Maytag Neptune Stacker won't spin. Not the "wax motor".

[carmine]

Basically as the title says. I ran a load and watched the wax motor do its thing as it should. Door locked light comes on. Drains normally. So I have two questions...

1) What to check next? Moving this thing away from the wall is a major project that involves me climbing over the top to access just about everything. Anything accessible from the front is preferred.

2) Anything I can bypass temporarily to get some clothes washed!? As you can see, I've got stuff laying everywhere to drip-dry.

 

[DADoES]

 
Check the microswitches.  I think there are at least two involved ... one to confirm the door is closed, the other to confirm the wax motor is "latched."

 

[carmine]

Thanks.

Do you know if they use a "logic" circuit? As in a microprocessor needs to see switch open/switch closed? It would be easier to jumper those switches to rule them in/out.

 

[DADoES]

 
The wax motor "confirmation" switch is the trigger for full-speed spin, and it also is what terminates fluff-mode after the final spin.  Fluff (alternate CW/CCW rotation) continues until the wax motor unlatches.  Bypassing that switch (tying the wires together) will cause fluff to continue until the machine is manually stopped.

 

[combo52]

Non Spinning MT Neptune

The little micro-switch near the wax motor turns on the lock light, the MS on the right is the spin enable switch, the round plunger must move all the right and push the button on the spin enable switch the tell the control board that the machine can go into a high speed spin. Often I have had to add a thin plastic shim to get the SE switch to activate.

 

Other than this common problem other likley faults are a broken wire or connection in the unbalance circuit [ you can bypass this circuit for testing purposes ], after this you may have a fault in the washers main board or the motor board may be bad.

 

Only good news is All of these items can be reached and fixed without moving this machine.

 

John L.

 

[carmine]

update

Thanks very much for the replies. It did turn out to be the spin switch. I jumpered it and it went right back to normal.

I'm thinking it must be carbon arcing inside the switch (the wax motor's plunger makes full contact).

BTW, can anyone tell me why it's called a wax motor? Life expectancy of a candle? Or is it an acronym like Washer Abruptly Xpires?

 

[DADoES]

Wax Motor

 
A sealed chamber filled with a temperature-sensitive wax compound ... has a spring-loaded piston on one end, a small heating device on the other end.  The wax expands when heated, slowly driving the piston to operate a valve, dispenser or other such function.  The wax contracts when cooled and the spring returns the piston (and the connected function) to its original/neutral position.

 

[tolivac]

Sort of finda like wax motors-the old Continental electronics 500Kw SW transmitter we used to have had solder pot circuit breaker switches for the tune motors.If one tripped you had to wait a couple minutes for it to reset and the solder to reharden in the "pot".Now those transmitters are gone pending installation of newer ones.