Maytag washer blew up… AGAIN

[adam-aussie-vac]

Hey guys, I’ve got some irritating news so my Maytag washer after not using it for over six months because I was in Western Australia I decided I want to use it again, after filling it up with laundry and hot water, the machine tried to agitate for about four minutes, and it look like it was struggling with the agitation, and next thing you know I hear aloud squeal and hiss which was the capacitor venting, It’s the second time that this machine has done that, the first time It did that was when I plugged it in to test it, , I’m not sure if the Motor is actually bad on this machine because I took it to the motor repair shop and they ran it for over 30 minutes no problems no fuss

Should I keep trying to replace the capacitor in this machine or should I call this one a goner and swap it out with something else?

I’m honestly not sure if I accidentally overloaded it, But I hope I didn’t

 

[qsd-dan]

That looks overloaded to me.

 

Check the transmission by removing the belt and spinning the transmissions pulley counterclockwise. It should spin easily (clockwise will run the pulley up the helical shaft, lock, and spin the tub).

 

[cfz2882]

AFAIK,overloading a maytag will just cause the clutch belt to slip as intended-check that washer has correct clutch belt-not replaced with a "regular"belt and that the motor pulley does not have an accumulation of rubber deposits in the wash belt groove that may affect intended slippage.Do you know who made the motor in this Maytag ? Guys who daily drive maytags way know if the pictured load looks like an overload

 

[thatwasherguy]

As someone who grew up using a 1976 Maytag set...

That does look overloaded to me (note the clothes above the water line), which would explain slow agitation (this is also commonly caused by thickened transmission oil or cold temperatures). However, it shouldn’t cause any sort of capacitor explosion. Like qsd-dan said, I would check the condition of the drive belt. It should have a nice coat of fabric on it to clutch. If this coating is worn off, or it was replaced with a non-coated belt, it will overwork the motor. Personally, I would buy a capacitor from a known quality manufacturer, replace the belt if needed, and go from there. You might even be able to get away without a capacitor if you have good line voltage in your area (my 1976 never had a capacitor the entire time we had it, and the 1978 model I currently own doesn’t either). These are great washers that last practically forever, so I would continue trying to fix it if it were me.
Hope this helps,
Thatwasherguy.

 

[adam-aussie-vac]

So I’m probably thinking yeah it was overloaded,

But that probably was completely by mistake as I was washing a bunch of towels and sheets, and for some reason the belt isn’t slipping and I don’t think it has been replaced with a non-Maytag belt, plus I have noticed that before when it was washing normally this is before all this happened, is that the motor would take quite a bit of time to start up (About 10: through 15 seconds) and it would have a couple wisps of smoke coming out, So I’m genuinely not sure, oh yeah when this was tested it only had a bit of water in it in the tub as it was left outside so I’m kind of stumped, If this still keeps giving me problems I might decide to replace it with a general electric machine, the same one as what I had previously

 

[thatwasherguy]

Belt not slipping...

Does the motor slide freely on its track, and how much force is being applied by the springs? I once attempted to modify one with four springs instead of two, and ended up tripping the thermal overload when it went into spin. Rust on the track can also cause issues (had this happen with our ‘76 once). Also, what kind of shape is the belt in? It’s possible that the fabric clutch coating is worn away, especially if it was heavily used.
Hope this helps,
Thatwasherguy.

 

[adam-aussie-vac]

I’ll have to see when I move the shelving that’s next to it

As when I move that then I’ll be able to take the front panel off and check the motor tension, as well as drainage as well because it’s full of water

 

[maytag85]

One thing I’d do is search for a dual action Load Sensor agitator, can literally stuff the machine full and won’t put much strain on the tub brake, transmission, belts, or any of the major components. Literally was able to wash 10 bath towels in my Maytag A806 with the Load Sensor agitator, washing 10 towels was fine but putting that many towels into a Maytag HOH electric dryer took a LONG time to dry.

 

[adam-aussie-vac]

Do you know what the load sensor agitator looks like?

As I don’t think I’ve ever seen one, and I think probably it’s actually gonna probably be the belt as I’ve noticed with this machine there doesn’t seem to be any sort of slip And the Motor seems to take quite awhile to get up to speed so potentially it might be that

 

[adam-aussie-vac]

Reply number three

Yeah it actually it Is cold as well, so probably partially contributed to it because once it’s done normally doing nail wash cycle it does spin and rinse fine

 

[combo52]

Bad motor capacitor

Whether the machine was overloaded or not is in material, overloading a washer should not cause this type of failure.

I don’t know what kind of capacitor and motor set up Maytag used in Australia. Pictures would help.

Maytag did not generally use start capacitors on the US machines although you could add it to any Maytag and it’s a good idea to add to any Maytag as they frequently have trouble starting with the crazy using the belt is a clutch design.

Maybe they used to run capacitor as well in Australia not sure.

If it’s a start capacitor, the machine should work without it. It’s also easy to change a start capacitor. But capacitors get old and just fail sometimes they don’t like sitting, especially and damp environments.

John.

 

[adam-aussie-vac]

Reply number 10

This is the second capacitor that I brought, the first one which I think was original to the machine had blown up like about 10 minutes before I brought it, the guy claimed it was steam from everything heating up, but I could instantly smell it was old electrolytic smell, I have had issues with the motor appearing to be kind of sluggish on start-up even though I sent it off to my go to motor repair shop and they said that they ran it for over 30 minutes and it was fine, so I’m honestly kind of stumped so I think it might be the belt but I’m honestly not sure, The link I’ve provided goes back to the thread where I am asked if anybody knows if I could potentially get a replacement motor for it,

I’ll have to move the machine out from the back just that way I can get the back cover off and get the capacitor so I can see the microfarad rating that’s on it And I know that the motor doesn’t really seem like it wants to run without it plus the capacitor went in June last year as that’s when it was installed

Maytag motor help

Hey guys, it appears that The motor in my Maytag A512 [240V] had a bit of a burning smell from it probably from the old original burnt out capacitor, I’m going to see if I can take me motor out and take it to a motor rewinding shop to get them to have a look at it so that way it can be fixed,Or...

www.automaticwasher.org

 

[Chetlaham]

What is the voltage rating and uF rating of the capacitor?

 

 

Typically caps (especially metal oil filled caps) in a 230 volt motor application need to be rated at 330-440 volts. Going below that will cause them to explode.

 

 

Regarding the machine struggling it sounds like either a non slipping belt or something is seizing up, bearing or otherwise.

 

[qsd-dan]

Double the voltage rating for the capacitor to be on the safe side but keep the capacitance rating the same.

 

I still believe the upper agitator bearings are most likely seizing up if the trans isn't coming up to speed. If the trans pulley is difficult to turn counterclockwise with the belt removed, nothing else is going to fix the problem.

 

[Chetlaham]

Capacitors exploding

Two things:

 

1. Caps need to be rated for the correct voltage, typically for a 230 volt motor the cap needs to be rated at least 330 or 440 volts.

 

2. Start caps (as apposed to run caps) left driving a motor for more than several seconds will be overwhelmed to the point that they fail within seconds to minutes from the point the centrifugal switch was supposed to open- failure seen here at 5:50:

 



 

 

[maytag85]

Reply #8

Here’s a video clip of the Maytag Load Sensor dual action agitator in my Maytag A806 I recorded awhile back. This is washing 10 shorts.

 

[adam-aussie-vac]

Reply 13

I remember used to actually get up to speed, but it would be a lot more sluggish when it’s cold And once the transmissions been working for awhile, that’s when it starts to be a hell of a lot faster on start-up so I’m honestly not sure

 

[lowefficiency]

Sean - We know you like them, but it's probably not best to change the agitator (yet) on a machine with other known problems.

 

[lowefficiency]

In addition to prior advice, one thing to check would be whether the motor itself spins freely when the belt is off. On our A408, the motor bushings got gummed up after 40+ years of service, and the motor started tripping the thermal switch on spin start. We soaked it thoroughly with a penetrating cleaner, spinning by hand to free it up, then after thoroughly drying, it was re-oiled and has been working great ever since (3+ years now).