Replacing the power button on washing machine

repair

How do you replace the power button on LG WT-H800 washer?

Best Answer

Modern washers and dryers, and this one is no exception, use a control panel that is a plastic overlay over domed touch buttons. Sometimes these plastic overlays will also have clear windows that allow LED indicators to shine through as well.

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The LEDs and touch switch domes are all mounted onto a circuit board that is part of a sandwich comprised of the overlay, the circuit board and possibly also a metal or hard plastic rear support plate.

Common types of failure of the touch dome switches are:

  1. The domes become intermittent and will not reliably register with the internal microprocessor to invoke the desired function.
  2. The domes lose their springiness and collapse so that they no longer operate as a touch button.
  3. Sometimes the plastic overlay material cracks around the most often used buttons. A complete piece of the plastic will often come away leaving the underlying circuitry exposed.

Unfortunately the fix for bad or broken touch buttons is to replace the whole control panel assembly. This is often not a welcome option because the part can be quite expensive. But it is really the only way to restore the function and appearance of the original product.

Some electronics technician or hobbyist or engineer could possibly replace a broken touch button with a discrete push button switch. However that type of fix will always look like a kludge even though it may actually function okay.