GE FilterFlo Question

[cycla-fabric]

Hi All,
I have a question on the FilterFlo washer that I just got. It passed the water test with no leaks which is a good thing. My question is this, when I got the machine it ran in slow speed for wash and spin. I poked around by the speed solenoid and the little lever on the solenoid clicked. Now runs in normal speed for everything and slow speed doesn't engage when you choose the cycle for slow speed. The only time it goes into slow speed is when it first starts to agitate at the beginning of the wash cycle and then it switches into normal speed. Is the speed solenoid causing this issue of no slow speed. I will check out any suggestions on how to fix this or just leave it as it is. Thanks
Doug

 

[bradfordwhite]

When the machine is ON: You can NOT turn the speed switch from normal speed to gentle. That will most likely damage the speed selector solenoid down on the motor.

To change the speed from normal to gentle when it's running you must turn the machine off, wait at least 10 seconds or more, change the switch and turn the washer back on.

 

[combo52]

No low speed Ge Filter Flow

Either the solenoid is bad, or the linkage is not adjusted right or broken. It’s not grabbing the little tab and keeping the clutch in low speed mode.

GE to Speed clutches always start off in low speed mode and switch automatically too fast and anywhere from 5 to 20 seconds.

It does not make a bit of difference if you switch back-and-forth while the machine is running from high to low however, the machine will only let you switch from low to high. If you try to switch from high to low it just will stay on high speed. You have to shut the machine off and let it goes to a stop before you can actually get a low speed, agitation or spin.

But it will not hurt the machine GE would not make a washing machine that could be broken the first time someone flips a switch.

John

 

[bradfordwhite]

It's also frequently written in the GE washer owners manuals and on the lid instructions.

GE Filter-Flo Daily Driver?

How would a mid 80's GE Filter-Flo washer be for a daily driver? I know they wash well but seem crude in some respects and not very easy to service?

www.automaticwasher.org

 

[qsd-dan]

Even on my Maytags, I push the timer knob in and switch agitations speeds rather than on the fly. It's overkill, for sure, but I never killed a motor or speed switch in almost 40 years.

 

[toploadloyalist]

What other brands were damage-prone from switching speeds? Also, if I wanted to switch from high to low speed for permanent press during the pause between agitation and spin, would that be a problem too? That's my speed preference for permament press (high agitation/low spin). 

 

[combo52]

Ge Filter Flow washers with two speed clutch

Hi Brad, reply 3

I was looking for a quote from a GE service, manual or owners manual what somebody wrote it’s not necessarily accurate, if you know how these machines work, you can see how GE engineered it, so it would not be damaged if you change the speed while it’s running.

I said before that I invite anybody to come to our museum And sit there and flip the switch back-and-forth all day long on one of our vintage Filter Flow GE’s you won’t hurt a thing.

Hi Dan, turning off of Maytag washer to change speeds is unnecessary and actually then causes you to engage the start winding, which is more likely to damage the motor or cause wear, a standard split phase 2 speed motor is designed to have the speed changed while it’s running whirlpool models did this all the time as part of the normal cycle without making any attempt to stop first, that would have actually just caused a lot of extra wear to timer contacts, etc.

John

 

[appnut]

Randy, is your question regarding perm press switching from high to low speed for a GE/Hotpoint brand or other brand?

 

[rinso]

The Maytag AMP banging solenoid machines can also be damaged by changing speed while operating. I know this because it happened to ours when I was a pre-teen. Mom changed the spin speed to low while it was spinning, which resulted in a service call.

 

[thatwasherguy]

I don’t think the clutch is damaged...

Considering that the machine still runs in slow speed for the first few seconds of agitation. If the clutch were damaged from a speed shift with the motor running, I don’t *think* it would run on low at all. The only FF I’ve ever worked on was a low-end single speed model, so I may be wrong about this, but I would think that the solenoid would be needed to change from low to high speed at the beginning of agitation, so it sounds like it is fine as well. It almost sounds like there may be a short or some other electrical issue somewhere.
Hope this helps,
Thatwasherguy.

 

[cycla-fabric]

Thanks for the info everyone, I believe the solenoid relay is not working to engage the slow speed on the clutch and that they are no longer available. I knew enough to not change the speed on a filter flo from this site as there has been many discussions on here on the subject. Being more familiar with Whirlpools and Maytags than GE filter flos are new to me. They look fairly simple to work on, and I will post a few pics on its maiden wash when I get it hooked up in its new spot.

Doug

 

[bradfordwhite]

What typically would happen.....

With the GE FF 2 speed motors, and I speak from experience repairing many myself back in the day, and working with an uncle who was a GE appliance tech, 

 

People would change the speed from fast to gentle WHILE it was running and

the spinning clutch arm would **BAMM** into the delicate speed shifter solenoid arm and either BEND it, or knock it out of position, and/or it would cause the small springs to fly off.  All things that would render the shifter useless.  

 

Have you dropped (removed it) the motor out of the machine yet?  Once you do that you'll have easy access to the shifter and can determine if it simply needs to be bent back in place or if there are other issues.   

 

Pictures would be appreciated.

 

 

[toploadloyalist]

Bob, I mean any brand that had a manual switch with only one manual speed switch with just high and low selections, pertaining to both agitation and spin. GE and Maytag were the most abundant of these type of washers. On a side note, I know Frigidaire 1-18's PP cycle automatically switched to low spin even with the switch on high agitation/spin. 

 

[gelaundry4ever]

1993 GE

I had a 1993 GE that started on gentle then went to normal speed with normal was selected. It is normal.