Samsung WW90CGC04DAE spontaneously pausing

[Chris4c]

18 days ago I purchased a Samsung WW90CGC04DAE washing machine from ao.com. I had been pretty happy with it until today, when it spontaneously paused (along with an accompanying klonk as the door unlocked) mid-cycle on only it's 8th use.

Unfortunately Google tells me this is a pretty common issue, and I imagine it's likely to reoccur.

FWIW it happened midway through the wash part of a Cotton cycle (40 degrees, 1 extra rinse, 1400 spin). I did notice that prior to the pausing the washing machine appeared to be making a louder noise (a sort of humming) than usual.

Any ideas as to how I should proceed with this? Are ao likely to replace after just this one occurrence?

[AustinMc]

Welcome to the forums! Hopefully, my own experience can give you some guidance.

Having dealt with AO in the past, they have generally been good at returning or replacing things. I would suggest contacting them and telling them you think it's faulty given the issues you've stated. Ask if you can exchange it for a new one or a refund, which I believe lines up with their 30-day return policy. As you've mentioned, it's a common problem, so they are potentially aware of certain appliances being affected anyway.

[AndrewL]

@Chris4c: I'm sorry to hear that you have encountered this issue with your washing machine. When the cycle stops, can you see an error/check code on the display? If you run a cycle with an empty drum, does the issue still occur? This will help to verify if the problem is due to an uneven load, or overloading of the drum. Furthermore, please run a drum calibration by following the steps provided on page 38 of the user manual (linked below).

https://downloadcenter.samsung.com/content/UM/202407/20240703105629114/OID68834_IB_WW5000C-MD_EN_240...

[Chris4c]

Thanks, I'll contact them next week. I guess my concern was whether they would regard it as replaceable with just a single occurrence of the fault.

[Chris4c]

Hi Andrew, thanks for your response.

To answer your questions:

I didn't see an error/check code on the display. The washer is linked to the SmartThings app on my phone, is there any way of getting diagnostic information from that?

Immediately after I'd completed the wash cycle that had the spontaneous pause I did a test cycle with an empty drum (though only QUICK WASH). That cycle completed without incident.

I ran a drum calibration when I first got the machine, prior to doing any washes, but I'll do so again.

I know an uneven load can cause a problem during the spin part of the cycle, but it hadn't got as far as that. Can an uneven load also cause issues during the wash part?

Thanks

[AndrewL]

@Chris4c: As far as I am aware, the SmartThings app allows you to control the appliance remotely, however it does not provide diagnostics data. An uneven load can create issues before the spin cycle begins, as the drum will rock backwards and forwards prior to entering the spin cycle in an effort to balance the load. If it fails to balance the load, the spin cycle will not commence to prevent any potential damage to the drum or housing.

If the issue didn't occur with an empty drum, then it could possibly be stemming from a load imbalance, especially if you are washing large, heavy items such as a bath mat or dressing gown. 

[Chris4c]

Thanks Andrew, it was a large load (bedding), though it happened around 15 minutes into the cycle, so quite a long time before it was thinking about doing any spinning. And if it was an uneven load wouldn't the issue have occurred again when I resumed the cycle?

FWIW I deliberately used the Cotton cycle rather than the Bedding cycle as it is supposed to allow a 9kg load whereas Bedding has a max of 2kg. I've no idea how much it actually weighed.

[andy_in_ireland]

Hello there - if your machine is one that works with samsung Smart Things app (which it sounds like it does) then there is a Diagnostics area under Home Care tab. It might have recorded something in that.  (i need to do a drum clean on mine)

[Chris4c]

Thanks for that Andy. I'm afraid it says 'No issues' for everything though. Presumably that's giving the status now, and maybe I should have looked at the point where it spontaneously paused. I'll try and remember to do that should it happen again.

Interestingly there is also a 'History' section which shows:

09:00  Power: On

09:00  Device status: Washing

09:15  Device status: Paused

09:16  Device status: Washing

10:07  Power: Off

i.e. it is showing the spontaneous pause at 09:15.