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Kitchen Aid washer made by Whirlpool, model KAWS700G. A couple months ago, the rubber and plastic coupling between the motor and transmission broke. That was a fairly easy fix.
New problem this time. Last week I was doing a load of towels and while I was standing there the timer quit turning and made a loud humming sound. I took the timer out and sprayed it out with contact cleaner but that didn't help.
I went to the local parts store and bought a new genuine Whirlpool replacement timer. I installed the timer and it hummed loudly like the other one but the knob moved around for a couple minutes and then it stopped and the hum went away.
I turned the knob around to spin again (spin so the machine wouldn't fill with water). Nothing. No hum. No movement.
Before I make the trek back to the parts store, is it likely that I got a bad replacement timer?
Any other likely points of failure?
Thanks.
I'm not an expert or I wouldn't be here asking, but I am fairly competent with tools and not afraid to tackle repairs.
Thanks again.
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where do you hear the humming noise coming from, is it in the control head with the timer or could it be coming from lower inside the case?
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Originally Posted by: brobriffin where do you hear the humming noise coming from, is it in the control head with the timer or could it be coming from lower inside the case? It seems to be from the control panel. I'm thinking that anything could hum that would be lower down would be way at the bottom where the motor is. Before you ask, the fill valve seems to be working fine.
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Just for fun have you tried running an agitation cycle. 1. If so, I am sure it fills with water as you said water valve work fine, but does it agitate? 2. If it does and you let it advance to drain and spin does it drain or spin?
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Originally Posted by: brobriffin Just for fun have you tried running an agitation cycle. 1. If so, I am sure it fills with water as you said water valve work fine, but does it agitate? 2. If it does and you let it advance to drain and spin does it drain or spin? Okay, I just did what you suggested. I found out that I was wrong. The timer is advancing. I can hear the timer motor running with my ear right next to it but the loud hum that I mentioned earlier is gone. Interesting. The timer advances but other than fill, nothing else happens. No agitation, no drain, no spin. Now I have a washer half filled with water :-( The lights in the laundry are on the same circuit as the washer's outlet and when I pull the knob out (or push it in, don't recall which it requires) to turn it on, the lights dim a bit. To me that says that something is pulling quite a bit of current. Thanks for your help so far.
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With the humming sound and what else you explained I suspect the start/run capacitor might be bad. This is a very cheap thing to replace. Unless you have a digital multi-meter to check how many microfarads your capacitor has I would suggest replacing it and see if there is a change. This is the part number you need. WP8572720
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Originally Posted by: brobriffin With the humming sound and what else you explained I suspect the start/run capacitor might be bad. This is a very cheap thing to replace. Unless you have a digital multi-meter to check how many microfarads your capacitor has I would suggest replacing it and see if there is a change. This is the part number you need. WP8572720 My DMM does not do capacitance :-( I never thought that I'd need that function. I guess that I was wrong. I'll order one and give that a shot. Thanks.
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I looked up how to test a capacitor with a DMM. It said to put my meter across it set for resistance and the reading should start at zero and go up.
I pulled the cap from my washer. It doesn't look or smell blown.
Following the directions that I found online, I put the DMM's probes onto the terminals of the capacitor. The reading jumps to 3.5 megohm almost immediately and then continues to go up slowly.
Still think that it might be the capacitor? I've replaced capacitors in a couple fans and those looked swollen and burnt.
I don't want to order a $40 capacitor and find out that wasn't the problem.
Thanks.
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Over time and use they tend to lose their capacitance. A capacitor can still work but not be the correct capacitance. This one should be between 324 to 389 µf (microfarads). If it is significantly less this will cause the motor to humm and not start or run.
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Perhaps you have a friend, or relative that has a meter to check it out.
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