Miller.
December 2010

same problem! no answers yet as to how to correct this problem!

A L Miller
December 2010

got the same problem with my wf541,never had any problems at all til just after its 3rd year,of course thats when the usual warranty lasts..all the lights started to flash,lasted around 3o mins before able to start the wash,,gradually got longer,now the flashing is constant,so i guess i better buy another washing macine,dont want to take the risk of repairing it at cost of £104,if it last another 3 year,then i guess it be alright but how can that be guaranteed?,

sarah
September 2010

got a Hotpoint WF541 with flashing lights and won't work. Filters are clean and nothing looks abnormal. After cutting my thunb on the sharp edges at the rear access panel my suggestion is to scrap the thing and NEVER buy a Hotpoint again!

Pete Andrews
December 2009

Tanya
Had a Domestic appliance engineer out and he reckons it's a Hardware problem (circuit board at back of m/c)
Cost of replacement £145 (approx) plus software to be downloaded on to it £30-40(approx) plus labour.He did say it could be just a software problem(£30-40) but unlikely. We went and bought new washer (£299).
Good Luck

Pete Hughes
November 2009

Hi Tanya
As soon as i know you'll know.

P A Hughes
November 2009

Hi Mr P A Hughes. Have you managed to sort this yet? I dont have the answer I'm afraid - the reason I'm asking is because I had exactly the same problem with my Hotpoint WF320 washing machine. The problem went on for a few weeks and now the lights wont stop flashing at all when you press the start/stop button, which means we cant start the cycle at all now. I'm thinking we are going to have to call a service person out but in the hope to save some money I thought I would check on the internet for answers first! If you manage to sort your problem could you please let me know how!?

Thanks Tanya

Tanya Knight
November 2009