maytag GA208

[hippiedoll]

this post is about the vintage maytag GA208 washer that i just got this past august...

everything seems to be working pretty good on it. i took the front panel off last night to get a look at the insides real quick & i noticed that the thin black hose that connects from the bleach dispenser (in the lower left hand corner) to the bottom of the outer tub, was unconnected up at the top where it connects to the actual bleach dispenser. so, i pushed the hose back into place, on to the little port of the bleach dispenser triangle "cup". no biggie.

but i have a question/concern. the water seems to pour/spray in, to fill the washtub pretty normally on the warm wash & the cold wash settings but, when it is set on the hot wash setting, the water barely even trickles into the washtub. is this normal? or is this because the hose that connects the washer to the hot water supply, has a smaller metal neck on one end & the cold water hose is the same size from end to end? or is there something wrong with my hot water wash setting?? can someone please tell me why the hot water barely trickles in when filling the washtub??

any & all advice would be greatly appreciated.

thank you so much.

 

[dnastrau]

Water inlet valve screens

Check the water inlet valve screens (under the hose connections inside of the valve.)  These often get clogged up and can reduce flow to a trickle very easily.  Removing them and soaking them in white vinegar or CLR should clean them up.

 

Andrew S.

 

[akronman]

and

some hoses additionally have another screen at your faucet connection. While you are checking both ends of the hose, get a bucket and see if the faucet itself is flowing well. If it's not a problem with your faucet or either end of the hose, it's the washer's inlet valve.

 

[hippiedoll]

andrew s. & akronman....

THANK YOU GUYS SOOO MUCH!!!

i checked the inlet screen (in the washer's inlet valve) and it was dirty!!! i took it out (carefully) with needle nose pliers & rinsed it off with the hose outside. i am soaking it, in a little white cup, in white vinegar right now, but it's not bubbling or anyting. but there is some little brownish "debris" sitting at the bottom of the little cup that i have the screen soaking in. so, i have a feeling that is what my problem was.

thank you both for your advice & input. i really do appreciate you telling me what to check for and explaining what to do.

i'll keep you posted, once i've got the screen back on/in to the water inlet valve & give it a try with a "hot" water wash.

with much love,
christina ;o)
peace...

 

[hippiedoll]

update....

i put the cleaned inlet screen back into place & started the washer for a "HOT" water wash and the water was gushing in, just like it does for the "COLD" & "WARM" water washes.

HOOOORRRRAAAAYYYY!!! my trickling "HOT" water problem is fixed!!! thank you guys soooo much!!!

but now i have another concern/problem.....

while i was back there unscrewing the inlet hoses, i noticed that the power cord is pinched under the "control panel" (i think that is what it is called???). so, the previous owner has removed the part that the center dial & buttons are on. the part that sits on the top & the back of the washing machine.

i wanted to know, how can i remove this part so that i can straighten the power cord before any damage is caused to the internal wires that carry the electricity???

i see there are 2 screws (1 on each end, on top of the control panel). do i remove these screws and just lift the control panel to "unkink" the power cord??
and i also noticed that imprinted on the back panel, above the water inlet valves, it says, "GROUND SCREW". but there isn't a screw there, just a hole. can you please tell me, is the screw missing (because the previous owner removed it)?? or is there a screw behind the back panel??

thank you again for all your help and i look forward to hearing from you with help on how to remove the control panel to unkink the power cord and also, if the "GROUND SCREW" is missing.

 

[danemodsandy]

Christina:

The console cover is just held in place by two screws that you can see - just remove them and the console cover lifts off so that you can re-route the wire correctly. Please do this with the machine unplugged.

The ground screw has been removed and is missing; this is often the case. You need for someone to supply you with a new ground screw, so that the machine can be properly grounded.

To do that, you go to the hardware store and buy a length of copper ground wire (they'll know exactly what you're talking about) and a grounding clamp (again, they're up to speed on this at the hardware store). You need enough ground wire to reach from the back of your machine to the nearest metal cold water pipe; it's sold by the foot.

Now, one end of the ground wire should be bent into a small "U" shape (needle-nosed pliers are helpful here) and that "U" shape should go around the ground screw. You then tighten the ground screw.

The other end should be inserted into the slot on the grounding clamp, and the screw on the slot tightened. Then the grounding clamp should be clamped onto the metal cold water pipe, and the clamp screw tightened.

Grounding in this fashion makes the machine safer to use. On electronic-control Maytag dryers, grounding is essential for proper operation. I always make grounding part of my washer installations, though many people (including collectors here) don't always bother.

Someone here should have a spare grounding screw for you. Don't substitute just any screw you happen to have, because if its threads are different, you will cross-thread or strip the grounding screw hole in the washer.

Below is a photo of my Almond 806 pair. If you will look closely, you will see that there are two pieces of copper wire running up the wall from behind the machines. Those are the ground wires - one for the washer, one for the dryer. They extend up to a metal cold water pipe above the pair of machines.

 

[danemodsandy]

Gratuitous Eye Candy:

Here's another shot of the Almond pair. I could say this is a better shot of the ground wires, but I actually just thought it'd be nice to put up a shot of them with the consoles lighted.

* ducks and runs *

 

[danemodsandy]

Ground Clamp Shot:

Christina:

This is a photo of a grounding clamp in place on a metal (in this case copper) cold water pipe.

You can see that there are two halves to the clamp, held together by screws. You take the screws out of the clamp, fit the two halves around the pipe, then put the screws back in and tighten.

You can also see that there is a slot or hole at the top of the clamp; this is where the ground wire goes. You then tighten the screw on top of that hole to hold the ground wire in place. The photo shows a green stranded wire, but the ground wire you want to use is single-strand bare copper wire.

Hope this helps!

 

[hippiedoll]

danemodsandy...

thank you so much for explaining how to "ground wire" the washer to the cold water pipe & for attaching a picture with the clamp so that i know what to look for. as for the bent power cord, i ended up taking the front panel off and unscrewing the screws up underneat the top of the washer and just lifting the whole top up and pulled the power cord out of the "kink/bend". so, now the power cord is hanging straight as i am guessing it is & was supposed to be in the first place.

as for the grounding screw on the back of the machine, could you please add a picture of what that looks like so that i can see how to do that as well??

thank you for the GREAT pictures and i love the lighted consoles on your "Almond 806" pair!!!

 

[dnastrau]

Glad to hear...

...that the water problem was just clogged inlet screens!

 

Andrew S.

 

[danemodsandy]

Christina:

The ground screw is just a screw that goes into the hole on the back of the machine; it's nothing special except that you want it to be the right size so that a wrong-size screw won't damage the hole.

Here's a little line drawing that should help - you bend one end of the ground wire into a "U" shape, then slip that behind the screw (which should be loose at this point), then tighten the screw.

Very, very easy.

 

[hippiedoll]

thank you so much!!

andrew:

yes, thank you andrew for responding & telling me about the inlet screen possibly being dirty. i greatly appreciate your help/reply.

danemodsandy:

thank you for the "line drawing" of how to screw the wire on the machine, under the screw. i will have to go to home depot tomorrow and get the supplies i'll need, the copper wire and the grounding clamp". i'll have to write down the things i need so that i can tell the sales person at home depot. thank you so much, i really do appreciate all your replies that you've given me & the pictures you shared with me.

 

[danemodsandy]

You're Welcome - AND....

Does anyone have a Maytag grounding screw for Christina?

There's not much point in her making that trip to Home Depot until she gets one!

 

[hippiedoll]

anybody, please.....

yes, thank you so much for asking about the "GROUNDING SCREW" for me danemodsandy. i really appreciate you asking for me. you are such a sweetheart!!

thank you, thank you, thank you...

 

[paganinia]

couple things

Christina, can you take a picture of your washer please?

Here was my washer, with the metal ground wire. As you can see if the ground screw were missing, you should have a whole panel flopping around:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B148iLuUUgV-YU53YVVOMVREOWs/edit?usp=drive_web&pli=1

I have a blank hole too above it, but I don't think that is the ground screw. Granted, I could be wrong as I didn't install the washer (wasn't born yet)

Also, please note the age of your home. I live in an older home that has metal pipes that are under dirt at some point. But a lot of newer houses don't. If you have plastic pipe, you are wasting your time. Quickest reference I could find (coincidental it's from Washington, I'm sitting here at SEATAC waiting for a connecting flight):
http://www.kirklandwa.gov/depart/Fi...ion_Guides/ELE_and_H2O_MIX.htm?PageMode=Print

"Summary: In older homes with metal pipes, the household electrical system may be grounded to a pipe. When the pipes are replaced with modern plastic piping, the electrical system MUST be properly regrounded - NOT to a plastic pipe"

anyway, when I get back from vacation I'll look at the manual I saved if nobody here happens to have one handy. As best I remember you don't even need a ground screw if you're properly using the 3-prong plug. I thought the ground screw was there b/c a lot of homes at the time were using 2 prong adapters and not grounding the tabs. But again, let me find something in writing to reference if nobody else can, as a safety issue is too important to go just by memory.

 

[hippiedoll]

anthony....

thank you for your response.

here is a picture of the back of my washer so that you can see what "hole" i am talking about. is the "GROUND SCREW" supposed to be above the imprinting or is it the screw below the imprinting?? maybe i am getting confused and i already have the "GROUND SCREW", since you say you also have a hole on your machine too?? i just figured: if there is a hole, then a screw needs to be in there. so something must be missing from there.

if i already have the "GROUND SCREW" please somebody get back to me & let me know.

thank you so much. and i'm sorry if i don't know everything about my maytag washer yet. but i am learning more everytime i read on this website. i love it!!!

thank you again.

 

[hippiedoll]

date of house...

if i remember correctly, i think this house was built in 1973. just in case that information helps you know something about the pipes in this house. but just to let you know, we also had the washer moved out from the kitchen into what used to be the carport, that we had converted into an added on "backroom" (i guess you could call it??).

 

[hippiedoll]

just to let you know....

how "green" i am to this whole washing machine "hobby", and i'm sure alot of you will get a good chuckle/laugh at this one here;

when i first took the front panel off of my maytag washer, i could see the drain pump on my right hand corner, of course the washtub was there "front & center" and in the motor was on my left hand corner. so, i started looking and looking but i couldn't find how, if the motor was in the left hand corner, how did it make the agitator move in the washtub? i looked and looked and i didn't understand how it worked. i followed the wires, with my eyes, from the motor and i seen they went up towards the back of the cabinet but i couldn't see where they would connect to something in the washtub, to make the agitator move/work?? i thought to myself, "maybe there is another smaller motor inside the washtub that makes the agitator move? and that the wires that went to the back of the cabinet must go down in between the outer washtub and the inner perforated washtub, which connected to a smaller motor towards the agitator shaft. i couldn't figure it out, how the motor, in the left hand corner, made the agitator move, if there was nothing connecting the two?!?!

then a couple of days later, i read a thread on here, about changing the belts. and it got me confused cuz i didn't see any belts on my washer. so, i started looking on google about washing machine belts and looking at pictures to see just where these belts were located. then i seen a picture of the belts. and that's when i realized, look underneath the washer to see if my washer had belts underneath it. so, i went back to my washer and tilted it back & put some old tennis shoes on each side, to hold the machine up while i looked underneath (which by the way is not a safe thing to do and i do NOT recommend doing that). but after getting down on my hands & knees and looking underneath the washer, i seen that, that is where the washing machine belts were & that is how the motor makes the agitator work!!! BOY, did i sure feel dumb!!

i apologize in advance if i made anybody reading this post either laugh and spit their drink out or fall asleep. but just thought i'd share that with you all. i know pretty dumb, right? but just to let you know how much of a "know nothing" i am when it comes to washing machines. i barely got kinda used to my hoover twin tub & then i gave it to my aunt, who needs a washer in her apartment.

 

[DADoES]

 
I don't think it's necessary to use the designated "ground screw" location.  Any available screw on back of the machine that provides metal-to-metal contact with the cabinet can be used.  Loosen the target screw, wrap the copper ground wire around it, re-tighten, then connect the wire to your cold water pipe as shown above ... that should do it.