Want to guess how to fix my washer?

[aigel]

Any appliance wrenchers on here?

10 year old front loader GE WSXH208A1WW which appears to be also sold by Frigidaire and Kenmore. Motor isn't working.

I pop the back cover off and motor turns freely, belt looks good. There is a control board for the motor speed in the bottom of the machine. It has a fuse - I go pop the fuse out and measure it for continuity- checks out. Pop it back in. Turn machine back on to see if I can pick up some voltage on connectors and the control unit. Now the motor runs again as if nothing happened ...

I go let it run its program and shove it back in the corner. Aside from moving it I also shove the dial back in (turning it off). When I turn it back on - motor not moving again ...

What can I check? What do you think it is? I am thinking intermittent in the motor control board.

It may be time for a new machine? 10 years is a decent run. The new board is $170 - and only good if it fixes the problem ...

George

[aigel]

Sorry - I meant to post this in OT - moderators, please move. Thanks!

George

[pete3799]

Swap in your spare DME relay.......oh wait
I assume you have checked all the wiring connections.
Ours quit one day and i found a loose spade connector had come off.

[Justin@Athens]

Check the door switch, you may have just jolted it around enough when removing the back cover that a bad door switch intermittently won't allow the machine to run.

Just my guess.

[Head416]

I had a similar problem with a dryer recently... ended up being a bad relay. There were two identical relays, one for the heat element and the other for the motor. Swapping them confirmed the relay was the problem. Heat/motor would work intermittently when using the bad relay.

I found surprisingly helpful info just by putting the make and model number into Google. Also, my Kenmore dryer had a troubleshooting guide hidden inside the control panel that you could only get to after taking the dryer apart! WTH?!

[masraum]

I have used these places in the past both to purchase parts and to help diagnose the problem parts for a drier, stove, and refrigerator (multiple).

A-1 Appliance : Appliance Parts & Repair Help

Appliance Repair Manuals ONLINE for do it yourselfers

I've also referred other folks that had good luck. I'm not affiliated, just a happy customer/user.

[sammyg2]

If runs but does not spin, there's a rubber/plastic coupling that goes bad on many of these washers, turn it over and take a look between the gearbox and drum to see if there's all kinds of black plastic dust.
If it doesn't run at all I can't help. Doan know nuthin about sparktricity.


Washer Coupler Coupling 285753A for Whirlpool Kenmore | eBay

[mossguy]

George,

I have been able to maintain and fix my appliances with help from this site:

ApplianceGuru.com: The Samurai Appliance Repair Forums

[Icemaster]

Huh, I have one of those. I had something similar that ended up being the door lock, the motor shuts down when the door seems like its closed, but doesnt fully engage the latch, thankfully keeps the drum from spinning suds and wet clothes all over the floor. Try shoving the door closed tightly and wedge a shim in the door to hold it closed, tightly, that was my test. If so, it's a fairly easy and straightforward replacement, about 45 mins work. I dont think I paid more than 100 bucks of so for the assy.

[LeeH]

Door switch was my guess, too. Can you bypass it to test that theory?

[Hugh R]

Don't know your unit, but you should be able to pull the switch and jumper it.

[aigel]

It sin't the door switch. If I open the door, nothing happens, no water in or pumping.

I wiggled the connectors to the board and it turned a few times, then stopped again.

Looking like a new machine coming my way. Already went shopping - everything out there is pretty terrible with flimsy buttons, drawers and all electronic boards ...

G

[sailchef]

I can't remember exactly, but I had a similar situation where I replaced a switch that was down on the side and bottom of the machine that I believe was connected to a mechanism that shut the washer off during a spin cycle if the load was uneven and the tank began to wobble out of control.

[aigel]

Well, I went and took the control board out to check for any cold solder joints. Tested a few of them for continuity including the solder joints of the connectors. Nothing found. I put the board back in and the sucker now runs. Doing a load of laundry as we speak.

It may be far fetched, but the board is grounded with 2 screws. It could well be possible it wasn't grounded well before as there was a slight leak in there for a year or so before I fixed that.

Keep your finger's crossed. If this load of laundry goes through, it will be back against the wall and run until it goes again.

Cheers,

George

[aigel]

Originally Posted by mossguy

George,

I have been able to maintain and fix my appliances with help from this site:

ApplianceGuru.com: The Samurai Appliance Repair Forums

Well, it died again half way through. That made me upset and a little more motivated to dig...

Thanks for posting this. I ran across the site already when searching for the washer part number but went with your recommendation and specifically searched the site. They had the troubleshooting manual posted there. With it I was able to run their test flow for the motor not working and it came back with the control board being bad.

With my frustration looking at new flimsy models, I'll throw $100 at the old machine and see what happens. Found a used board on ebay that I'll order.

Thanks much everyone for your help. I will report back next week with my results. Below the diagram that helped me trace it to the board. It all makes sense - something is intermittent on that board ...

George

[aigel]

The ebay controller arrived today. Put it in and just finished the first load of laundry! Having a celebratory brew. Everything back to normal. Thanks guys for your support. I can fix anything but not without the help of my Porsche brothers and the interwebs!

Cheers,

George

[pete3799]

Pictures of the washer........or it didn't happen.