Hey everyone!
Okay, we put Ross' '56 through a test wash to examine what was happening.
Here were our findings--some are encouraging; some imply a bit of part hunting.
1.) The clutch torque spring seems fine. The machine will spin and agitate appropriately (but we found out why it didn't do that consistently--more on that in a moment). It "unwinds" and such at the beginning of agitation, so that seems good.
2.) There is an odor that emanates from underneath when it spins--it smells like hot electrical something. Due to the fact that it ONLY makes its presence known when it engages the spin solenoid, I'm betting the solenoid is having issues. Is it altogether unheard of to have these guys wear out?
3.) The awful noise the machine occasionally makes seems to be the dreaded Frigidaire fan noise. The fan is somewhat loose underneath, and though it does spin and seems to cool the motor (at least as much as it can), it needs attention. I don't think it should be that loose. Notably, it makes the rattling noise only during agitation periods--the machine is silent once it hits the full 1140 rpm.
4.) The old pump impeller is shot, so a (rather creative but stupid--more on that in a second) person put an electric pump on the machine, and the old pump is not used.
Here's the thing that caused havoc on the machine's operation:
The mechanic who initially supplied Ross with the machine attached this auxiliary pump (self-powered electrical) to the machine.
BUT
Knowing that the OEM pump ran whenever the motor ran, this meant that the machine was pumped clear of any overflow water whenever the motor ran. Obviously, for overflow rinses or any splashover, this is important.
The guy that attached this pump attached spade splitters (as best as I can describe them) to the spin solenoid, thus splitting the current to the pump, so that it would activate and pump out the water--BUT ONLY WHEN THE MACHINE WOULD SPIN!
So, naturally, the machine was encountering trouble engaging the solenoid, because the stupid aux. pump was siphoning off current while the solenoid was trying to engage. Feh!!
Not to mention the fact that the original power cord was HORRID and needed replacing.
Thus, the aux. pump drew current away from the solenoid, AND drew extra current through the machine's cord--making it hot to the touch.
Add to that the fact that the pump only ran during spin, and you can see why the machine leaked--the outer tub got too full during the overflow rinse, and by the time the pump kicked in at spin, it had a tubfull of water to contend with, plus about three seconds to deal with the water that got kicked out of the inner tub when the spin started. What a system!!
We went to Home Depot and got two cords, and I gave the pump its own cord (so that it would run at all times during the cycle, thus dealing with any overflow before it became an issue).
I gave the machine proper its own, heavier gauge cord, so that it could have an easy supply of current all to itself. This way the aux. pump and main machine components didn't compete for electricity.
BUT
The solenoid smells when it engages, and the motor fan needs attention. Ross has a "homework list" of parts to find, including a new fan and spin solenoid should they be necessary (not to mention a Unimatic-mechanism pump impeller if he can find one, so that we may ditch the rather inelegant auxiliary pump).
Of course, if he finds his original parts list--the clutch torque spring, nut and seal assembly, and oil/water bellows--that's icing on the cake. But we've identified some major culprits.
So, that's where we're at. We'd be grateful for any advice you Unimatic-savvy people may have.
Thanks very much
--Ross and Nate
Okay, we put Ross' '56 through a test wash to examine what was happening.
Here were our findings--some are encouraging; some imply a bit of part hunting.
1.) The clutch torque spring seems fine. The machine will spin and agitate appropriately (but we found out why it didn't do that consistently--more on that in a moment). It "unwinds" and such at the beginning of agitation, so that seems good.
2.) There is an odor that emanates from underneath when it spins--it smells like hot electrical something. Due to the fact that it ONLY makes its presence known when it engages the spin solenoid, I'm betting the solenoid is having issues. Is it altogether unheard of to have these guys wear out?
3.) The awful noise the machine occasionally makes seems to be the dreaded Frigidaire fan noise. The fan is somewhat loose underneath, and though it does spin and seems to cool the motor (at least as much as it can), it needs attention. I don't think it should be that loose. Notably, it makes the rattling noise only during agitation periods--the machine is silent once it hits the full 1140 rpm.
4.) The old pump impeller is shot, so a (rather creative but stupid--more on that in a second) person put an electric pump on the machine, and the old pump is not used.
Here's the thing that caused havoc on the machine's operation:
The mechanic who initially supplied Ross with the machine attached this auxiliary pump (self-powered electrical) to the machine.
BUT
Knowing that the OEM pump ran whenever the motor ran, this meant that the machine was pumped clear of any overflow water whenever the motor ran. Obviously, for overflow rinses or any splashover, this is important.
The guy that attached this pump attached spade splitters (as best as I can describe them) to the spin solenoid, thus splitting the current to the pump, so that it would activate and pump out the water--BUT ONLY WHEN THE MACHINE WOULD SPIN!
So, naturally, the machine was encountering trouble engaging the solenoid, because the stupid aux. pump was siphoning off current while the solenoid was trying to engage. Feh!!
Not to mention the fact that the original power cord was HORRID and needed replacing.
Thus, the aux. pump drew current away from the solenoid, AND drew extra current through the machine's cord--making it hot to the touch.
Add to that the fact that the pump only ran during spin, and you can see why the machine leaked--the outer tub got too full during the overflow rinse, and by the time the pump kicked in at spin, it had a tubfull of water to contend with, plus about three seconds to deal with the water that got kicked out of the inner tub when the spin started. What a system!!
We went to Home Depot and got two cords, and I gave the pump its own cord (so that it would run at all times during the cycle, thus dealing with any overflow before it became an issue).
I gave the machine proper its own, heavier gauge cord, so that it could have an easy supply of current all to itself. This way the aux. pump and main machine components didn't compete for electricity.
BUT
The solenoid smells when it engages, and the motor fan needs attention. Ross has a "homework list" of parts to find, including a new fan and spin solenoid should they be necessary (not to mention a Unimatic-mechanism pump impeller if he can find one, so that we may ditch the rather inelegant auxiliary pump).
Of course, if he finds his original parts list--the clutch torque spring, nut and seal assembly, and oil/water bellows--that's icing on the cake. But we've identified some major culprits.
So, that's where we're at. We'd be grateful for any advice you Unimatic-savvy people may have.
Thanks very much
--Ross and Nate
