I bought a used Maytag Atlantis from a friend. From the beginning it seemed off.

*only certain cycles would work
*The lid switch seem to not engage unless lid slammed hard
*Had problems with the spin cycle
*a loud labored buzzing sound before it would finally enter the spin cycle

Now after noticing a slight burnt smell, more electrical than anything, it's full of water (resulting from a futile attempt to get it to drain the previous water that was left) and dead. The control knob won't turn or "tick" and I can't get to do anything else.

Is it something as simple as the lid switch or does the burning smell indicate bigger problems?

Also any tips on getting the existing water (almost full) out?

Thanks in advance

Thanks for the quick response. I was able to mess with after work today and noticed a couple of things.

*It's not dead, it's just the lid switch is really wonky and wasn't making contact at all, I discovered this by accidentally pressing down the convex lid which in turn tilted the lid switch safety UP into the switch further, I actually gained cycles that never worked before.

So the switch needs to be replaced.

*After I got it to move again, I tried a couple of functions, it fills with water,agitates, drains to about 1/4 water before rinsing, fills with rinse water. However it will no longer spin, it makes a labored buzzing sound and starts to produce the burning smell I smelled earlier then clicks off, almost like a circuit breaker type thing.

Thanks for the diagram magician, I'll drain it and see if can take a look-see. Judging from the last paragraph, do you have any idea what it may be?

Sorry it's taken so long, after further troubleshooting I've noticed that the washer seems to perform all functions, fill, agitate, rinse and spin but only when told so by the correct working functions on the timer. For example, only the Color - Light cycle works but does not spin the clothes out. I have to move it to the Delicate \ Spin to get the water out. The Whites cycle does not work at all. I also think my original questioning of the motor was due in part to the wonky timer only working some of the time.