The drive belt in the washing machine rotates the drum. Owners of direct drive washers do not have to worry about belt wear, and CM users with an asynchronous or commutator motor need to monitor its condition.
After reading the article, you will learn: how to understand that there are problems with the drive, and how to put a belt on a washing machine.
Signs of drive problems
How to determine that the drive belt has fallen off? The washing machine itself can notify you of a breakdown by issuing a fault code on the scoreboard. It may differ for each brand and model of SMA. Having learned the meaning of the code, the user will understand the cause of the breakdown.
However, the machine does not always give an error. In this case, the user can find out about the problem by the following signs:
- The washing program is running, the drum is not spinning, although you can hear that the engine is running. Most likely, the belt broke, or it flew off the spot.
- With all the efforts of the engine, the drum only twitches in place, does not scroll. This may indicate belt wear or stretching.
- The drum spins with a small amount of laundry. With a larger load, the drum does not rotate.
- When the drive is running, you hear extraneous sounds, as if something is rubbing against the wall. This means that the belt is stratified and needs to be replaced.
- You started the wash, heard the noise of the engine, after which the washer hung.
Notice a familiar sign? Then do not wait, tighten the belt in the washing machine now. Since its fragments can interfere with the operation of the electric motor.
Causes of belt problems
What factors contribute to premature wear of the drive belt, why does it constantly flies:
- You have a narrow washing machine. Indeed, on these models, the belt wears out most often: all components are placed as compactly as possible, which leads to increased friction, and therefore wear of the part.
- Drum pulley damage. The pulley is made of brittle material, so strong vibrations can cause cracks to appear on it. Or its fastening is untwisted, so the pulley cannot hold the part, and it flies.
- Bearing problems. When bearings need to be replaced, they not only make a lot of noise, but also vibrate. This contributes to stretching, and sometimes breaking the belt.
- The motor is loosely attached, causing the tension on its pulley to loosen.
- Washing machine overload. An increased load leads to an unbalance of the drum, which in turn leads to the appearance of vibrations. The result is the same as in the previous case.
- Also, an imbalance could arise due to a violation of the cross, on which the tank shaft is attached.
- The plastic tank may be deformed. This happens after a long period of use. The deformed part of the tank puts pressure on the drum pulley, which changes its location relative to the motor pulley. The belt falls off.
- If you have previously replaced the belt, you may have installed the wrong part. Need to check it out.
- Rare use of the washer leads to the fact that the belt shrinks and becomes brittle. How to put a new element, read below.
Types of drive belts
Before deciding how to tighten the belt in the washing machine, let’s find out what they are.
wedge. A type of belt that is used for asynchronous motors. Its shape resembles a trapezoid or a truncated triangle, the parameters are indicated from the outside. Due to the rigidity of the material, the product is quite durable, quite elastic.
When installing, it is important that the middle part is slightly loose. Incorrect installation can lead to crashes in the program.
Polyclinic. Mounted on collector motors. Consists of a series of wedges that form a serrated shape. It is pulled a little weaker than the wedge. Although there are washers where it is planted very tightly. Then, when installing, you need to apply additional force.
Which belt to choose? The easiest way is to remove the old one and go with it to choose a new one. But this is not always convenient. Therefore, pay attention to the markings on the outside of the part, it will tell you which replacement to find. The dimensions of the product, the shape and the number of wedges are indicated there. Rewrite the labels and go shopping.
The installation process
Let’s figure out how to put on or tighten the belt on the washing machine. Regardless of the model of the washer, this part is worn the same way. Armed with a hex screwdriver, get to work. What do we have to do:
- Unlock SMA from sets.
- Shut off the water supply and disconnect the inlet hose. Be careful, water may spill out of it.
- To remove the back panel, on some models, you must first remove the top panel.
- Loosen the screws on the back of the top cover. Take her away.
- Remove the screws securing the back panel. Set her aside.
- You will see a drive belt. Pull it towards you, turn the pulley with your other hand. If he just flew off, get him out of the car.
- To install the element in place, you must immediately pull it onto the engine pulley.
- Now thread it onto the drum pulley, gradually turning it counterclockwise.
- Then the part should fit neatly on the pulley. Make a couple turns of the pulley to check.
Assemble the car in reverse order. Replace the back wall first, then the top cover. Connect to the network and run the program to check the installed drive belt of the washing machine.
As you can see, anyone can perform such repairs, if desired – there is nothing complicated about it. The main thing is to choose the right replacement. Therefore, carefully rewrite the markings and choose a part only for your SM model.
Video on the topic will help you: