'56 GE washer/dryer combo - what makes it run??

[turquoisedude]

I have finally been able to complete the rewiring of the GE combo, but I seem to be no further ahead. The timer is still not getting power and it's driving me nuts...
I am getting power to the appliance and the timer is feeding the appropriate components as it cycles through.
I got creative and tried hooking up the timer to an independant power source - the washer ran right the way through the wash part of the cycle - the drive motor ran and the fill and drain solenoids were activated accordingly. I did not see any evidence of a high-speed spin (but the spin solenoid is good) and when the timer hit the 'dry' part of the cycle, the motor stopped. What the ????

 

[turquoisedude]

I have a couple of theories...

I have a funny feeling that the 'dry' function components have an influence on the wash function... At the moment, I have been testing on 120V only and the machine is intended to use 240v. Could it be that because I am not powering the heater relay and thermostats the cycles are not functioning correctly?
OR the fact that the control thermostat is very badly damaged that it is not feeding power to the right places.
I don't know why, but I think the water cut-off switch may be causing me grief with the spin solenoid (they seem to share a lot of wiring) and one of my vintage appliance repair books actually offered this a potential cause of a 'no spin' situation.
Should I try hooking the machine up to the 240V?
I am also thinking I should try filling it with water to see what that does...
One way or another, that washer/dryer needs to be installed in the Kitchen Centre again to complete the look!!

 

[redcarpetdrew]

Not being hooked up to 240v causing trouble makes sense. As you are aware, 240 is (2) 120v lines (different legs) and the leg that's not hooked up may power some 120v functions. I see it all the time with 240v dryers. Cust complaint: not heating but it runs OR it's dead. In the first case the 120v motor was on the hot leg that was still functioning but with out the other leg, no heat. In the 2nd case, the leg that tripped at the box was the leg the 120v motor was on, so no run BUT since the timer was on the functioning leg, it would advance. Hope that helps. I saw the pictures on the other forum of the kitchen. ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC! Congrats!

RCD