ANYONE AN APPLIANCE GENIUS? What could be wrong with my washer?
Question:I put a load in as usual, and it stopped before emptying. and there it sits. On any cycle setting, the empty/spin portion will not work at all. It will aggitate and fill with water, that's it. Any suggestions to what the problem is? I cannot afford a new washing machine, and repairs will be costly, I'm sure. Any advise will be appreciated.
Answers:
sounds like a bad lid switch, it thinks the lid is open. you can take the switch off and put the 2 wires together that should fix it.
I could not say for sure without testing, but there is generally two main causes first the lid switch. second bad contacts in the timer. If you have a multimeter you can unplug the machine hook up meter to leads on switch set meter to continuity and manually activate switch if the meter shows continuity(simply a path for electricity, generally the meter has a buzzer of some type on continuity.setting) jumping out the switch will also test it connect the wire directly if it runs this is your problem.
As for the timer they are a little more complicated to troubleshot, first look for lose broken burnt are disconnected wires, a simple way is with the power of some timers will have a easily removable cover look for burnt contacts usually you will see the problem occasionally there is a problem with the cams that activate the switches.The other way to test the timer is to take continuity reading on the the wires coming out of the timer this requires you to read the wiring diagram and identify the correct wires, power in to contacts and power out place one lead on the power in to the contacts and one to the power out, then manaualy turn timer to spin setting and check if you have continuity I would start with the easiest the lid switch and loose wires our bad connections. BE CAREFUL WORKING ON MACHINE MAKE SURE YOUR POWER IS OFF TO THE MACHINE, WORKING ON LIVE ELECTRICITY IS DANGEROUS
Below are a few links to sites that should be able to give you a little more help.some include wiring diagrams sell parts and have many tips that you may find useful.
Try cleaning the filter when you remove the cover check
the impeller make sure it turns freely it has probably got something stuck in it.failing that the pump could be knackered
washers and dryers are so well made that only a couple of things could be wrong if they stop. It could be you have too much weight in the washer, or it could be lint build-up either on the machine's part or in the pipe in the wall. If you are handy or know someone who is, they can unplug the machine and turn it around and remove all the accumulated dust and unscrew the pipe and check if that's where the plug is. If it's in the wall or in the pipe that goes out into the yard underground then usually a repairman is called to snake it out.
What you need to do is determine if the motor is working at all. To do this put the washer in the 'wash' mode and see if it spins when the lid is closed / open. Now 'Spin' mode with lid closed/ open.
Results:
Washes but won't spin - Timer Control faulty
Won't wash, won't spin :
... . a. Switch faulty
... ..b.Motor faulty
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Test the switch, by testing its resistance with a meter with no power to the switch. (unplug washer).
In one position you should see an extremely high resistance ( maybe infinity).
In the other position you should see a low resistance value.
If you get the same reading, or close to it, for both positions the switch is probably bad.
If the switch test to be good it is probably the motor itself.
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On the other hand, if the washer does wash but don't spin then it is probably the control timer ( the selector knob). It is best to just replace these with a new unit rather than try to repair the old one.
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Reasoning: if the switch or motor is bad then they will be bad all the time, but it is unlikely both would be suddenly faulty at the exact same time unless one shorted out the other.
For either or both of these two to be faulty would mean the washer cannot wash or spin. Testing only the switch will determine its state, which will determine the state of the remaining element - or most likely state.
If the washer performs one action and not the other it is more likely than not the timer control wires or contacts since the switch worked for the other action, and the motor worked for the other action. This is why you should determine if both actions or only one action is not being performed. "Does the washer spin and wash" is the question to be answered. Only then will the answer be revealed.
BTW: If it were the pump the washer will still spin but the water will not emply.
If it were not spinning because of too much weight, then it will not wash because the weight is the same.
Put less weight in and test this to be true or false.
SOUNDS LIKE YOUR BELT IS BROKE
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