Brand:GE Model Number: GFW550SSN1WW Main Symptom: Washer stops mid cycle What happens & when: The washer will start a cycle, but ends mid cycle. Prior to the cycle ending the tub has drained but the clothes have not been spun out and remain wet.
Error Code (if any): 3, 38, 26, 39, 45
Parts or tests already tried: Checked for blockage in the tube to pump tube, filter, and pump impeller. All clear with not obstructions and impeller spins freely. No issues with draining water from the tube.
Checked the pressure chamber and pressure tube. Both clear with no obstructions.
When the cycle stops mid cycle I am able to run the Rinse and Spin cycle and the clothes will spin out and come out dry.
I have run the following Field Service Tests as indicated by the Faults Codes:
Test 14 - Spin - Completed test successfully
Test 24 - Damper - Completed test successfully
Help that I am looking for.
From the repair action notes and other reviews related to the invertor board, it appears that the invertor board may be the issue. Looking if there are any other diagnostics to confirm the invertor board issue, anything else that I may be missing or if I just need to order the invertor board.
Confirmation on whether fault codes are reset if the washer is unplugged or if there is another way to clear fault codes.
For this symptom, I would not order the inverter board yet. The biggest clue is that Test 14 Spin passes and Rinse & Spin works normally after the failure. That tells us the motor/inverter system is capable of reaching spin speed.
What the codes are pointing toward
On this GE platform, the codes you listed collectively point more toward a cycle-condition / water-level / balance problem than a hard inverter failure.
The ones I would concentrate on are 26, 38, and 39. Since you’ve already verified the drain path, pump, pressure chamber, and pressure hose, the next thing I would want to determine is whether the control is seeing the correct empty-water-level signal after draining.
A washer can physically pump all the water out but still refuse to enter final spin if the control believes water remains in the tub.
Next test I would do
Go into service mode and look at the pressure/water-level reading with the tub completely empty.
Then:
With the washer empty, verify the pressure reading is at or very near the expected empty value.
Add some water and make sure the pressure reading changes smoothly.
Drain it and watch whether the reading returns all the way to its original empty value.
Pay particular attention immediately after the drain portion of a cycle.
If the pressure reading hangs above empty even though you’ve visually confirmed the tub is drained, I would pursue the pressure sensing circuit/main control rather than the inverter.
Also check the inverter connections
Before replacing anything, unplug the washer and reseat the connectors at:
Main control → inverter → motor
Look closely for a backed-out terminal, corrosion, loose pin fit, or damaged harness. Don’t just check that the plugs are attached—a terminal can be loose inside the connector.
If available in service mode, run the motor at the different commanded speeds rather than only relying on Test 14.
Why I’m hesitant to condemn the inverter
A failing inverter certainly can cause an intermittent spin problem, but your sequence doesn’t fit a straightforward inverter failure very well:
If the inverter couldn’t drive the motor, I would expect the separate Rinse & Spin or Test 14 to reproduce the problem at least intermittently.
I’d also try a couple of loads while watching whether this is related to load size or balance. Code 26 becomes more meaningful if the machine repeatedly attempts to redistribute the load before giving up on final spin.
Clearing the fault history
Unplugging the washer does not normally erase the stored fault history. Power cycling resets the electronics, but the diagnostic fault history is retained in nonvolatile memory.
The codes should be cleared through the service/diagnostic mode fault-code clearing procedure. This is useful here: write down the current codes, clear the history, run several normal cycles, and then go back into diagnostics. The first code that returns is much more useful than a collection of old stored codes.
What I would do before buying the inverter
My order would be:
Clear codes → run normal cycle → retrieve new codes → verify empty pressure reading → inspect/reseat inverter and motor harness → repeat Test 14 → only then consider the inverter.
If it fails another Normal cycle, tell me which codes return after you’ve cleared the old ones, especially whether 26, 38, 39, or 45 comes back first. That should narrow this down considerably.
Thank you for the reply. I understand the steps you have laid out. One question I do have though is how where do I find information on the service/diagnostic mode fault-code clearing procedure?
For GE GFW550SSN1WW, you can clear the stored fault codes through Service Mode:
Washer must be idle with the door closed.
Press and hold Start.
While holding Start, rotate the cycle knob 180° (7 clicks), then release Start.
The washer should enter Service Mode.
Rotate the knob until you reach Test 1 – Error Codes.
Press Start to enter the test and review the stored faults.
To clear all stored fault codes, press and hold Start for about 3 seconds while in the error-code test.
Exit Service Mode by pressing Power, or unplug the washer.
After clearing them, run a normal cycle and then re-enter diagnostics. The codes that return are the ones I would diagnose.
For your earlier GFW550SSN1WW case with 3, 38, 26, 39, and 45, clearing them before another test cycle is a good way to separate old/history faults from the fault actually causing the current mid-cycle shutdown. GFW510SC 31-3000219-3_HiRes.pdf (2.7 MB)
Thanks for the information on how to clear the codes, however I am having an issue getting them cleared. I can get into Service Mode, choose Test 1, press Start and it will cycle through the stored fault codes 3, 38, 26, 39, and 45. When I try to hold Start for 3 seconds, that just exits the Service Mode.
On the GFW550SSN1WW, I would not worry about clearing those stored fault codes. The GE service guide describes Service Mode as being used to access/display fault codes, but it does not provide a normal “clear all stored faults” procedure in the Service Mode test table.
So instead of trying to erase 3, 38, 26, 39, 45, do this:
Write down the existing codes in their current order.
Exit diagnostics.
Unplug the washer for at least 30 seconds. GE specifically uses a 30-second power disconnect to reset the inverter for inverter-related faults.
Plug it back in.
Run a Normal cycle and allow the original failure to happen again.
Go immediately back into Service Mode and read the fault history again.
Look for a new code or a change in the order/history.
Since Spin Test 14 passes and Damper Test 24 passes, I wouldn’t replace the inverter or damper solely because those old codes remain stored. The GE guide specifically uses successful completion of Spin Test 14 when evaluating inverter faults.
I’d run the Normal cycle now and see exactly what it does when it quits—particularly whether it drains, attempts to redistribute, attempts to spin, and then simply ends. That behavior combined with whatever code moves to the front of the history should narrow this down considerably.
Normal Wash Cycle - The cycle completed as it should but I did notice that during the wash and rinse cycles when the tub would stop and then change direction that a couple of times the tub would start to turn slightly and then stop. It would then turn in the other direction as it should. There was one time that the tub started to turn slightly and stopped 2 times in a row.
Cold Wash Cycle - The cycle completed as it should but I did notice that during the wash and rinse cycles when the tub would stop and then change direction that a couple of times the tub would start to turn slightly and then stop just as it had done in the normal cycle. It would then turn in the other direction as it should. There was also another time that the tub started to turn slightly and stopped 2 times in a row.
Towels Wash Cycle - The cycle did not complete as it should. With this cycle there were more instances where the tub would stop to change direction and the tub would start to move slightly and then stop. It would also start to move and make a half revolution and then stop. After a number of these instances the washer just ended the cycle. The washer wasn’t trying to spin the clothes would it ended the cycle, it was during a wash / rinse tub movement. That is the reason that the clothes are still wet, though the tub wasn’t full of water when the cycle ended. I checked the fault codes when the cycle ended and the same codes were present in the same order 3, 38, 26, 39, 45.
Rinse and Spin Cycle - The cycle did complete as it should, though a similar behavior was witnessed with the tub starting to move and then stopping. The machine had no issue getting up to spin speed to spin the towels out in this cycle, though at the end of the cycle the tub stopped and tried to change directions, stopped and finished the cycle.
I did notice that during the operation that the light in the room that the washer was in would dim a bit every time that the tub started to move in a direction again. I haven’t ever sat and watched the machine go through the whole cycle before with the light on so I can’t say if this is normal behavior or not, but that I would mention it as it was something that I noticed.
Look forward to hearing your feedback based on these observations.
That additional testing changes the picture quite a bit. The most important symptom is no longer the wet clothes or failure to spin. It is this:
Since the washer can still accelerate a load of wet towels to full spin speed during Rinse & Spin, I don’t think we’re dealing with a basic drain problem or a motor that simply cannot turn the load.
What I think is happening
I’m leaning much more strongly toward an intermittent motor-drive problem, with the inverter board/motor control circuit at the top of the list.
The sequence makes sense:
Control commands tumble → inverter attempts to start motor → motor moves slightly → drive loses/aborts the start → control retries → eventually enough failed motor starts occur that the control terminates the cycle.
That also explains why the Towels cycle failed first. The heavier load puts more demand on the motor during those low-speed starts and reversals.
The successful high-speed spin doesn’t rule out the inverter. Starting and controlling the motor repeatedly at very low RPM and reversing direction is a different operating condition than maintaining a motor that’s already accelerated into spin.
The room light dimming is useful information
A very slight, momentary flicker when the motor starts isn’t automatically abnormal.
But if the light noticeably dims specifically during one of those failed drum-start attempts, that’s interesting. It suggests the motor drive is drawing current while attempting to start the motor.
Before replacing anything, however, I would eliminate the supply as a variable.
Check the outlet voltage:
Washer sitting idle: approximately 120 VAC
While normally tumbling
Most importantly, watch the meter during one of the failed starts
I don’t want to see the supply dropping substantially when the drum tries to start. If you’re seeing something like 120 V dropping into the low 100s, stop there and investigate the outlet/circuit connections.
Then check the mechanical load
Unplug the washer and rotate the drum slowly by hand.
It should turn smoothly through an entire revolution. You’re looking for:
tight spots
scraping
bearing roughness
something caught between tubs
unusual belt resistance
a point where substantially more effort is required to rotate it
Also inspect the belt and pulley.
If you want to separate the motor from the tub mechanically, remove the belt and turn the drum and motor independently. Both should be smooth.
Then I would concentrate on the inverter/motor circuit
Before buying the inverter, inspect and reseat the connections between:
Main control → inverter → drive motor
Look especially closely for a connector that isn’t fully seated, backed-out terminal, corrosion, overheated terminal or damaged wire near the motor where vibration can affect it.
At this point, codes 38 and 39 aren’t where I’d spend my time. You passed Damper Test 24, and the actual failure you observed is occurring exactly when the machine is attempting motor movement.
Likewise, code 26 may be secondary to the unsuccessful drum movements/load handling.
The codes that fit what we’re physically watching much better are 3 and 45.
One test I’d really like you to do
Put the wet towels back in the washer so we have the load that produced the failure.
Run Service Test 14 – Spin again.
Don’t just record pass/fail this time. Watch the drum very closely during the initial low-speed portion and acceleration.
If it hesitates, twitches, starts/stops or makes repeated attempts before accelerating, that’s excellent evidence that we’re chasing the motor drive rather than the wash-cycle programming.
If Test 14 is absolutely flawless even with the heavy wet load, but normal tumble continues to misfire, that becomes useful information too.
Where I’d rank it now
Based on everything you’ve observed, my order would be:
1. Inverter/motor control circuit — strongest suspect 2. Harness/connectors between inverter, motor and main control 3. Motor itself 4. Main control board 5. Mechanical drag
I would not replace the inverter quite yet. First do the loaded Test 14, hand-rotation/mechanical check, connector inspection, and preferably the outlet-voltage test.
The fact that you actually watched the drum repeatedly fail to initiate low-speed movements before the Towels cycle terminated is the best diagnostic information we’ve gotten so far. That’s the behavior I’d chase.
I tried using wet towels to try to reproduce the failure using the service tests, but the test completed as expected.
I did find that service test 16 clears the fault codes. I cleared the fault codes and ran another load of laundry. I didn’t have time to sit and watch this cycle, but I checked on it at about 15 minutes left and walked away and then I received a notification that the cycle had ended, but it didn’t complete the cycle. I checked the fault code and the only fault code was 45, Inverter fault. I than ran a Rinse and Spin cycle without the extra rinse and the cycle completed as it should.
I ordered an inverter board as I didn’t want to tear the machine apart and not have a part to fix it with if I don’t see any loose connections.
I will post back once I open the machine up to check connections and potentially swap the inverter board.
I opened the machine up and didn’t see any connections issues. I swapped out the inverter board. We have ran 5 loads through the machine with no issues.