(Disclaimer: I’m not an appliance repair technician, just a homeowner with an expensive appliance.)
We have a pair of stacked Bosch washer and dryer appliances, the WFK2401UC and the WTL5400UC. They weren’t cheap when we bought them, and now five years later, the washer motor gave out. Here’s what the back of the washer looks like, with the motor already removed:
It fills with water and drains just fine–it just doesn’t turn the drum and agitate. The drum rotates smoothly so the bearings don’t appear to be worn. The belt is in good condition. My guess: the brushes on the motor are worn. Here’s the motor before I started disassembling it:
After carefully taking the motor assembly apart, I was able to get the carbon brush holders out. Taking the connecting lead off the cap and sliding the brush out, here’s what one of my worn brushes looks like:
See that rectangular chunk on the left-hand side? That is what’s left of the carbon brush–it starts out close to 1.5 inches long! From what I can tell, the measurements of the brush are 3/16″ (0.1875″) x 0.5 ” x 1.5″.
Armed with this information in hand, I decided to source replacement parts locally. This was an exercise in failure: none of the appliance repair places have much in the way of Bosch replacement parts nearby. I also tried to get my hands on car alternator brushes which I’d have to cut and file to fit–no such luck. I even went to Carbone-Lorraine down in Boonton, NJ, to see if they had anything in stock that I could use as a start–they wanted to fabricate them for me, in two weeks. Defeated, I gave in and decided to get replacement parts from Bosch. Of course, I knew this meant paying a lot of money for what should be a $5 part.
After a little bit of searching around, I found Marcone Appliance Parts which had these parts in stock! As I expected, the price for a set of two carbon brushes was close to $30, instead of the $5 they ought to cost. But, it sure beats spending another $1,000-$1,500 on a new washer, right? So, I bit the bullet and placed an order which should hopefully arrive tomorrow or the next day.
In case you want to order them, here’s the information you’ll need:
- Bosch WFK2401UC carbon brushes,
PartsToday.com PN 154740ApplianceZone.com: $27.27
If you need to order the whole motor assembly, you can get that too for just under $200:
- Bosch WFK2401UC motor,
PartsToday.com PN 141860ApplianceZone.com: $188.80
If you’re a proud (or perhaps disgruntled) owner of a Bosch WFK2401UC washer, and it’s lost its magic smoke … perhaps this information will help you if you choose to repair it yourself–but if you do, remember to take all necessary precautions to ensure your safety, I’m not responsible for anything you do, etc., etc.
I’ll post an update once I’ve received the new brushes and installed them. I’m hoping this is all that’s wrong with the washer and we’ll be back to doing laundry in no time.
Update: The new brushes arrived today, May 22nd, and I installed them and reassembled the motor. Here’s a picture of the brand new brushes:
I had to experiment a bit with how the motor was mounted with respect to the belt tension, and it seemed to not be able to spin the motor at its full speed. I ended up removing the motor to inspect it and when I reinstalled it, I must have done something wrong because it made some really bad sounds and then shot an electrical arc which tripped the circuit breaker. I was afraid I’d let the magic smoke out of the appliance, but it seems to power up after resetting the breaker. I hope I can figure out why it’s not working properly before I do completely destroy this machine. 
Update: Saul has kindly shared the PDF for the owner’s manual (16.1 MB) (mirror).
Tags: Bosch WFK2401UC, washer, appliance, repair
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Mikki says:
Mil says:
Raghu says:
Thanks so much for your detailed explanation of the problem and the links. It did work for us too and machine works as new again! I hope we would not call a technician first who was completely oblivious to the problem. My husband did the replacement even though was not sure if he could. Thanks
Yana: That’s great news! I’m glad this information helped you! Sometimes, a little bit of research can save you a lot of money.
I seem to have a similar problem with my Bosch washer. There is a bunch of black dust in an otherwise clean location. What did you do to make the motor not arc and operate properly? Did you do anything special about the tensioning of the motor again?
THanks for the great posting.
Greg
Greg: Unfortunately, I gave up on the repair effort and we replaced the Bosch washer/dryer with Whirlpool Duet HT’s. I wish there were a happy ending here for the Bosch products, but not in this household.
I guess I got lucky. I followed the directions in your posting and still have a working washer 5 months later. The bigest trick I had was loading the brushes into the contact holders, they really did not want to go in smoothly. It all worked in the end though and has certainly paid for my time and effort up to this point.
Thanks again for the great post.
Oh yes. I had some horrible sounds too after the intial start up. I had to tighten the belt a bit from where it had been and it is working again.
Greg: Wow, that’s GREAT news! I guess I did something wrong that caused my repair attempt to fail, but it’s good to know that replacing worn brushes can be done! (This is also why a brushless motor design is desirable, for obvious durability reasons. Heh.)
Thanks for the update, Greg. I hope this information helps others who may be in the same predicament.
Hey there,
I also own the WFKZ240UC and the dryer. I’ve had it fixed once already, but this is after almost 10 years of servicing me, granted i live alone and probably only do 2-3 loads a week.
it’s sort of broken again. I had a repair man come in from a shop and he said that the draining pump is worn out. it works fine, but towards the end it is not able to drain itself. so the part is about 40.00. but their quote for servicing it is 330.00.
i would hate to get rid of it and buy a new one, but at the same time paying over 400.00 to them for something that seems easy to replace is painful as well.
do you have any experience with this part in particular? i think the part number is 144341. I’m an architect, but not very handy.
any help you might offer is greatly appreciated.
thanks,
J
Jose: Our drain pump also went but fortunately it was during the original waranty period, so the service company replaced it at no cost to us. However, watching the technician do it, it’s not difficult to replace – just labor intensive as you end up taking apart most of the unit just to get to it. If you’ve got the time and patience, you might as well give it a try: at $40 for the parts, it’s not a bad gamble.
Let us know how it went if you attempt it, and maybe take some pictures to share, too.
Hi all,
I have my washer partially disassembled on the basement floor right now. I have had the repair man out at least 3x and possibly more for a grand total of $694 and change for a unit that cost me about $900 or so 10 years ago. I’ve had one motor installed for $366, a service call to remove a coin from the drain pump for $103 and a new drain pump later on for $225. The drain pump was in 12/06 and now the same thing is happenning again, spins but won’t drain. I am in the process of looking for the part and dtrying to decide if it is time to get out from under this toad. We have not been too happy. I plan to check the part supplier listed above. The pump is pretty easy to get at and easy to take off. I just hope that that is actually the problem. Thanks all for all the good info and I’ll try to keep you posted.
David
We just inherited this Bosch WFK2401UC Washer (& a Bosch Dryer) from my brother-in-law & have NO IDEA how to make it work. It is definitely not user friendly – help! I’d just like to know how to run a normal wash. When I hit the “On” button & “start” it just starts a spin cycle; no wash. I was able to get it to wash one cycle, but have no idea how.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Jan
Jan: Unfortunately, it appears that Bosch has taken the owner’s manual PDF off their website. Maybe someone else will be so kind as to scan theirs and share it with you.
Otherwise, perhaps another current owner can describe what you need to set the dials to in order to get a normal wash cycle. It’s been too long for me to remember exactly what the knobs are labeled and what they need to be set to. Sorry!
Hi,
I don’t have the manual with me at work but to do a normal wash, you need to turn the knob on the right to number 1 (cold water), 2 (Warm, 3 (Hot), 4 (Hotter), and 5 (I think there is a five, the Super Hot water). Then you can press “Rinse Plus” to give it an extra rinse which I always do.
My washer is not working (same problems with the author) and I will take it apart this Sat.
You can email me if you need more help with how to use the machine.
Hi,
This write up was a giant help for me. Our Bosch washer stop spinning all of a sudden. The drum seemed to turn just fine by hand and made no unusual sounds. I suspected the motor and some web searching pointed me to the brushes for the motor. I found this site during one of those searches. Using your description and pictures, I disassembled the washer and saw that the motor brushes were about 1/4″ long. I also used your parts link to purchase a set of brushes.
We replaced the brushes tonight and the laundromat trips are over for a while. The washer spins like normal.
Thanks for taking the time to write this up.
Thanks so much for your detailed explanation of the spinning problem and the carbon brush replacement. I was able get the repair done, and brush replacement went fine… however, after putting it back together, the washer now will not fill with water. You can hear the click when the water cycle should cause the machine to fill, but nothing happens. It filled and drained properly before it was taken apart – what did I do wrong? I had a problem with the dryer not heating, but learned about the reset switch through another fix it sight, and after pushing that button, it works fine – is it possible there is a reset on the washer, or did I not put something back together properly?
There was clackety sound when it was working before the spin problem – like a coin stuck somewhere in the spin, but it worked so I ignored the clatter… Could that be causing the problem? I read above there was a coin stuck in a drain and that sounds like it could be causing my noise, too – Could that coin or whatever it is be the cause of not allowing water to enter? Any help would be a blessing… Help! I’ve been without a washer now for over a month – getting desperate!
Hi,
I’ve got the same two problems (lack of spinning; draining). Do any pictures exist that show specifically where the brushes and the drain pump are located? Or can someone use the pictures above to write where these are located?
Thanks!
Mil: I don’t have a picture of the drain pump but perhaps someone else could share a link to it.
For the brushes, look at the picture of the motor above … there are two white plastic brush holders visible in the picture on the left and right side of the motor in the picture. The brushes are held inside there.
Cathy B: Sorry for the delay – the bottom front left of the washer has a drain “clean out” plug that you can unscrew and hopefully remove the coin or whatever is caught in there. Just keep a few towels handy as whatever water is left inside the drain will pour out the drain clean out hole.
We’ve had a dime or two show up there before and it definitely sounds like a “clackety sound.”
I will try to post this again, as I don’t see it on here.
Where to get a manual?
1-800-944-2094 They will send you one free.
They also supply technical help.
How to clean out pump motor “clackety sound”:
Facing the front of machine:
1. Take off panel on toe kick if present.
2. Unclip black hose on your right and uncap it. Drain water out of machine.
3. Recap hose in put back in clip.
4. Unscrew pump clean out cap on your left. It is a white round cap that is easily unscrewed.
5. Remove all debris from the pump, recap and replace toe kick panel.
Start your machine!
THANK YOU! You just saved me a week and a half of waiting for the Bosch repairman and at least the $75 service call!!!! You’re advise couldn’t have been clearer or more dead on!
Thanks everyone!
Changing the brushes did the trick. Thanks for the tip. Check the website link for some pictures of my project.
I’m glad you were able to do the DIY repair! You took some good pictures, too – thanks for sharing!
I did the carbon brushes replacement two years ago after I saw your website. I ordered the carbon brushes from Bosch. It worked fine after the replacement.
Well, the machine broke again tonight. Motor didn’t run again. I opened the machine and found a small tiny broken plastic stick (~ 1/2″ long) at the bottom of the machine. After careful inspection of the brush area, the broken plastic stick came from the plastic brush holder on the motor that hold the brush in place. This is no available part for the holder. I need to find a way to hold the brush in place. It is too expensive (~$250) to replace the motor just for this broken holder.
Des, are you sure there’s no part number for the holder? I can’t find any parts lists for the washer any more, but every part must have a part number …
Ah! AppliancePartsPros.com has the diagram and parts lists for the WFK2401. Sadly, you’re right – the parts inside the motor aren’t available separately, darn!
Well, ApplianceZone.com (see link above) is selling the motor assembly for $188. If you don’t feel like spending that much, maybe you can find someone who can do plastics molding to create a replacement part for you – it might cost more than $100 in labor, who knows …
Good luck, and if you find a solution, I’d love to hear about it!
Dossy,
The machine is running again. That was my mistake. Yes, the plastic bracket was broken but I installed the brushes wrongly. The brush connection shall slide into the brass bracket. Somehow the right brush was installed between the brass bracket and the plastic bracket. With the help of a mirror, i am able to put the connector in the right spot. German engineering is better than I thought.
Des
Des, that’s great news! Hopefully you’ll be able to get a lot more use out of the washer now.
Hello all. I now have a different problem. The drum groans as it spins. When you try to manually spin the drum, it squeeks on each rotation. Is this a bearings problem, motor brush, or something else? All advice welcome–thanks!
I’m not sure, but I’m guessing it’s the belt that turns the drum – may be too tight, may be too loose? Perhaps someone else who has dealt with the same problem will chime in.
Okay…now you have me worried…I’ve had my WONDERFUL Bosch washer/condensation dryer for about 8 years without a problem (okay so maybe the clothes don’t spin as dry as I like, but that’s not a biggie). I purchased (and continue to purchase a Sears Extended Warranty just to be safe, but I recently called to have them “look over” the machines (both washer and dryer) and the tech they sent has never worked on a Bosch…should I be concerned (of course, I am)? Can any washer/dryer repair person review this appliance and know what to look at or should I demand (like that’s going to work) a Bosch technician. The way I look at it, if the person doesn’t know Bosch, will they even know what to look at for wear? I’d love your thoughts…
Mikki: I would hazard a guess that any reasonably experienced technician should do an adequate job. Obviously, every individual product will have their own unique idiosyncrasies, and a technician with prior personal experience with your exact model product will benefit from knowing about them, but fundamentally these things are mostly similar in design. The incremental improvements over the years aren’t that radical.
I’d love to know what your experience turns out to be – either good or bad – and I’m sure others would benefit from hearing about it, too. Thanks!