My Maytag washer (LAT8214AAE) fills up and agitates fine and starts to drain/spin, but then stops spinning/draining after about 5-7 seconds. When it stops spinning I hear a click sound coming from the Motor Switch. I manually moved the timer knob to bring it around to the end of the wash (agitate) portion of the cycle (where it would normally begin the spin function), and observed that it would repeat the same behavior, but only after first needing to wait approx at least 20-30 seconds before hearing another click sound from the Motor Switch. I would then try this out again and the same thing keeps happening. With the weight of all the water remaining in the tub (presumably creating a large load), when it would start to spin and then stop, I also started seeing a bit of smoke coming from the area of the Drive Motor.

I replaced both the Pump Belt and the Drive Belt, and checked that the Motor pulley spins freely, but the problem was still happening. I removed all of the water with a wet vac and then proceeded to try this out again, but still observed the same behavior with it starting to spin and then stopping. I then removed and checked both the Tub to Pump Hose and the Drain Hose, as well as removed the (see-through) Drain Pump and found nothing to clog anything up. The impeller spins freely, and even though I had seen water flowing through the Drain Pump in the short amount of time that it was draining (before it stopped spinning) , I replaced the Drain Pump anyway and reconnected the hoses. The same problem continued to occur.

I then removed the Tub & Gasket Cover off the top of the tub and looked thoroughly with a flashlight between the Inner and Outer tubs to see if there was anything wedged between the tubs, but nothing found. I also removed and examined the Water Level Pressure Switch Hose for anything somehow clogged or for any cracks, but found nothing. I put everything back together and decided to replace the entire Lid Switch Assembly (which includes both the Lid Check Switch and the Door Lid Switch) since it was inexpensive to do and could have been a potential cause. Unfortunately this did not resolve the issue either.

Since I continue to hear the click sound coming from the Motor Switch, and had previously seen smoke coming from what seemed to be the Drive Motor, I decided to replace the Drive Motor (which came with a new Motor Switch). Despite having done that, the same problem exists, and the same clicking sound is heard. At this point I was left to think that the problem could potentially be with the Timer Control, even though I already had to replace the Timer last year. So, I replaced the (one year old) timer with yet another new one, but yet the same behavior is still occurring.

Since I am nearing my wit’s end with this, I then decided to replace the Pressure Switch since I could not see what else could possibly be causing the issue. Even though this part is discontinued, I was able to find a working replacement part. Of course, the damn problem is STILL happening of starting to spin briefly and then stopping.

I confirmed that the machine itself is square and level, The inner tub looks centered when spinning and there is no increased shaking or vibrating movement occurring when the inner tub spins for the very short amount of time that it does, so it does not seem like there would be an issue with any of the dampening pads, nor am I hearing any type of rattling, grinding or squealing noise that one would normally associate with a bearing related issue.

I also buzzed out the (old and new) Pressure Switch and the (old and new) Lid Switch Assembly for correct continuity, and found everything checking out to be functioning as it should continuity-wise. I have not replaced the Water Temp Switch nor the Water Inlet Valve. It seems as though something might be triggering the Overload Protection circuitry of the Drive Motor to kick in, but I can’t figure out what would be causing this.

I would not believe that it is a motor issue because it agitates fine. To my understanding, the motor has a thermostat inside of it. I think the click I am hearing is the thermostat clicking on and off once when it over heats and once when it cools off. And that this issue may actually not be electrical but mechanical, but would need to find out from a technician who is familiar with troubleshooting mechanical related issues to see what he may specifically advise about figuring out what is causing an extra load on the motor.