Hi guys. I gave up and got a new washing machine. I put the old one outside and swept the floor, ready to put the new one in and I found a small electrolytic capacitor there. It can’t have come from anything else, so I had on last look before consigning it to the skip. There’s only one board with likely looking capacitors on, so I took it out and brought it to the bench where I used to fix TVs, back in the day. Under the magnifier, I found a position with a dry hole and another with a half amputated leg, from my fugitive capacitor. A quick touch with desoldering braid and a tweak of the short leg, so I could solder it back in, properly, and now I have a spare washing machine, brand new, still in its packaging.
The real mystery is how it worked for almost a decade, with no solder on one leg of a component!
Duncan
June 2019