[Fixineer]

My wife left washer on while out for a walk. When she got back, there was lots of white smoke and a burning smell. She unplugged it. When I got home, the smoke was gone, but the smell is like that electric motor smell. Washer had water & a pair of sneakers in it. I plugged it back in & turned dial to Spin. It did spin and it pumped the water out for me. Took off belt (the original - 7 yrs old), I think it's OK. Took panels off and sniffed the motor. It seems like the smell we are smelling is same as what I sniff from the motor. So, could motor have a problem, or was it maybe just overheating due to a jam or other problem with the transmission, agitator, etc.? Any tips on most likely culprits, or how to diagnose? I would really appreciate help! Thanks!

[Gene]

If the motor smells, it's almost gone. You can wait until it will die completely (it can happen every day) or replace it right away.

If it was overloaded/overheated due to any other problem with the washer then it should not work at all.

- The motor Part number: 21001950

Here are the breakdown diagrams and Parts for Maytag PAVT920AWW Washer - AppliancePartsPros.com

Gene.

[Fixineer]

Thanks, Gene. I plugged it back up tonight and ran it through a full cycle, just to see what got hot, and if I could reproduce the white smoke. It ran okay, didn't smoke, but I did smell the motor a little. The metal frame of the motor got hot around the top bearing. After running through the full wash cycle, it was just hot enough that you would not want to leave your fingers on it. If you did, you would start to feel like you were being burned (not just hot or uncomfortable) after 2 or 3 seconds. I don't know how normal that is for these motors. The pump and xmission seem to turn fine and the belt seems okay, so I may just decide to take the plunge and try a new motor. Expensive, but I don't want to spend $450 or so to replace with a new one.