Access extra programmes on Hotpoint FDW20 Dishwasher

Some of our appliances have hidden settings I never knew about / weren't mentioned in the manual... until I began just randomly pressing buttons. What I found out:

- The button sound on our oven can be turned on & off.
- Our Siemens dishwasher has hidden cycles accessible via a key-dance.
- The dryness level on our Electrolux dryer can be permanently set to "a little more dry" or "a little less dry" than the actual cycle's target dryness level. And the cycle chime / button sound can be permanently deactivated.
- Of course the washer, dishwasher and dryer have secret test modes for customer service.

All these things were never mentioned in any of our manuals - even though they come in handy at times. I think it is a common thing to do - especially on computer-controlled appliances. Just use one controller for all machines and then deactivate certain cycles on lower-end machines. Example: Miele USA never mentioned that one can adjust the level of rinsing (Water Plus function), yet all their US washer have this capability!

This table shows ALL the options for the big Miele 4080 washer:

Options
01 Reset
02 Language (listing)
03 Water Plus Water+, Extra Rinse, Water+/Extra Rinse
04 Gentle Action Off, On
05 Suds Cooling Off, On
06 Temperature Celsius, Fahrenheit
07 Buzzer (scale)
08 Keypad Tone (scale)
09 Display Contrast (scale)
10 Brightness (scale)
11 Standby On, Not in Current Plan
12 Memory Off, On
13 Drum Lighting Off, On
14 Water Intake Cold, Hot + Cold
15 Maximum Water Level Off, On
16 Flow Meter No, Yes
17 Low Water Pressure No, Yes
18 Rinse Process No, Yes
19 Allergy Off, On
20 Country Version (listing)
21 Automatic Load Control Off, On
22 Heater Rating 760W, 1060W, 2100W, 2500W, 2600W, 3000W, 4200W, 4600W, 5300W, 8100W
23 Drum Capacity ASA, NSA
24 Imbalance Charts Chart 1, Chart 2
25 Maximum Spin 1200rpm, 1300rpm, 1400rpm, 1500rpm, 1600rpm, 1700rpm, 1800rpm, 1900rpm, 2000rpm
26 Water Valve Valves, Water Guide (4 pos), Water Guide (5 pos)
27 Machine Front Loader, Top Loader
28 Hygiene Info Off, On
29 Bleach Off, On
30 Exit


Forum Topics & Rules Manuals & Literature	New users Click-here to sign-up

Post# 368515 7/31/2009 at 05:47 (5,381 days old) by rolls_rapide (.)
Checkrate/Likes I discovered this on my sister's Ariston 6 programme slimline AS150 and mum's Hotpoint 5 programme FDW20. Both of these have knob selector switches. With the machine off, simply select the last programme and PULL THE KNOB OFF ITS SPINDLE. The shaft should then be seen to be 'D' shaped. Replace the knob very slightly (so the shaft can be easily turned), then rotate beyond the fascia's 'final' programme. One or two programmes may become accessible (sister's Ariston had one hidden programme; the Hotpoint had two). Inspection of the knob reveals a moulded flange on the inside circumference, that encounters moulded 'stops' on the Hotpoint's knob recess. The Hotpoint had two protuberances, giving five programmes out of seven. On the Ariston, there was a reverse mounted screw (inserted from the reverse side of the fascia) to do the same job, but there were also three holes, marked '4, 5 and 6'. The screw was in the hole marked '6', giving six programmes. I tried the programmes on the Hotpoint and they worked. The first one started with a main wash and lasted for around the ninety minute mark, so I deduced that it must be a delicate cycle. The second programme was a heated final rinse with rinse-aid and drying. I thought it was a plate-warming function, but it turns out to be the 'Special Guest' programme. This is meant to be used to freshen up dusty plates that might not get used regularly. I found the programmes listed in the User Manual for the FDW80. Scroll half way down for programme chart: CLICK HERE TO GO TO rolls_rapide's LINK

Post# 368597 , Reply# 1 7/31/2009 at 13:43 (5,381 days old) by aquarius1984 (Planet earth)
Checkrate/Likes Well bugger me! Just tried this out on our Indesit machine and found 3 extra progs ontop of tje 5 we had. Wonder what the 3 could be, the machine already has Intensive 75c Time for you 1hr 25mins Economy 50c Time for you 25 mins and Soak (Cold Prewash. 2 of the hidden cycles go straight into main wash and the remainder has a prewash. Oh what fun eh.

Post# 368631 , Reply# 2 7/31/2009 at 15:39 (5,380 days old) by rolls_rapide (.)
Checkrate/Likes Me thinks that it must be cheaper for the manufacturer to make one circuit board complete with all programmes, and then go about a method of disabling some of them. Obviously the cheapest and easiest method was to put mechanical stops on the dials. Which model of Indesit do you have?

Post# 368749 , Reply# 3 7/31/2009 at 22:06 (5,380 days old) by ronhic (Canberra, Australia)
Checkrate/Likes Cunning buggers.... I have often wondered about things such as this. I had heard that Hoover Australia used to fit all their front load washers with heaters and left, as an example, the heater switch off the 550 and put it on the 555....

Post# 368803 , Reply# 4 8/1/2009 at 04:09 (5,380 days old) by seamusuk (Dover Kent UK)
Checkrate/Likes *Another example- Hoover Purepowers/Dustmanagers* These come in lots of different wattages..... Hoover only list 1 motor as a spare part. Go figure ;) Seamus

Post# 368806 , Reply# 5 8/1/2009 at 05:03 (5,380 days old) by mark1973 ()
Checkrate/Likes Its amazing what manufacturers get upto. Who new. Very crafty indeed! Mark x

Post# 368816 , Reply# 6 8/1/2009 at 05:56 (5,380 days old) by toggleswitch2 ()
Checkrate/Likes ~Obviously the cheapest and easiest method was to put mechanical stops on the dials. and therefore one simply gets new dials (from the TOL version of your machine) or a pair of needle-noised pliers to break off the offening part of that piece.

Post# 368891 , Reply# 7 8/1/2009 at 13:38 (5,380 days old) by rolls_rapide (.)
Checkrate/Likes Indeed. It would have to be the pliers option, as the top models were touch selectors. I am intrigued by Seamus' remark about the Hoover upright motors. Maybe the single replacement motor is Hoover's way of cutting down on the plethora of spares, and maybe their idea is to make a certain fixed, lower wattage replacement motor available, irrespective of whether the customer bought the top line, 2100 Watt cleaner.

Post# 368923 , Reply# 8 8/1/2009 at 15:53 (5,379 days old) by aquarius1984 (Planet earth)
Checkrate/Likes *8 programmes* Indesit Dishwasher IDL530 Excuse the poor pics, Paul has our camera with him at his parents this weekend.

Post# 368950 , Reply# 13 8/1/2009 at 18:05 (5,379 days old) by favorit ()
Checkrate/Likes I bet the big american mieles when switched to 8100 W have a genetic/vintage modification LOL (Waschmaschinen-forum.de pic of the day july 29 2009)

Post# 368929 , Reply# 9 8/1/2009 at 16:20 (5,379 days old) by rolls_rapide (.)
Checkrate/Likes *Rob* The two extra main wash programmes 'might' be: "Crystal" and "Just You". The "Crystal" wash heats main wash, intermediate rinse and final rinse. The "Just You" cycle is for a small, lightly soiled load. Does the unknown cycle light up the pre-wash indicator, or the rinsing indicator? (Just double checking! LOL). Scroll halfway down for programme chart: CLICK HERE TO GO TO rolls_rapide's LINK

Post# 368932 , Reply# 10 8/1/2009 at 16:40 (5,379 days old) by aquarius1984 (Planet earth)
Checkrate/Likes *3 hidden settings* 1 of the hidden settings go into a prewash (prewash light glows and it pumps then proceeds to fill) first but what it does after that is anyones idea. the other 2 just pump with the mainwash light glowing and proceed into fill. Wonder what the prewash cycle is as the Crystal and Just you cycles seem to be there.

Post# 368937 , Reply# 11 8/1/2009 at 16:57 (5,379 days old) by rolls_rapide (.)
Checkrate/Likes Maybe it is a test programme for service engineers? None of the 'superior' (IDE 1000) models have programmes beyond seven. Incidentally, the "Just You" programme seems to have been previously known as "Daily" - meant for recently soiled dishes.

Post# 368939 , Reply# 12 8/1/2009 at 17:10 (5,379 days old) by logixx (Germany)
Checkrate/Likes Some of our appliances have hidden settings I never knew about / weren't mentioned in the manual... until I began just randomly pressing buttons. What I found out: - The button sound on our oven can be turned on & off. - Our Siemens dishwasher has hidden cycles accessible via a key-dance. - The dryness level on our Electrolux dryer can be permanently set to "a little more dry" or "a little less dry" than the actual cycle's target dryness level. And the cycle chime / button sound can be permanently deactivated. - Of course the washer, dishwasher and dryer have secret test modes for customer service. All these things were never mentioned in any of our manuals - even though they come in handy at times. I think it is a common thing to do - especially on computer-controlled appliances. Just use one controller for all machines and then deactivate certain cycles on lower-end machines. Example: Miele USA never mentioned that one can adjust the level of rinsing (Water Plus function), yet all their US washer have this capability! This table shows ALL the options for the big Miele 4080 washer: Options 01 Reset 02 Language (listing) 03 Water Plus Water+, Extra Rinse, Water+/Extra Rinse 04 Gentle Action Off, On 05 Suds Cooling Off, On 06 Temperature Celsius, Fahrenheit 07 Buzzer (scale) 08 Keypad Tone (scale) 09 Display Contrast (scale) 10 Brightness (scale) 11 Standby On, Not in Current Plan 12 Memory Off, On 13 Drum Lighting Off, On 14 Water Intake Cold, Hot + Cold 15 Maximum Water Level Off, On 16 Flow Meter No, Yes 17 Low Water Pressure No, Yes 18 Rinse Process No, Yes 19 Allergy Off, On 20 Country Version (listing) 21 Automatic Load Control Off, On 22 Heater Rating 760W, 1060W, 2100W, 2500W, 2600W, 3000W, 4200W, 4600W, 5300W, 8100W 23 Drum Capacity ASA, NSA 24 Imbalance Charts Chart 1, Chart 2 25 Maximum Spin 1200rpm, 1300rpm, 1400rpm, 1500rpm, 1600rpm, 1700rpm, 1800rpm, 1900rpm, 2000rpm 26 Water Valve Valves, Water Guide (4 pos), Water Guide (5 pos) 27 Machine Front Loader, Top Loader 28 Hygiene Info Off, On 29 Bleach Off, On 30 Exit