Bosch makes a range of home appliances, and are a well known washer brand. One of the issues with washers is they can have a problem that causes the spin cycle not to work. In this article, I will explain the reasons why this happens and how to fix your Bosch washer when it won’t spin.
As a general rule, the washer is overloaded with too many items or very heavy items, your Bosch washer is not level because one of the feet is too high or too low, the actuator is faulty, the spin belt has failed, or the tub is out of place because the shocks have failed.
Some of these steps are easy to identify and fix yourself, whereas others need special tools, and experience so they are best repaired by a repair technician. Below are instructions for each of these different issues, ordered from easiest to fix, and those that can be done yourself. To more difficult issues that require a repair technician.
Reasons Why Bosch Washer Won’t Spin (How To Fix)
It takes a very long time to dry clothes that aren’t spun at the end of a cycle. Therefore, it’s best to fix a Bosch washer that doesn’t spin as soon as possible. Here are the reasons a Bosch washer won’t spin.
In general, there are too many heavy items or too many items, and your Bosch washer detects the tub is too heavy. Otherwise, the washer is not level because one of the feet is too high or low, the spin belt under the tub is out of place or has broken, or the actuator or shocks have failed.
The first troubleshooting step you should do is to restart your Bosch washer. This is very easy. Unplug your Bosch washer at the wall, wait about 5 to 10 seconds, then plug it back in again.
Then test to see if your Bosch washer now spins. If not, move onto the additional steps covered below.
What is Causing Bosch Washers To Not Spin?
The tub in a Bosch washer is spun by a rubber belt located at the back or underneath the tub. However, there are a range of other issues not related to the belt that can make the Bosch washer not spin. These are the causes of a Bosch washer not spinning during the spin cycle.
Overall, it’s overloaded, the spin belt under the tub has broken or slipped out of place, your Bosch washer is no longer level because one or more of the feet has moved too high or low, the shocks have failed which causes the tub to be out of place, or the actuator has failed.
A good first step to do which has the potential to fix this issue and is very fast and easy is to restart your Bosch washer. To do that, unplug your Bosch washer at the wall, wait for 5 to 10 seconds then plug it in again. See if your Bosch washer will now spin. If it doesn’t move on to the next step.
Bosch Washer Won’t Spin Because It’s Overloaded
It’s possible to fill up a Bosch washer to the top with anything. However, certain items of clothing like jeans, slacks, and towels are particularly heavy, especially when they get wet. Other items like comforters are very thick and bulky.
These can cause problems with the agitator stem – if your washer has one. The agitator stem is the white thing in the middle of the tub that churns the clothes. A comforter can block it from spinning and after a few turns your Bosch washer can stop.
Try removing some of the items and doing a half or quarter load to see if this is what is causing the issue. It’s generally best to wash comforters at a laundromat that has very big machines that can easily wash these bigger items. And to separate out jeans so that there aren’t more than 1 to 2 pairs in each load.
Bosch Washer Won’t Spin Because It’s Not Level
The tub in a Bosch washer is held in place by shocks. But, if the washer is not flat the tub will be leaning towards one side. When it spins this will cause it to rub against the sides on the inside of the washer.
When your Bosch washer detects the tub is out of place, it will stop, and also won’t start spinning. Many Bosch washers have feet on the underside. One of these may have come loose, and is shorter than the others.
You can easily test if your Bosch washer is level or not by using a bubble level, also called a carpenter’s level, or spirit level. If it’s not perfectly level, inspect the feet on your Bosch washer. Then adjust them as required by screwing them in more or less.
In some cases you may need to replace one of the feet if it’s damaged. As a temporary solution, place a piece of folded cardboard to make it level.
Bosch Washer Won’t Spin Because The Agitator is Loose
Not all Bosch washers have an agitator. The agitator stem is a white piece of plastic that is 2 feet long and located in the center of the tub for your Bosch washer. The tub is where you place your laundry.
Here’s a really good animation that shows what the agitator is, and how it works. You can tell if this is the issue because the agitator is loose. When you grab onto it and move it from side to side it moves very easily, and feels loose. It should feel very solid and not move at all.
The agitator stem is held in place by one screw. This screw can come loose and needs to be tightened. To access the screw you pull off the top of the stem on the agitator.
For some models you unscrew the top by rotating it anti clockwise. Underneath the cap on the top of the agitator stem is a hollow space, and at the bottom is the screw that holds it in place. Tighten this screw so that the agitator is firmly in place and doesn’t move.
Bosch Washer Won’t Spin Because The Tub is Out of Place
The tub for a Bosch washer is held in place by 4 metals rods around the tub. These are called suspension rods. If one or more of these have failed, the tub will be out of place, and your Bosch washer won’t spin.
It’s easy to test if these have failed. But, it only works on top loader Bosch washers. To test it you push down on the tub and see what happens when it bounces back.
It should only bounce back once if the suspension is working properly. If it bounces back two or more times, one or more of your suspension rods will need to be replaced. It’s possible to replace these yourself, however, it is not recommended if you don’t have a good amount of experience repairing appliances.
Therefore, if you identify this is the issue then Contact Bosch support to see if the repair is covered under warranty. And organize a repair technician to fix the suspension.
Copyright article owner is ReadyToDiy.com for this article. This post was first published on September 13, 2022.
Bosch Washer Won’t Spin Because Actuator is Faulty
There is what’s called an actuator on Bosch washers. It switches between the wash cycle, and the drain and spin cycles. It is a small mechanism about the size of the palm of your hand.
If it fails you Bosch washer can’t switch between the different parts of a wash cycle. This part of the washing machine is not possible to test or repair yourself. However, if you have appliance repair experience you can test it yourself using a voltmeter, and clean it, or swap it out if it’s defective.
Bosch Washer Won’t Spin Because The Belt is Loose or Broken
At the bottom of the tub on a Bosch washer there is a belter that attaches to a motor. The motor spins the belt which spins the tub. The belt can split or come loose.
It’s common when this happens to smell a burning rubber smell. This is caused by the belt rubbing against the bottom of the tub rather than spinning it. So, if you smell burning rubber or smelt burning rubber soon before your Bosch washer stopped working chances are it’s because the belt is loose or broken.
The belt is difficult to replace yourself. Therefore, if this is the issue contact Bosch support to organize a repair technician to do the repair for you.
In general, the laundry is out of balance and needs to be adjusted so that it’s evenly distributed. The following are also issues that can cause this to happen, it’s overloaded with heavy items, or too much laundry, your Bosch washer is not level, or the belt or actuator has failed.
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ReadyToDIY is the owner of this article. This post was published on September 13, 2022.