Kenmore washer won't drain, spin, or agitate

[radioboy75]

My 1982 (?) Kenmore Heavy Duty Plus washing machine will not drain, spin, or agitate. It's a 110.82171110.

Background:
A while back I was doing a load when the unbalanced buzzer came on. I fixed the load, but it wouldn't spin. So I backed up the agitator by hand a little and tried again, and then it worked. Did all of that twice for that load.

Recently I had an item disintegrate in the washer and I think it plugged my sewer pipe. Wonder if the pump could be clogged. But would that cause the no spin/no agitate condition as well? Also, I have done at least a couple of loads since the disintegrated item, and they worked fine. Now today I came to find the tub full and the timer advanced to "off."

Does this model have a belt? Would a belt issue cause all three problems?

Thanks!

 

[yogitunes]

have you pulled the back panel to see if the belt is broken?....if the pump is jammed, it would stop it from working, and possibly burnt out the belt...

does the motor turn on?

if anything, remove the belt to see if all the pulleys turn freely...especially the pump...

 

[washerlover]

Could it be a Solenoid?

I had just the “no spin” problem with my ‘85 Whirlpool — replaced the solenoid and it worked fine for a while, then stopped again after a few weeks. Still not sure why. Relegated it to the garage for now until I have time to look into it more.

 

[combo52]

Loose or broken belt

 

[radioboy75]

That's what I think too. Sounds like a belt. The motor does run. We'll take a look.
Thanks guys.

 

[radioboy75]

So it's not the belt. For a while the other day, it agitated fine, so I was going to do a load in it and just wring out the clothes by hand. And then it wouldn't agitate again. Does this kind of washer have a bidirectional motor? Could that be it? The motor comes on like it's supposed to for all the operations, but nothing happens. No agitate, no drain, no spin. Honestly -- is it even worth fixing? If it IS the motor, how much do those run, and are they even available? If I decide to cut my losses, would anyone on here want it? It's not in the best shape, and obviously needs work at this point.

 

[yogitunes]

OK...the motor comes on.....

now...check the wigwag, is it shifting?...the right side controls agitate and drain, the left one controls the spin drive....

 

[DADoES]

 
The motor does not reverse.  Runs one direction, mode shifting (agitate, spin, or neutral drain with neither solenoid energized) is done by the wigwag per the video Martin linked.

Are you assuming the belt is not at fault because it sometimes does work?  You should check the belt if you haven't already.

Maybe the motor pulley is loose?

 

[washerlover]

Hey Martin, thanks for that nice video diagram of the Kenmore/Whirlpool!

 

[radioboy75]

Thanks guys. We'll check it out.

 

[radioboy75]

OK. Turns out that there must have been something wrong with the pump. The belt was thought to be turning OK, but it was just sliding past the pump pully. Hand-rotated the pump pully and it woudln't budge. Wailed on it a little and something snapped. Tried it again and EVERYTHING worked. Fills, agitates, recirculates, drains, and spins!

Thanks guys!

 

[DADoES]

 
Could be a foreign object was jammed in it that broke loose with the forced turning of the pulley.  You might consider removing the pump and looking into the ports to confirm no remnants of said object.  Could also be the pump impeller was damaged or the object is still obstructing the flapper valve from fully seating one way or the other which could impact proper draining or cause draining during agitation.

 

[yogitunes]

yeah, its great it broke free....

my concern would be, what was it that clogged/jammed it?....and then, where did it go?

straight out the drain hose, that would be a good thing.....or pumped back into the machine or the self clean filter....

either way, you will find out in time.....good luck with it....