Miele 3831 with ELP152 Fault

Hi, sorry for speaking in English. I have an ELP152 fault where washing machine switches on as normal but the drum will not rotate, and I get F53 fault (Tachogenerator - No signal from Tachgenerator and / or motor – drives not functioning).

I know the fault is with ELP152, as when I swap in a known good ELP152 card, from another working machine, everything works.

I have tried locating the circuit board component that is at fault using a multimeter but cannot find any failed components. However, on spin cycle, I measure zero AC volts on ELP152 connector going to the armature and stator windings.

Does anyone have ideas on how to find the fault? Thanks

Thyristor on ELP152 broken ?

I assume you mean the two components on the heatsink in DSC2663.jpg. In diode test mode on multimeter, both of these test the same as the known good unit. Also the rectifier also tests OK and matches known unit.

First you got to see if there is a dc voltage (300+ dcv) between drain/source of the igbt. Measure at the moment when the motor is supposed to turn.

Elco's sometimes leak acid.
Relay? Mostly dubble latch model (cw ccw switch)
Fuse? Round small model (probably not present in this model)

Edit: foto: left: igbt.

Yes the IGBT has 326+ DC when motor is set to spin in service mode. I can see no evidence of capacitor leakage but have not removed.

Now in terms of the armature relay, the coil has 12v, however its's not switching on. So maybe the darlington has failed? Is there a way to test? i.e by pulling the low side of coils to DC earth? Or could that damage the circuit?

If you got 326v:
1: gate circuit igbt maybe defective
2: tacho detection circuit maybe defective.
Reverse engeneering is required.

Is the board 100% clean? You need to look for damadged traces (discoloration, darker green spots,cancer like) of via's that got metalic looking spread.

Don't mess with the relays. You got supply to the igbt so the motorsupply is ok.
You can put a 100w light bulb over drain/source to see if the motor makes an effort but don't use anything drastic like a bridge(short circuit)

Thanks for your help.

1. The good board also has +330 V DC on the IGBT as well.
2. When I connected a light bulb across IGBT, the motor turned on.
3. The board is spotless .. no sign of corrosion and the inside of the machine is immaculate.
3. Regarding tacho detection circuit, does this need to be fully operational for power to be applied to motor? Any idea on how to test?

One other thing, the fault was intermittent over 12 months and it only occurred when machine was first tuned on. Once the cycle had started, it would always finish the cycle. Then finally one day it just failed to start and now always produces F53.

The tacho circuit test 2 things:
1: when the motor should turn it watches the impulses from tacho feedback(ac).
2: it constantly watches the ohm resistance (dc) so when the tacho is broken (infinit resistance) it immediately gives an error.

Every board has another setup. There are no schematics. So you need reverse engeneering.

I had this problem one time and the 100 smd resistor was faulty. It was at the base of the tacho connector or in the first line of the circuit. Follow the tracks from the connector to the cpu. Measure everything.

The igbt gate driver is also suspect.

The difference between both is maybe: the error of the gate driver comes after a motor drive attemt. The tacho error comes right after putting on the machine or before the motor gets started. De dc (tacho ohm)check of the tacho imput.

If the motor turn with light bulb the power circuit (relay, fuse,...) is ok.

If it finishes a cycle after malfunction, temperature can be an issue. Test with hairdryer. Heat up the board. Not overheat. Typicly a elco problem but could also be another bad connection problem. Even within a component. If heat triggers a reaction you can divide the board into sections.

I now see I have damaged the board with the light bulb and now it goes straight into a spin, when machine is truned on. I will try to source another board from another machine. Thanks for your help.

Just replace the igbt. G4bc30w?

[Bericht gewijzigd door EricN op (17%)]

OK .. I will try that and report back in a week or so. Regards

Keep in mind that sparking brushes in the motor can cause problems with the igbt or board. Maybe the motor has an shorted winding and that's why the problem started a year ago.

Op woensdag 7 mei 2025 10:37:36 schreef RichardZiani:
Hi, sorry for speaking in English.

Sorry from my side for trying it :D Maybe not faultless...

Hi, I replaced the G4BC30W (salvaged from another card) and it made no difference. As soon as you turn machine on, the drum starts spinning for 5 seconds, starts beeping and flashing 3 bars on display but no error code. Buttons are unresponsive. So, I think I have fried the ELP152 card. I will try to source another card from another broken machine.

Thanks to everyone for helping out.

If it direct starts spinning means that IGBT or it's driver is not OK. That machine responds with beeping is normal, it detects a fault that motor is running uncontrolled. If need have 152 cards enough..