What FILLS AND DRAINS CONTINUOUSLY Means
WHICH MACHINE THIS APPLIES TO: the Asko WCAM1812, the combination washer and dryer that washes and dries in one drum. It is a rotary machine - a programmer knob, a row of cycle indicator lights and an on-off indicator - and that description is the key to everything on these pages, because a machine built that way has nowhere to print a fault code.
THE SHORT VERSION OF WHAT THE RESEARCH FOUND: the WCAM1812 has no error codes at all. That is a documented finding from two independent Asko documents, not a gap. The use and care guide's troubleshooting chapter is entirely symptom-based, and the service manual for this platform diagnoses through a manual autotest instead of through a fault table.
HOW THE MACHINE TELLS YOU ANYTHING: through the cycle indicator lights. The guide states that as the programme progresses the light for the cycle in progress will glow, and the stop indicator glows when the programme has ended or been stopped. That is the whole of the machine's reporting vocabulary, and reading it properly is what takes the place of a code.
WHAT THE SYMPTOM IS: the machine takes water in and lets it straight out again, over and over, without the level ever settling. It can run for a very long time doing it, and because there is no code and no warning, nothing announces it. On a machine in a utility room or a cupboard it is easy to miss until the water bill or the cycle time says something is wrong.
WHAT ASKO'S OWN TROUBLESHOOTING CHECKS FOR IT: two things, and both are about the drain hose. First, that the drain hose is positioned at the correct height. Second, that if the machine drains into a sink, the drain hose outlet is not under water.
WHY THOSE TWO CHECKS EXPLAIN ALMOST ALL OF IT: this is the classic siphoning fault. Water finds its own level, and if the end of a drain hose sits too low, or dips into standing water in a sink or a standpipe, the water in the machine is simply pulled out as fast as it comes in. Nothing inside the machine is broken. The plumbing is quietly emptying the drum behind the programme's back, so the machine keeps calling for more water to reach the level it needs.
WHY IT IS WORTH FIXING IMMEDIATELY EVEN THOUGH NOTHING IS DAMAGED: a machine cycling water continuously wastes a great deal of it, runs its pump far more than it was meant to, and in a sink installation can overflow the sink it is draining into. It is also the kind of fault that gets misread as a broken valve, which turns a hose position into a service call.
CLASSIFICATION: an installation fault with documented owner checks. The machine is usually working correctly.
Common Causes of FILLS AND DRAINS CONTINUOUSLY
- Drain hose outlet positioned too low
- Drain hose outlet sitting under water in a sink or a standpipe
- Sink or waste draining slowly, so the hose end becomes submerged
- Hose not secured, so it has slipped down behind the machine
- Inlet valve or level arrangement inside the machine faulty, which is what remains once the hose is right
🔧 One Safe Check You Can Try
Switch the machine off and close its water tap before you rearrange anything, so nothing is filling while you work. Then deal with the drain hose, which is where the manufacturer points. Check the height of the hose outlet against what the installation instructions for the machine require, and raise it if it has slipped down - hoses work their way down behind a machine over the years, particularly if the appliance has been pulled out and pushed back. If the machine drains into a sink, make sure the hose outlet is above the water and stays above it, and check that the sink is not holding standing water from a slow waste of its own, since a sink that drains slowly will submerge the hose without anybody moving it. Make sure the hose is secured where the installation expects it to be secured rather than simply resting over an edge. Then run a short programme and watch the drum through the door: the level should settle and stay while the machine washes. If the machine still fills and empties with the hose at the correct height and clear of standing water, stop there and report it - at that point it is the inlet valve or the level arrangement inside the machine.
⚠ Why You Shouldn't Go Further Than That
- The water tap is closed and the machine switched off before the hose is moved, because a machine that is filling continuously will keep filling while you work.
- The hose height is set to what the machine's installation requires rather than to whatever is convenient, since this fault is caused by getting it wrong.
- If the fault survives a correct hose position, the inlet valve and the level arrangement are inside a machine that is isolated at the outlet or the breaker before it is opened.
Opening a panel to inspect or repair something yourself doesn't automatically cancel your manufacturer's warranty — but it can risk accidental damage, and some manufacturers do have specific service conditions. Check your product's warranty terms, or ask us, before deciding.