Having problems with washer not completing cycle. Loud buzzing as motor tries to start the spin cycle, but within a few seconds it trips the overload protection circuit. Then it cools off for a couple minutes and tries again and the overload trips again. It does run enough to start the tub spinning and the tub seems to spin freely.

I took the motor and pump out, the belt is pretty much shot. But I tried running the motor with the pump and the belt _both_ disconnected, so basically just the motor spinning itself with no load and it still tripped the overload. I ohmed it out and everything seems ok, but I'm assuming the motor is shot. The pump doesn't spin all that freely, so I think I'm looking at a new pump, belt and motor.

The question is how can I be sure the problem is the motor and not the timer/controller sending conflicting signals to the motor? It would be a shame to put a $200 pump in and have the controller burn it out.

Any troubleshooting advice? This is the first time I've dug this deep into a washing machine, so all advice is appreciated.

Thanks in advance!