[Chris F.]

My model washer -- Admiral LNC6544A80, a top loader from (I think) 1993 or so -- needs a new wash/spin speed switch (the stem broke). HOWEVER: my model is not listed in this website's model number list. Another parts site I'd used before, who said they sold my model's parts, told me, after initially saying the part was a "special order", AND after taking my money, that the part was "no longer available"!

So then I tried appliancepartspros.com, and they didn't list my exact model washer -- although they did list a number of other models close in model number. One of them -- LNC6766B71 - is very close indeed, and when I asked one of their customer service reps if the speed switch for that model (part #AP4024968) would work in MY model, I was told that "although very likely" he couldn't "absolutely guarantee it will be compatible" with my model.

He sent pictures of the switch, which look very similar -- but the back of theirs is metal, while mine is black plastic. Size and shape look the same though. Some of the numbering on mine matches theirs (the amperage/voltage, I think), but some other numbers did not match. The main thing, I think, is: what wash/spin speeds does the AP4024968 speed switch do? And how many wires attach to the back of it? This info is not listed with the part when you click on it. If I can find these things out, I can make an informed choice whether to take a chance and order the part. I'm guessing if the speeds and wire terminals are the same, the part will work. At least, I'd buy it and give it a chance.

Any help at all GREATLY appreciated!

Thank you,

Chris

[sidfink43]

I cannot get your model number to come up on any parts site, or on the Maytag site or on any of the Maytag tech documents that relate to LNC models.

I think your options are to live with the setting that you have (I am assuming the machine works, that you just cannot move the spin speed selection, which, quite frankly should not make a whole lot of difference in your washing) or to order the switch and look at it and see if you think it is compatible.

[Chris F.]

Originally Posted by sidfink43

I think your options are to live with the setting that you have (I am assuming the machine works, that you just cannot move the spin speed selection, which, quite frankly should not make a whole lot of difference in your washing) or to order the switch and look at it and see if you think it is compatible.

Well, it does make a difference if one has to wash very delicate clothes, like silks, or certain high-end clothes, like certain dresses my wife owns....these really need to be washed at a speed at which the agitator moves slowly. I CAN use the "regular" speed I'm currently stuck at, but it will most definitely degrade some of our less-sturdy clothes.


That said, I bought the switch for the similar model I was talking about, and hooked up the wires....the terminals on the back were exactly in the same spots, and my knob fit right on....however, the metal face plate on it is different, has different screw flanges in different spots....and, the when I stick it through the hole and make the click stops line up, the back of the switch sits in a strange position (not squarely, but at a diagonal)...it's hard to describe. I think this may be because the knob shaft has it's squared-off part in a different spot...so I may need to buy a new knob that will "line up" with the speeds, even though my knob physically does fit on the switch shaft.
But my MAIN problem is that I took apart the new switch to see if I could put my old switch cover on it (so that I could use existing screw holes, etc)....and a couple of metal shim-looking things totally fell out!! And, I have a hunch roughly where they go, but do not know EXACTLY how they fit together in there. There are two metal shims..maybe a couple inches long each...one is flat, the other has a little bent hump in the middle. I'm sure they fit together somehow so that when the switch is in the right position, the hump part pushes agains the metal contacts that are in the switch housing....but I'm not sure. Is anyone familiar at all with the interior of these switches? I'm sure it's a common design. Can anyone even comment on this at all? Which face plate should I try to put back on -- the old one with the correct flanges, or the new one (and try to come up with some kind of workaround to get around the fact that it doesn't line up with the holes in my washer).?? Anyone -- thanks in advance.
My other option would be to contact the manufacturer of the switch I just bought from appliancepartspros.....maybe someone working there can let me know who to contact, someone at the company should have a schematic diagram or something of the interior parts of the switch.
Lastly, I should add that not only did the knob fit on, and wires go in the same places, but I turned on the washer and the new switch made the washer go fast on the 2 clicks it should have in the wash cycle, and slow on the 2 clicks it should....don't know yet about if it's right on the spin cycles as well, but I'm betting it is. I think this switch electrically does the job right, it's just a matter of being able to attach it physically to my washer in a way that the dot on the knob lines up with the stops in the right spots...

[sidfink43]

Well I understand now your need for the slower speed, but I do not understand the problem with your model andyour timer not being recognized, unless for some reason it is a foreign one or some special manufactured model or something else which does not allow it to come up in a normal parts and machine search.

Timers are not usually a repairable item, so I doubt if anyone is going to have any schematics on yours, but if you can make it work and the only problem is not lining up correctly with the indicator, then make a new dot indicator. I am afraid your only other alternative is a new machine, and if you can make this one work, I think you should do it.

[Chris F.]

Well, as I said in my initial post, the model IS recognized, just not by appliancepartspros, for whatever reason. I found the model easily on ************************.com -- here is the URL for various switches for my exact model:

http://www.r e p a i r c l i n i c.com/Appliance-Parts?s=t-LNC6544A80-%3d%3dc276

(i had to space out the name of the site b/c the board rejected it -- I just wanted you to understand that both my model and switch ARE recognized, just not everywhere)

The problem is that the switch I needed -- part #535211, the 3rd switch down that is pictured -- they told me they couldn't get, and is no longer available. When I first found the part there, it didn't say what it says now about being "permanently discontinued" -- they added that, I'll bet, after having to cancel my order. But as far the MACHINE goes, this company has plenty of parts for it, and schematics as well. I even bought a few parts for my model from them. I was happy that although appliancepartspros did not have my exact model, they DID list a very very similar model, whose speed switch seems to be nearly exactly like mine.

Now, the problem with the lining up of the dot is really not nearly as important to me as the matter of putting the switch back together in working order. It's NOT broken. A couple of free (not soldered down or otherwise bound in the housing) pieces of metal fell out, and I'm not certain how they go back in....I have a few ideas, but it would be ideal to just talk to someone familiar with the manufacture of them (since you say a schematic probably doesn't exist). I just need to find out who made it.

Or, maybe there is some reader on here like me, who takes things apart to see how they work, and has taken apart a washer speed switch before, and knows about these little metal parts (they are about as long as a wooden match stick, but wider....maybe as wide as 2 or 3 even 3 matchsticks pushed together...if that gives a better visual). I believe, from the fact that one is totally flat, and the 2nd one has that bend/hump thing in the middle, that their purpose concerns the movement of the knob, giving it its "clicks"....they might also be involved in the circuit somehow, because on the same side of the switch, there are those two other metal contacts which are also about the same length. If I play with this long enough, I'll probably figure it out, but I'm trying to save myself some time...I am a stay at home father, after all, with 2 small rambunctious kids....can anyone help? :-)

[Chris F.]

bump so people see this.....is there anyone on here who is familiar with the inner workings of washer speed switches? Specifically, the placement of where two short strips of unconnected metal might go? When I took apart the switch I had just bought, these 2 strips just fell out. One is flat, one has a small hump-like bend in the middle. See the previous posts in the thread for more details.
If no one has ever taken apart a knob-controlled washer switch, does anyone know the phone number of the USA factory where it would have been manufactured? (the bag it came in said it was made in the USA). It's switch for Maytag (my washer is actually an Admiral).
Thanks so much...