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roy805  
#1 Posted : Sunday, May 17, 2009 4:11:49 PM(UTC)
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roy805

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My Sister-in-law's GE washer will not Agitate. It does Spin, Fill, and Drain but will not Agitate during the Wash Cycle. I've checked the Splines on the Agitator and all looks good. I've also checked the Magnetic door switch and that seems fine as well. What can it be? I'm not sure what to look for next so any help is greatly appreciated!!!!

-Roy
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applianceman  
#2 Posted : Sunday, May 17, 2009 6:17:41 PM(UTC)
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applianceman

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Have you checked the agitator coupling? This is the yellow coupling under the agitator. If it working properly, you shouldn’t be able to turn it by hand. GE Washer Not Agitating Repair Guide
roy805  
#3 Posted : Monday, May 18, 2009 6:49:50 AM(UTC)
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roy805

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The Coupling is still good and I believe the pressure switch is good as well. My next guess was the timer. After playing with it for a while I was able to get it to agitate however, I'm hesitant to say it is fixed because I'm sure it will start "malfunctioning" again. How can I test the timer or would an appliance parts store be able to do that?
applianceman  
#4 Posted : Monday, May 18, 2009 7:41:38 AM(UTC)
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applianceman

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The timer will be hard to check and I don’t think a parts store will be able to check it. What did you do to make it work? A repairman that knows how to read a wiring diagram well would be able to check it, with it still on the washer. Timers don’t give much trouble but if you can eliminate all other possible causes (motor and pressure switch) you can try the timer. Can you hear the main motor running? If not you know its electrical (motor, pressure switch, timer) and if you can the problem is mechanical (belt, transmission). Check all that out repost and I will try to help.
roy805  
#5 Posted : Monday, May 18, 2009 10:33:13 AM(UTC)
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roy805

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Thanks applianceman. I'm not sure what I did other than left it alone for a day or two then came back to it. During the times it didn't work I heard no noise at all, it just sat there with a tub full of water and nothing else. I adjusted the timer to the drain setting and it would drain then spin once it was empty. The Belt is fine and due to the spin cycle working I believe the motor is fine as well. I have checked the magnetic lid switch by doing a continuity test and it has continuity when closed and no continuity when open. As far as the pressure switch it has three wires which I've performed cont. test as well and it passes with only two of the three wires when empty but when full it passes with all three. I also think the pressure switch is ok because I have yet to see it overfill. I did manually spin the "transmission" or whatever you call the piece between the bowl and the motor underneath before working on it yesterday but since I didn't hear anything before I assumed it was electrical. If you think it may be the pressure switch I can easily give that a shot since it doesn't cost very much ($8.00 or so I believe) but I'd hate to change the timer out on a whim since it is more like $80.00 or so. Is the schematic in the washer the one for the timer or would this be a separate one? I have some (very little) experience with wire schematics. Again thanks for the help!
applianceman  
#6 Posted : Tuesday, May 19, 2009 4:56:00 PM(UTC)
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applianceman

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It really sounds like the timer but I can’t say. The wiring diagram shows the timer contacts all over the diagram. They are indicated by a symbol you should see a key. You would have to (while the washer is not working) find out if the contacts inside the timer that send power to the motor during wash is working. This is not something I can very well tell you how to do. I am not saying you can’t do it but I really don’t know how to explain it over the Internet. Note that you will have to have the timer in wash mode and the knob pulled out.

Also to help out you should see a chart on your mini manual that shows which timer contacts are closed for how long and what each one does. Like on mine (got out diagram to my washer) the timer contacts #17 and #18 have to be closed as well as #20 and #21. This may be the same for yours and it may not.
Gneiss27  
#7 Posted : Sunday, November 15, 2015 8:02:24 PM(UTC)
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I had the exact same problem. Everything worked but the agitation, and no humming or clicking after filling with water, it was just dead. I tried unplugging, replugging, and opening and closing the door up to ten times in succession, without success. Then I removed the agitator, and found two safety pins and a clothing tag chain underneath. I removed them, and replaced the same agitator, but there was no change. I then removed the agitator again, and the agitator coupling. The coupling looked fine, so I put it and the agitator back on the next day. I then filled the machine and nothing happened until almost two hours later when I heard it humming. I closed the door, and turned the selector back to the beginning of the cycle, and the washer started agitating. It has been working fine for two days now.
Andrew_P  
#8 Posted : Saturday, December 12, 2020 1:41:00 PM(UTC)
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Andrew_P

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I have a 26-year-old G.E. six-cycle washer that just today exhibited exactly the same symptoms described by the original poster, roy805. I've used the washer occasionally in recent months to spin hand-washed items, but haven't run a normal load of laundry in about a year, if memory serves, because my lady friend offers to wash my laundry, perhaps to get me to hang around for company while I'm waiting for the load to finish washing and drying. Today I loaded the washer, let it fill, and when it came time to wash, there was just the hum of the motor, but no mechanical noises from the transmission and no agitation. I advanced the control to "spin", drained the tub and tried turning the agitator by hand, but it was solid, locked to the basket, and I could only turn the basket with considerable effort. suggesting the drive belt is still good. I then refilled the tub and to my surprise the agitator began to work as normal. My suspicion is that some grease in the transmission has gotten stiff with age and through lack of use for that last year. There is a small puddle of water under the machine, suggesting the pump shaft seal is giving out, but that is another matter.
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