[funkykev]

Problem: Had hot electric smell + plastic smell. Searched web & found a site showing exactly my problem. Single white wire at overload switch can loosen, causing arcing, causing heat, melting connector cover. Exactly my situation. Soldered new connector and reattached. Vacuumed motor and blew out with air. Replaced pump at same time. Reinstalled and ran machine and motor now makes a distinct laboring whine. Worked fine before despite intermittent odors described. Hot odor back immediately and machine won't pump or spin, just whining agitation. Motor hot in 2 minutes. Inspected and noticed that some of the "ties" around the copper bundles had melted/broken away. Similarly, some of the copper bundles had discolored/burned. I'm guessing a new motor is in order? What I really want to know is why the pitch of the motor changed and the whine started instantly after I "repaired" it? Thanks gang!

Kevin

Oh, and which terminals do I jump to trick out the lid switch for testing/inspection? Thx.

[sidfink43]

Hi Kevin

Sounds like you need a new motor, but cannot guarantee that will fix things as your situation is very hard to diagnose in this type of forum.

To by pass the lid switch use a jumper wire inserted into the outer two holes on the plastic connector to the lid switch that is coming from the console.

Good luck and let us know how it goes

[funkykev]

(I am OP)

It just gets better and better!!! Read on. Opted for new motor (lets assume that's true for the moment Bought new coupler. Had new pump already. Remember old motor sounded labored and got hot right quick after my "fix"? Here we go... ...Installed new motor, coupler, and pump. Doublechecked. Fire up machine and get a new, different, but all-to-familiar "motor in trouble" labored,whining noise. Planned ahead and only pulsed it for 1-2 seconds max at a time and checked all positions in the timer range. Same result. Now it gets WIERDER! Thinking I had botched the install that a one-armed-blind-monkey-with-Tourettes-and-a Poli-Sci-degree could pull off...I strapped the pump aside, and dropped the motor...left it connected to the wiring harness (yes this is still the new motor) so it could run with effectively zero load. Same noise/whine and nearly zero RPMs on shaft. Ran it through all timer cycles. Same result again. Seemed all too familiar. Swapped new motor out. Put in old seemingly dead motor in the zero load condition. Sumbitch ran like a champ in all timer positions!!! Just to make sure I wasn't smoking some worse than normal crack, I did this swap and test/retest with both motors 4 times. New one basically not turning and old one like it's on a vviiaaggrra & cocaine bender. Oh, and to answer that question stewing in your brain: with motor removed I can spin the drive-shaft to the tranny/tub assy by hand. Light load, no sweat to align flats on shaft for motor install by hand. So, either this is waaay bizarre and rare or there is something sooo simple that us engineers overlook it. Of course I figure it's the former :-) Resident Genious, PLEASE HELP ME!!! My slide-rule needs a software upgrade :-) No really, I'm not 'that' dumb.

kevin

[sidfink43]

Well, the explanation is simple, and it does happen occasionally. The washer repair gods are messing with you.

Actually, I can understand why your old motor imight be working,\; there was something jammed and in taking it apart you unjammed things. But I have no explanation of why your new motor does not work other than what I said above.

Anyway, put it back together with the old motor and see if you can wash with it. If you can, send the new motor back with a claim that it was defective, as that is the only thing that makes sense.

You sound like someone familiar with Occam's Razor, and that is the best explanation I have.

Good luck and let us know what happens.

[funkykev]

UPDATE! SAME PROBLEM. NEW INFO!!!

Redid my "bench" test on both motors to confirm prior results. Now using only old motor which "seems" fine. Filled tub, removed top ring, bleached out/scrubbed off mildew, etc. Went to try to pump/spin/empty-out bleach solution. Actually got a spin out of it and half a tub gone. Cycle stopped...might have been timer position...I dunno. Got my famous electrical/plasticy/rubbery odor along the way. Switched to another timer spin position and got water removed. Odor persists. Skipping a bunch more fluff here (I know I write novels)...after some more testing with a partial tub to rinse the bleachy stuff I could get agitation but not a spin after that 1st one. Filled to minimum setting. Switched to spin--> only motor hum. Checked low spin and high spin--> only motor hum again in all positions. which leads me to believe that my initial web search re: the torched connection was somewhat correct in that it was a problem but the cause was not that it was a loose connection but that it was overheating due to load caused by a failure in the gearbox/tranny ass'y. So, assuming I'm correct (har-har) with this new approach...everything up to the input shaft to the tranny seems fine or is new or both...what am I looking for? Besides new underwear, of course, it's going on two weeks :-) Of course the simple things are sometimes the most telling for those of you in the know. And hindsight is the mother of all invention and all of that. Did I mention that prior to death (and just now) that when it switched to engage spin cycle there is a rather profound and loudish 'thunk' sound? See just like that damnable Perry mason show, you never get what you-the viewer- need til the very end!! Ok, gang. Run with it! Thanks once again Master Fink ;-)

[funkykev]

Hmm, as I did more research, I remember that my initial full failure was noticed after the typical odor and left me with a tub full of water. What I don't remember is where the timer was at when it failed. And when failure noted it was an hour later so the load was "finished". Maybe I'll test fore this next and see if the timer progresses? Seems if I guess wrong I could truly kill Lazarus the Motor once and for all.

[sidfink43]

Well, everything you say just confirms my original theory about the appliance repair gods. I am thinking you did something really awful in an earlier reimcarnation with white goods.

The best explanation I can come up with is something in the transmission or brake tub assembly (the brake tub problem gives you the thunk sound) which is jamming the motor which is causing the odor and the problem. This problem can be intermittent, which gives you the gremlin like results.

At this point you can try new transmission and/or brake tube assembly which is expensive and not guaranteed to fix the problem, and leave you with more money in the machine than it is worth,

or

declare defeat, acknowledge the supremecy of the appliance repairs gods, get a new or good used machine, try to atone for what you did in a previous lexistence and go on about your life.

Sorry about all of your problems. If it is any consolation these machines are usually easy to fix and work great; you are most likely the victim of a random occurence of very bad luck.

Better luck going forward, and let us know what you do.

[funkykev]

maybe one more tidbit that could narrow it down: Earlier in the last 12 months ocassionally, ususally after a load or two, say if you opened the lid mid-spin, sometimes as it finished spinning naturally it would not coast to a halt but rather come to an abrupt, lurching, snap-halt that I knew was unnatural. Does this help any?

[sidfink43]

Yes, that does help narrow things. It strongly suggests problems in your brake tube assembly, along with possible other problems, which leads back to the previous conclusion.

It is not worth the cost or risk or repair. Sorry, but its time is up.

Wish I had better news, keep posting and let us know what you do.

[funkykev]

It's getting deeper. We should hire Nic Cage and some Mason's historians for this. Gimmee the holiday to confirm/deny/get really pissed :-) See ya soon.

kevin