So for over a year the motor in my '49 ABC-o-Matic washer has been making a rattling/clicking sound when running. It didn't matter if the belts were attached or taken off to run with no load on the motor it made that odd sound. Last year I took out that motor out and took it apart to try and figure out and fix what was causing this sound. I must have made 5 attempts and for the life of me I couldn't figure out where it was coming from and how to fix it. So this year after I figured I would just replace the motor with a modern induction motor of exact same horsepower, rpm, mounting and shaft sizes. To my surprise the new 1/3hp did not have the starting power of the original 1949 Emerson motor. When wash started the agitation took about 1.5 seconds to accelerate to full speed which happened instantly with the old motor. As for spin during acceleration the motor wouldn't be able to overcome the power of the ABC's huge spin clutch and would not come out of the start winding and shut down due to its internal overload switch. I tried adding a Unimatic start capacitor to the start windings of the motor which worked better during agitation and brought it up to speed instantly however during spin it would click in and out of the start windings at least 7 or 8 times until the tub was nearly up to full speed. At least it didn't trip motor's the overload switch however clicking in and out of the start switch was not what I wanted to hear during spin accel.
Several years ago I had problems with the motor in the Apex and replaced it's motor with this same style modern Dayton motor and it worked perfectly because the clutch in the Apex is more gentle and generally doesn't engage until the motor is up to full speed.
So back to troubleshooting the original Emerson motor. Thankfully I found an old Emerson motor in the attic with the same style outer body although the wiring connections were made for a 50's Norge Timeline washer. So I took the end bell off the attic motor I just found an replaced it as a test on the ABC's motor and success the noise stopped. Something in the bottom end bell of the motor was causing this sound (yes the end bells on the original motor were fully oiled and properly lubricated).
So lesson learned that not all 1/3 horsepower induction motors have the same starting power.
The original motor is the Emerson and the Dayton was the replacement...
Nearly the same specs...
YAY after over a year of that annoying sounds, the ABC is all better! (If you can't see this video try Chrome)...
View attachment 20250811_094207.mp4
Several years ago I had problems with the motor in the Apex and replaced it's motor with this same style modern Dayton motor and it worked perfectly because the clutch in the Apex is more gentle and generally doesn't engage until the motor is up to full speed.
So back to troubleshooting the original Emerson motor. Thankfully I found an old Emerson motor in the attic with the same style outer body although the wiring connections were made for a 50's Norge Timeline washer. So I took the end bell off the attic motor I just found an replaced it as a test on the ABC's motor and success the noise stopped. Something in the bottom end bell of the motor was causing this sound (yes the end bells on the original motor were fully oiled and properly lubricated).
So lesson learned that not all 1/3 horsepower induction motors have the same starting power.
The original motor is the Emerson and the Dayton was the replacement...
Nearly the same specs...
YAY after over a year of that annoying sounds, the ABC is all better! (If you can't see this video try Chrome)...
View attachment 20250811_094207.mp4
