whirlpool washer not completing spin cycle

Washer Repair
1

In September of 2016 I purchased a whirlpool wtw5000dw1 washing machine at Lowes on sale for 399.99, yeah I know now, my mistake (if I knew then what I know now, I would have rebuilt my 15 year old washing machine completely). Anyway, my problem was this washing machine would not complete the spin cycle, it would attempt it, drain the machine and spin very slowly throwing up the code for a slow drain problem. The machine would complete a drain and spin cycle if I shut it down and set it to this cycle just fine. After nothing but a hassle and a few choice words for Whirlpool customer service about the time table involved, I picked up the front of the machine pulled out the service manual and went to work along with my laptop at my side for references to online forums for additional help. Most everything I found online was replacing expensive parts in a failed attempt to solve the problem essentially throwing money at the problem and hoping it fixed it. I found one piece of advice, I for the life of me can not remember where, about soap suds messing up the water level sensor, and how to correct the problem. So far so good on my machine, so here is a quick very low cost hopefully a solution to your problem also.

  1. take your control panel off to access the electronic control module,(or what ever you want to call it)
  2. connected to this control module is a clear plastic tube. (this connects to the water level sensor), remove it from the control module.
  3. get a turkey baster or something equivalent that you use to dump vinegar through this tube.
  4. use what ever it was that you found, and run pure white vinegar through this tube to clean it out.

What this does is cleans out the water level sensor which possibly has soap suds or dirt in it clogging it up.
This is what I have tried, and it has worked. The washing machine is up to this point and time been working fine again.

One more thing I have found in my searches for a fix to this problem, be careful of the detergent you use, someone mentioned this in another forum and recommended Molly`s soap powder. Have not tried this, but hey if it helps the longevity of this machine I am up for giving it a try.

I hope this helps someone out who may be experiencing the same problems with the spin cycle problem on these terrible machines. Good luck…

2

This washing machine worked fine for 8 loads under normal and quick wash settings. On load number 9 we washed some blankets and set the machine on bulky items/sheets, problem returned. There is no way you can convince me this is a problem mechanical or electrical. I am going to clean out the water level hose once again, on a hunch it is the detergent I am using creating the problem and blocking this hose with suds. I will reply back to this thread with a response as to how it worked, just be patient and stay tuned in.
BTW this hose only goes to the tub, the sensor is part of the electronic control.

3

In my previous post, i posted the problem returned. I removed the control panel and cleaned the water level hose once again, ran another load of laundry, and presto, the machine worked flawlessly. Now I can not say this is the root of anybody else`s problems, but it is definitely where I would start in an effort to correct this spin cycle problem, as the cost is zero if you have the white vinegar on hand. Cleaning this hose only takes about 15 to 20 minutes tops the first time around, this last time I cleaned it, it took 5 minutes start to finish.

I am certain that my problem lies with this water level hose, and a change of laundry detergents.

Hopefully this helps others in solving their problem of incomplete spin cycles.

4

In my three previous post I clean the tube for the water level sensor. While cleaning this I also unplugged the machine resetting the control board and removing all codes, which is why the thing worked fine afterwards. The problem persists, and now will not complete the spin cycle in any setting without giving a fault. It will drain and spin my clothes dry, and abruptly thereafter will engage the drain pump til it gives a fault code. If I unplug it, it resets the control board and will work fine for a load of laundry. After putting this machine in manual diagnostic mode, I have figured out the control board needs replaced, the water level sensor built into the board is failing or has failed. Seems to be quite the common problem with these whirlpool Cabrio washing machines.