The plug on the washing machine melted

Having noticed that the plug of the washing machine has burned out, you need to immediately turn off the power to the outlet to which the equipment is connected. When the cord “cools down,” you should carefully pull it out (if it has not fused to the body of the electric point) and inspect the extent of the damage. In certain situations, you will have to change the entire power cord of the machine, but more often you can still get by with less losses - install a new plug. We will tell you how to do it correctly.

Replacing a melted plug

The fact that repair of the electric plug is necessary will be indicated by its fused body and an unpleasant burning smell. What to do if you find visible damage? You will have to change the plug. It is dangerous to continue using the machine with such a plug.

To install a new plug:

• Cut off the old plug from the cord,
• Use a knife to remove the top insulating layer from the cable,
• Clean every wire,
• Twist the cores and cut them so that the length of the uninsulated section of the cable is 10 mm,
• Bend the ends of the wires with pliers,
• Inspect each internal core. Typically, the power cord of a washing machine has three wires: neutral (bluish or blue), ground (yellow or green) and phase (can be black, brown, or pinkish),
• Connect the wires to a working plug according to the diagram. Grounding is connected to the central contact,
• Clamp the cord with a special plastic jumper to securely fasten it to the seat,
• Assemble the body of the electrical plug by connecting its halves with a screw.

As you can see, changing the plug is easy. It is important to strictly follow the instructions and not mix up the contacts when connecting the wires. Otherwise, no special knowledge or tools are required.

For fans of Soviet forks

Modern washing machines are equipped with Euro plugs. If it has melted, and at home there is only a Soviet-style plug, you can, at your own peril and risk, install such an element. In principle, the procedure is not quite different from the previous algorithm:

• Cut off the faulty plug,
• Remove a couple of centimetres of outer insulation from the cord,
• Strip each wire with a knife, trim the length with scissors,
• Use pliers to make a ring at the tip of each strand,
• Connect the neutral wire and phase to the contacts of the new plug. Soviet-style plugs do not have a grounding connection, so the third, yellow-green cable of the cord can be cut off.

Next you need to check whether the wires are securely connected. If yes, then all that remains is to assemble the body part by screwing in the central screw. After replacing the plug, it is recommended to monitor the operation of the washing machine for some time.

Checking the network wire

Sometimes the reason that the plug has melted is due to a short circuit. If replacing the plug does not help, and the new plug also deteriorates, you need to check the power cord for breakdown. First, inspect the washing machine cable to see if there are any cracks, clamps, kinks, or traces of burning.

The easiest way is to check the power cord of your automatic machine with a multimeter. A special device will immediately detect a breakdown if it occurs. What should I do to perform diagnostics? The tester should be switched to buzzer mode and the washer cable should be ringed. If the multimeter detects an electrical leak, it will beep loudly. In this case, the machine can only be repaired by replacing the power cord.

When you do not want to buy a multimeter to diagnose a cord, you can make a homemade device and use it to test the wire. You only need a 3.5V light bulb, a battery, a connector and two connecting wires. The structure is assembled in a certain order:

• A lamp is connected to the positive contact of the battery,
• A wire with a clamp is brought out to the negative.

It is better to first check the homemade device on the working section of the power cord. The clamp should be engaged at any point. If assembled correctly and there is current in the cable cores, the lamp will light up. If the LED does not light up, then we can talk about an open circuit.

Which fork is better?

If you decide to change the power cord plug of your machine, it is better to immediately purchase a high-quality plug. On store shelves you can find collapsible and cast Euro forks. Let us look at the advantages of each sample and which one it is advisable to focus on. When manufacturing a cast plug, spot welding is used. This sample has the advantage of tight contacts. In addition, a solid fork is considered more reliable due to its tightness.

The downside of a molded plug is that it cannot be “halved” for repairs. If such a fork melts, there is nothing left to do but cut it off and install a new one. A detachable plug can be repaired if the problem lies simply in a loose contact. The algorithm for replacing the power cord plug will be the same when repairing a washing machine of any brand. Vending machines from Samsung, LG, Bosh, Ariston, and other brands have no fundamental differences in this matter.