agitator operation

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apostoln

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Nov 9, 2013
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my A212 doesn't agitate anymore. Just goes in one direction and doesn't reverse during the wash cycle. Otherwise all is fine. Does anyone know what makes the motor reverse in a direct drive unit or have a wiring diagram from control timer unit?
 
 
A212 is a Maytag, yes?  They aren't direct drive.

The motor does not run forward-and-reverse to make the agitator oscillate.  Agitation oscillation is via gears in the transmission.  If the agitator turns in only one direction then something is broken inside the transmission.
 
Be patient...someone here will see the problem that you've posted and offer some assistance soon enough.

Hopefully for your sake it will be something minor that you'll be able to take care of yourself.
 
From deep, foggy, senior memory

The motor runs in one direction for the washer agitation. The motor reverses to allow the washer to spin. This was where the term Helical Drive came into play. When the motor operated in one direction a helical spring at the bottom of the drive linkage locked down. I think that is what made the machine spin. When the pulley was turned in the other direction, the spring turned and the tranmission allowed the power to travel up through it to the gears that converted the circular motion of the drive shaft to the reciprocal motion of the agitator. I am not certain that I remember this right, but I do know that when the machine spins, the entire transmission locked to whirl around which is why there is a sign at the bottom front of the outer tub to keep clear of the spinning power unit.

You probably have a problem with either the timer contacts not completing the circuit to the proper motor windings or the windings in the motor are bad or, as Glenn said, transmission trouble. Have you removed the front and looked at what happens down there? If the motor reverses direction, the transmission should not spin instead of agitate, as least it seems like it shouldn't.
 
Working on the same symptom

In my case, I removed and dismantled the transmission and found that the agitator shaft was seized up
in its bushings.

Put the top half unit upside down, liberally squirt PB blaster in the oil feed hole and around the entry points,
and heat things up with a plumbing torch (carefully, don't want to ignite the grease/oil or damage the aluminum). Wrap the gear with many layers of shop rags or leather to protect it, and with a channel lock
wrench, work it back and forth, at first small bits then when it starts to free up, bigger swings then all the
way around. More and more PB blaster and workings, followed by perhaps a rinse with wd 40.

I'm glad to say it looks like its back from the dead. If the blame rests on old transmission oil, I can expect
another 30 years from it. Like an old car or bicycle, a clean repacked bearing is a wonderful thing.
 
 
It's not direct drive.  Two belts are under the machine base.  One runs from the motor to the pump at the right front corner.  The other runs from the motor to the main drive pulley at the center.

Perhaps I misunderstood the question via my initial response.  The motor does run one direction for agitation, reverses to the other direction for drain & spin.  If the machine drains & spins, and the motor doesn't run at all for agitation, then as others have said above the problem is possibly a bad timer or bad motor.
 
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