[Kanine21]

Hello All,

We purchased a used 27" washer/dryer last night, hooked it all up and it acts very strange.

The 220V cord was cut when we bought it, so I took the old pigtail off our broken machine and wired it to this one. Our old machine is almost EXACTLY the same, just much older and has many mechanical issues.

What happens with the new machine is the washer will not start unless you have the dryer operating at the same time and press the Start button for the dryer! If the dryer switch is in an off position, the washer will not start at all even if you press the start button for the dryer.

If you want to start the dryer without washer, you can't unless the washer switch is in any mode with the switch pulled out, and the dryer in a mode then hitting the Start button.

When the dryer is on, the light bulb inside doesn't come on when we open the door (burnt bulb I suspect), but if we defeat the door switch and run the dryer to verify operation, the heater coils in the back start getting red hot! Should they get THAT hot? Also the tumbler spins counter clockwise, is that correct?

I opened the acess panel under the control panel to get the Schematic/Tech Data sheet and of course it's missing, somebody must have tried messing with it before and we may have gotten hosed on this unit.

We only got it for $200 and I'd like to fix it for cheap to make it a worth while investment, but is it worth it? Should we demand our money back since it was advertised as working?

Only thing I could think of is when I connected the wire to the terminal block, maybe Line 1 and Line 2 were swapped? Would that make any difference being 220V? I wouldn't think so, unless the phases have something to do with it. The wiring labels are the exact same on each unit and they both show the 220V wiring to the terminal block as being the exact same, so I doubt I have it mixed up, but I'm not 100%, even if I do, would the syptoms be, if any?

Any help is really appreciated!!!

Kane

[libertyappl]

Sounds like you have a wiring NIGHTMARE with the unit. If you choose to tackle this the wiring diagram is shown on this site although it small it may help. Model FEZ831AS1
The Dryer element does get red hot. The drum is NOT turning in the correct direction!
Out of curiosity what was your old unit doing?

[Kanine21]

Yeah, I'm thinking somebody replaced a switch or relay or something and reconnected it wrong.

Since the unit is almost identical to the old, I'm going to steal the old schematic and follow the base power wiring grid to make sure the switches are all wiring properly. Sounds like it could either be a nightmare, or maybe a couple harnesses switched.

Thanks for the confirmation of the coils, but why would the tumbler spin backwards on an AC induction motor? Doesn't really make much sense to me.

The old unit has several issues, first was the previous owners did some mickey mouse repair to the agitator spindle top and JB welded it in place cause it stripped out, so in agitation mode with a load in, it barely moves the clothes AT ALL. That plus clothes come out smelling very moldy and musty, there must be a load of builup in the bucket. We tried the white vinegar trick and other cleaners, cleaned the drain hose, inspected all water fittings, etc.... and nothing got rid of the smell.

The dryer also had issues drying even half loads. I cleaned out the blower ducting and the dryer hose going to the wall and it only slightly improved.

Thanks for the tips! Sounds like it's time to break out the trusty Fluke!

Kane

[libertyappl]

The drum could trun backward they probably have the motor wired backwards.
As for the older one, check the entire venting system from the lint trap all the way to the outside. There may be an obstruction before it gets to the blower (like a sock, underwear etc.) Post your model number on the old one and I'll check out the agitaor & smell issues a little.
Nat

[Kanine21]

yeah, I'm wondering what the hell they did to this thing.

The old one's agitator isn't really repairable anymore, too many monkeys that didn't know what they were doing screwed up the agitator. The top clamp nut has basically a clutch washer that was stripped/worn. So they decided to JB weld the top part in place to the spindle. The JB weld broke at the spindle, but the top part is impossible to get off now.

I chiseled away at it and could see the threads on the spindle where the pem-nut was pressed into the top cap were all chewed up, thus the reason for the JB I'm guessing. Instead of replacing a $20 cap, they basically ruined the spindle and cap and made it unrepairable unless the whole bucket/agitato is replaced.

I wanted to take the washer apart and dissasemble the bucket and clean it good, but it's damn near impossible to get the side covers off to get to things.

Kane

[libertyappl]

Post the model number of your old unit, I think you could fix it for less than the $200 you paid for the other one.
Nat

[Kanine21]

Thanks again, Nat!

I don't have the old units part number on me, but it's 1996 year Kenmore 27" stackable. The whole chassis is EXACTLY like the Frigidaire unit, only exterior difference is the control panel and lack of the smal fluorescent light above the washer lid on the Frigidaire unit.

I probably could spend a ton of time and little money fixing the old unit, but I already spent hours trying to take it apart in our tiny condo and I wasn't too successful except making the dryer work better. I did clean out the whole venting system and relieved it of any clogs for certain, and the blower works perfectly, maybe the coils were getting old and not conduting as well as they could have, thus not getting hot enough.

The agitator wasn't the only issue, but sometimes the spin cycle wouldn't get enough speed to wring out the clothes very well and sometimes the clothes would still be dripping soaking wet after a standard cycle and 3/4 size load. Maybe something to do with the valving? I'm not sure. Could be the reason the dryer wasn't effectively drying the clothes.

I just know that after so much time working on it, I had to give up cause I was fighting a losing battle and we have a laundromat in our complex luckily.

Sure I'll have to spend some time trouble-shooting this new unit, luckily I know wiring fairly well and I hope I can find the problem and hope I don't spend hours upon hours on it.

If anything, I can trace wires in the old unit to compare if the schematic isn't too forthcoming on answers for me, haha.

I'll post the number of the old unit tonight when i get home, but don't worry about spending any of your time on it, it's been pretty well beat up.

If I find the wiring issue tonight, I'll definetly post with the results in case this ever happens to anyone.

Wish me luck!

Kane

[libertyappl]

Good luck indeed! I think I would start with wiring to the motor & controls.
Nat

[Kanine21]

Well unfortunatly the old schematic from the old machine has a bit different wiring. Even the motor wiring is different, so i din't have much luck last night.

looking at the old unit, the dryer motor has a plug on it for a harness vs. actual termianls that you could screw up. All the plugs I could find on the new unit look original and untouched, but I'm still convinced somebody got in there and messed with something.

Something has to be in serial that shouldn't be if the dryer start button starts both the dryer and washer. ugh...

Kane

[libertyappl]

Were you able to read the wire diagram I posted earlier? If not and yours isn't present you can generally order them too
Nat