What is actually happening
A motor that runs while the drum stands still is almost always a snapped drive belt — the belt is a thin band that wraps the whole drum, and when it goes the motor spins freely with nothing to drive. The easy confirmation is that the drum will turn far too freely by hand, with none of the usual resistance.
The Willow fault codes that point at this
A Willow tumble dryer will usually tell you what it thinks is wrong before anyone opens it up. These are the codes we hold for this make that relate to drum not turning:
- E01 — The machine can't confirm the door is shut and locked, so it won't run — or it decided the door came open part-way through a cycle.
- E02 — The machine has not taken in the water it was expecting, so it has stopped and flagged a fill problem.
- E04 — The dryer has flagged a problem with its heating circuit — the control board is not seeing the heater behave as it should, so the cycle is halted.
- E06 — The control board has lost the speed signal from the motor, so it can no longer tell whether the drum is turning properly and shuts the cycle down.
- E07 — The control board has lost or does not recognise the settings that tell it which machine it is fitted to, so it stops rather than run a cycle it can't configure.
- E08 — The dryer has stopped because the electricity reaching its control board is outside the range it will accept, or the board itself has decided something is wrong with the power side of the machine.
- E09 — The machine has decided the electricity reaching it is outside the range it will work with, so it has stopped rather than run on a bad supply.
- E10 — The machine can no longer trust the sensor that tells it how much water is in the drum, so it stops rather than carry on filling blind.
If yours is showing one of those, that is a much shorter conversation than a general fault — tell us the code when you book and the engineer can often carry the part.
The usual causes on a Willow tumble dryer
- A snapped or slipped drive belt
- A failed drum bearing or worn support rollers, which can seize the drum
- A failed motor or motor capacitor
- An item jammed between the drum and the casing
What you can safely check yourself
- With the dryer off, turn the drum by hand — no resistance at all points at a broken belt
- Listen: a motor humming with no drum movement is the classic sign
- Check nothing is jammed at the edge of the drum
Still drum not turning?
Most of these need an engineer once the checks above are done. £66 including VAT for an engineer to come out and diagnose it, or £84 in total including VAT if it is put right on the visit and no parts are needed. Any parts needed are quoted on site before we fit them — you decide. Every repair carries a 90-day workmanship guarantee.
Our engineers work on Willow machines week in, week out, so they arrive knowing the machine rather than reading the back of it. Local engineers across Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire.
Call 0115 648 0929 Book online — postcode and number is all we need
Common questions
Why is my Willow tumble dryer drum not turning?
The dryer starts and hums, but the drum does not turn. A motor that runs while the drum stands still is almost always a snapped drive belt — the belt is a thin band that wraps the whole drum, and when it goes the motor spins freely with nothing to drive. The easy confirmation is that the drum will turn far too freely by hand, with none of the usual resistance.
Can I fix a Willow tumble dryer drum not turning myself?
With the dryer off, turn the drum by hand — no resistance at all points at a broken belt. Listen: a motor humming with no drum movement is the classic sign. Check nothing is jammed at the edge of the drum. Beyond those checks this one normally needs an engineer.
What Willow error codes mean drum not turning?
Willow tumble dryers report this through their own fault codes. The ones that point at drum not turning are E01, E02, E04, E06, E07, E08. If your machine is showing one of those, that narrows it down considerably — each has its own guide on this site.
How much does a Willow tumble dryer repair cost?
£66 including VAT for an engineer to come out and diagnose it, or £84 in total including VAT if it is put right on the visit and no parts are needed. Any parts needed are quoted on site before we fit them — you decide. Every repair carries a 90-day workmanship guarantee.
Other Willow tumble dryer faults
- tumble dryer not heating
- tumble dryer not drying the clothes
- tumble dryer making a noise
- tumble dryer will not start
- tumble dryer burning smell
- tumble dryer keeps stopping