Calypso Won't Turn on when High Humidity

[kuba1953]

My Calypso washer works fine most of the time although it has needed 2 new pumps. When it is Humid the machine will not turn on at all. If I leave it unplugged for 24 hours it will then work for a month or so and then turn off again. I then unplug it for 24 hours and it will come back to life. I don't want to replace both boards due to the expense-over $350.00.Do I have any other alternatives other then a new machine or replace both boards?

 

[charlesp210]

Sounds similar to what has happened to my Calypso. If I leave it plugged in, in the morning for some reason, it starts beeping as if a button is being pressed and then it's locked up. I read online that this could be either a membrane panel problem (that was the first possibility) and/or a machine computer board problem. Not wanting to spend the $$$ for new part and service installation, I first tried a terrible hack (figuring problem was most likely panel anyway, and not wanting to go through trouble of testing panel matrix from ribbon connectors). I tore off membrane plastic cover and cut out the membrane panel trace that went to the offending switch, which seemed to be the Normal switch. Then I plugged machine in, and it no longer beeped, and it worked fine on Jeans cycle (what I usually use anyway).

Well, the next morning the terrible beeps were back, but this time no longer localized to the Normal button. So apparently I didn't really get at the root of the problem, it may have just been coincidence that I hacked the panel at night and it worked fine at night. (Though I had previously tried plugging and unplugging, I had never left it for more than an hour.)

So now I leave it unplugged during the daytime and only plug in at nighttime just before use, and so far it's working fine.

Now this still could be some sort of temperature/humidity problem with the membrane panel (or the machine computer, but less likely). But my current theory is that the problem is really in the machine computer board, somehow it's gotten flaky and doesn't like the increased AC line noise and RFI in the morning (which I can tell from how other electronic equipment works).

It would make sense that the machine computer had gotten flaky because of power surges. My house took a particularly bad surge this summer which wiped out some other equipment. I had electrician install a whole house surge protector after that. When doing so, he discovered that my ground rod wasn't even connected. That could have been another problem, and could have rendered other surge protectors in my home relatively ineffective.

 

[charlesp210]

By the way, I forgot to clarify (from your question) that the problem is not likely to be in the motor controller board, but in the machine computer board (which reads the buttons).

 

[kuba1953]

I also had a power surge this summer which knocked out a computer/fax machine/stove and surge strip. I am going to put a surge protector on my main breaker panel to prevent this in the future. But the Calypso worked fine after it. It was doing this before the surge and is still doing it.I have read on the forums to replace both boards because you never really know which one is bad.

 

[supremewhirlpol]

Is this Whirlpool machine or Kenmore machine? I have a computer and motor control board and console for a Kenmore machine. The two boards communicate via serial and a proprietary protocol, they share the same system clock. So if the machine was plugged in when the surge happened, both boards could have been affected->replace both. There can be a number of reasons as to what happens in the circuitry to cause the malfunction, such as the system clock getting out of sync, therefore affecting a lot things. There can be other damaged chips as a result of the surge. The supply that comes into the house from the power company is NOT the cleanest, or always suitable for sensitive electronic devices. Do you have a decent line conditioner on the machine? For devices that I know that have sensitive electronics, I always unplug them after I use them.

 

[cfz2882]

thermistors?

Are there any thermistors in a calypso?,say in the motor or
inverter?-i have had faulty thermistors(in automotive apps)
that absorbed moisture in high humidity conditions and caused
weird problems...

 

[supremewhirlpol]

I believe there are thermal cutout switches on the motor. There is a Thermistor for the water temp control. I'll post pictures of the motor.

 

[kuba1953]

It is the Whirlpool Model. It is a stange issue. The machine would not turn on at all on Wednesday. I would check it every 2-3 hours and nothing/dead. On Thursday morning it worked fine and has been good every since. I did 2 loads this morning and everything worked fine. I cannot duplicate this issue even if I wanted too.