[rochesterbcr]

over the past few months my washer machine would fill with water and then would stop before spinning or draining. if we waited an hour or so and restarted the machine it would usually spin and drain. However, earlier this week, it filled and then would not drain, spin or agitate. we unplugged the machine and tried to manually move to the spin cycle but nothing would happen except for a light humming.

i did all of the troubleshooting which i found online.

1) Checked the lid switch (ended up overriding the switch and just connecting the two black wires)
2) Checked the pump for any obstruction (did not find anything)
3) Checked the motor couplings (everything appeared to be fine)
4) Pulled the motor away from the machine and pump and tried to run the spin cycle. Still heard the same humming come from the motor and it was not turning

I assume this means that there is something wrong with the motor. Is there any external parts to the motor which tend to go first that could be replaced? Or does it seem like I need to replace the motor. If this is is the case, based on the age of my washer (2001) it seems like it would be more cost effective to just buy a new washer. Any help/advice would be appreciated. Thanks, Brian

[Gene]

Hi Brian,

Most likely the problem is a bad motor, especially because

...washer machine would fill with water and then would stop before spinning or draining. if we waited an hour or so and restarted the machine it would usually spin and drain...

what means it was overheated and stopped by the overload protector.

Your decision to fix it or to buy a new washer should be based on condition of the washer, not the age of it.

- The motor Part number: 3352287

Gene.

[fairbank56]

Problem could be bad motor, start capacitor, timer or speed select switch. This is a 3-speed motor. Try different speeds first if this model has a user controlled switch. With the pump removed and motor sitting on floor, with no power applied, can you freely spin the motor shaft? If so, put it in spin, when it's humming, try spinning the shaft by hand as fast as possible. If it starts, the capacitor is likely faulty. The best way to troubleshoot this problem is by taking readings with a multimeter but this is not recommended for inexperienced homeowners (probing live circuits) so your likely going to have to take the shotgun approach of replacing parts til its fixed. The motor is certainly a likely candidate as the contacts in the centrifugal switch can go bad but this is also true of the timer and speed switch.

Eric