OK, I know that my washer is 19 years old, but if I can fix it for less than a third of what a new washer (albeit the new ones may be better and more efficient), than I figure it is worth it (unless someone more experienced can make an argument otherwise).
The last couple of times it was used, I noticed a slight electrical burning odor. I could not tell where it was emanating from, but I figured the motor was the place to start. I took off the cabinet and tested the starter switch and the motor as the repair manual indicated. Everything tested fine until I checked for shorts to the motor case. There my ohm meter gave readings in the magnitude of about 8 MILLION ohms between the case a few of the wires from the motor. New motor, right? But then I went back and tested again and got no reading. So what does this tell me? Do I need a new motor or not?
Second question - I removed the agitator and the tub to clean out all the stuff that accumulates over time and found that the porcelain in the center tube of the tub has chipped and the underlyinf metal has rusted a bit. No holes rusted through and the metal is still thick and strong as best I can tell. Do I need to replace the tub with a new one or is this “normal” and will last many more years? If I don’t need to replace the tub, should I try to seal the bare spots with epoxy or is that not necessary?
I would check the motor current in agitate and spin, if the current is over 10 amps in spin, you have dragging brake shoes that may burn out the motor. Also, I would pull the cover off the timer and check for burnt contacts. Also, pull the motor and check for bad bearings.
Thank you.
Do I have to dismantle the motor to check the bearings? Also, How would I go about checking the current draw as you mention? Could you give me detailed instructions? I have a high quality meter, but I am a bit of a neophyte when it comes to electrical things (I am much better at mechanical items).
Thanks. Sears has one for $33. Lowes has one for $70.
Can I measure the draw on the wire that plugs in the wall? I know that will pick up the amperage of the entire machine, but that is essentially the motor.
I re-assembled everything and measured the current dram at the wire that plugs in the wall and found that on agitation the machine has a total draw of about 7.75 amps. On spin it varies from 9 to 10.75 amps (the 10.75 is near the beginning of the spin cycle and after a couple of minutes it settles down to a little more than 9 amps.
How does that compare to the way it is supposed to be?
Sounds normal to me. You might want to test at low speed and different cycles.
If you have dragging brake shoes, the spin current will be 10 or more amps. I would do the test I suggested, turn the tranny coupler to check for dragging brakes.
When stopped, should I be able to turn the basket by hand? How much resistance should there be? If there is a lot of resistance, would that indicate dragging brakes?
Pull the motor and turn the coupler clockwise. If hard to turn with thumb and forefinger, you have dragging brake shoes, or something in the tub. Use both hands to turn spin basket, If you can turn it then, you have nothing jamming the tub, but you have jamming brake shoes. If so, go to my article on this in the general talk area.
OK, I checked what you said to check - I pulled the motor and was able to turn the coupling with two fingers and the tub will turn clockwise.
But now I have a new problem - the motor won’t always engage. It just hums and pulls about 30 amps. I am still able to turn the coupling and the tub and the motor shaft. Should I be able to do all that if the brake was jammed?
Check the motor start switch pins, you may have one not making contact.
If ok, pull the motor, jumper the lid switch socket, and see if the motor will now run.
Thanks, Rich. I did check the start switch, but doesn’t hurt to check again and it is easy.
And thanks for confirming that the next step was pulling the motor to see if it runs by itself. As for jumpering the lid switch wires, there are three wires - green, brown and gray. Which ones do I jumper? I think the green is the ground.
Pulling the cabinet and putting it back is such a pain!!
Before disassembling again, I tried the spin cycle (I didn’t want to deal with a tub full of water if the agitation cycle didn’t work). The motor started but the machine was VERY noisy - like a lot of clunking. I removed the agitator and tub and tried again. Still noisy. Removed the motor to try it alone and I now notice a very slight amount of play in the shaft at the end that mates with the pump (I never noticed it before though I did check for it). The play is about 1/32 - 1/16 inch movement. The motor starts and runs in spin cycle unattached. I again tried turning the coupling by hand and find it different than last time. I could turn it a little clockwise and then it stops. I can turn it counter clockwise for several turns - presumably all I want. I can then turn it clockwise until I get back to that same spot. Then it stops.
So, does the small amount of play in the motor shaft indicate I need to correct that? If so, can I just replace the bearing or do I need to go with a whole new motor?
Do I have a problem with the brake, clutch, and/or gears?
Is it worthwhile fixing? (other than the aggravation factor - I really don’t want to be tearing it apart weekly).