More Combo troubles...:(

[westytoploader]

I had quite a bit of laundry to do after the trip, so I decided to get it done this afternoon. Before I put a load in the GE, I ran it empty to loosen it up a bit, and about 5 seconds into the fill/tumble I noticed this strange arcing sound and a "burnt electrical" smell. I immediately shut it off, waited about a minute, and turned it on again. The motor took a full second to go into the run winding and continued its previous behavior. Something was definitely wrong here, so I unplugged it and began to remove the right side panel. What I found was shocking. Apparently the water valve had been leaking recently (judging by the stains on the back of the drum, and rust on the drum retaining ring as well as the motor housing), and the water finally made its way into the motor. I wiped all traces of it off the motor housing There's a small amount of water in the tub, and I'm going to wait 24 hours before I attempt to drain it.

The question is, have I done any long-term damage? And if so, can this motor be rewound successfully by a motor shop? I know I need to rebuild the water valve and sand/paint the surface rust the leak has caused, but anything else?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Austin

 

[goatfarmer]

Just about any motor can be rewound, for enough $$$$.

kennyGF

 

[jetcone]

Austin

Here comes your first lesson in motor rebuilding- a golden opportunity which will put you in good stead to keep your machines always running in the future.

I am willing to bet that the start switch is what has been compromised by the water. You'll need to take the motor out and dissassemble the motor to get at the start switch inside.
Do you have any service lit on this machine?

If not I will copy some and send it to you.

Fortunately GE motors are soo abundant I dont' see any problem getting parts or rewinding or even just putting new coils into the frame.

jon & al