need motor switch for maytag

[jacnorectangle]

I have a harvest gold Maytag ga310. It was making a burning smell during the spin cycle. The repair guy replaced the belts and said a part in the motor was bad. He keeps stringing me along saying he ordered the part but it's been weeks, so I asked him what the part was and he texted me the "centripetal" switch. I assume he means the centrifugal switch. Anyone know where I can get a hold of one?

 

[qsd-dan]

They have been obsoleted since Whirlpool took over Maytag in 2006. I have opened these up and fixed them by cleaning up the contacts, sometimes adding a bit of solder to worn contacts, in both washers and dryers.

 

[jacnorectangle]

qsd-dan, can you tell me how to open it?

 

[jacnorectangle]

alright I got it open. Are those worn out looking dots the issue?

 

[qsd-dan]

The contacts that I can see look more pitted than worn. Use a small file (even a fingernail file will work) to clean them up and file them flat. Worth a try.

 

[jacnorectangle]

well, before you wrote about the nail file I sanded it with some 300 grit sandpaper and ran a load and now I realize that it won't even drain. It starts draining for a split second but then it makes that burning smell and stops working.

 

[qsd-dan]

It sounds like the overload protection circuit is engaging. Could be a faulty start switch but here's some things that will also cause that which are worth looking into.

 

No extension cords! The power cord needs to be plugged directly from the washer to the electrical outlet.

 

Check the belts and make sure they're genuine Maytag/Whirlpool, particularly the transmission belt. The belts used in these washers are fabric wrapped and transmission belt is designed to slip during the spin cycle as there's no clutch in a Maytag helical washer. Using a standard belt will cause the motor to grip instead of slip, putting too much strain on the motor which will cycle the motor protection switch.

 

Make sure the motor carriage tracks are clean, properly lubed, and the rollers are in good condition. Check the both springs are in place and not broken. Any problems here will cause spin issues.

 

Remove the belt from the pump and twist the pulley. Is should rotate very smooth with virtually no effort. If it's hard to turn or has rough spots, the pump needs replacing.

 

If a piece of clothing, like a sock, went over the inner tub, it might be jammed between the tubs, in the pump hose, in the pump, or in the drain hose. This will cause draining issues.

 

If water contamination made its way to the tub bearing, it could be seizing up. The washer would be noisy for quite sometime during the spin cycle before locking up though.

 

[jacnorectangle]

I notice the lights flicker when this happens. Does that narrow it down any? Both the new and the old belt feel like rubber with a slightly rough texture. Any link to what the genuine ones look like? I got most of the water out with a pitcher and put it on a final spin cycle and the last drops drained out fine. I saw water moving through the pump.

 

[jacnorectangle]

The pump pulley turns fine. I notice the pulley underneath the motor is a bit difficult to turn. Is that normal?

 

[qsd-dan]

I notice the pulley underneath the motor is a bit difficult to turn.

 

The commutator is quite heavy so it makes it a little harder to to turn but it should spin pretty easily. If not, the bearings may have gone dry and it's seizing up. It may actually may be time for another motor. A seizing motor can smoke the start switch if it gets bad enough.

 

[jacnorectangle]

But if the motor were seizing would it spin fine? It doesn't malfunction until it's time to drain. Then the motor switch clicks open for a second, closes again, I hear a buzz sound, the lights flicker, then the burning smell comes and it stops draining. It did the final spin cycle fine but by that time I had removed the water with a pitcher so I didn't get a chance to see if it would drain. Though if I pour some water into it now it does go down the pipe.

 

[gizmo]

It does sound like the issue is the motor isn't slipping on the drive belt as it needs to when draining.

With these machines, the design is that, when draining, the motor drives the pump strongly and the pulley for spinning the tub <span style="text-decoration: underline;">weakly.</span> If the belt from motor to transmission pulley can't slip under load, the motor will try to spin the whole drum full of water and that overloads the motor. The design is that once the drum is empty of nearly all its water and the tub can spin easily, the slippage will reduce and the spin will get up to speed.

 

I'm not familiar with this particular machine, but in Australia we had a Simpson machine that used a similar system, but a bit more basic mechanism than the Maytag. If the spring tension is adjusted too strong (not sure if Maytags have a similar tensioner spring) then the belt can't slip when it needs to, the motor overheats quickly and goes up in smoke.

 

As I understand it, the Maytag motor moves on a sliding "carriage" referred to above, if the carriage is sticky, jammed or not adjusted right, the motor won't move back enough to let the belt slip when needed. You need to check this and get it adjusted right before trying to spin it again. Do NOT keep trying to make it spin without finding and fixing the fault - you will burn out the motor. The motor has two windings, start and run. The start winding only operated for a second or two to accelerate the motor up to speed quickly. If something is preventing the motor reaching full speed in one or two seconds, the start winding will burn out - the start winding pulls a lot of amps and can only run for a few seconds, once the motor gets up to full speed the centrifugal switch disconnects the start winding and it cools down again, with the motor continuing on just the run winding.

 

The information you have given leads me to think this is the issue - the smell and dimming lights in the house indicates that the motor is overloading and overheating, and the fact that it gets up to speed OK once you have baled out the excess water suggests the motor works OK once it isn't being overloaded. (So I don't think the motor is burned out...yet...)

 

[DADoES]

Clutch-Belts

 
Motor/Pump, left.

Motor/Transmission, right.

Another point to perhaps check is that the motor pulley is clean and belt tension (which is adjusted via the pump) is correct.  The pump belt should be somewhat alarmingly loose compared to what's normally expected.  Proper tension is determined by squeezing the pump belt loop together at the halfway point (with the machine in normal position, not leaned back).  The motor shouldn't move against the carriage springs until 1/4" space on the pump belt loop.

 

[jacnorectangle]

hmm, I tried pinching the belt and it touches without the motor moving. Seems like it's too loose? Here's a pic of my belt. Doesn't feel like fabric to me, just rubber with a pebbled finish. So you don't think it's the pitted contacts on that switch after all?

https://imgur.com/gallery/5pdAURy

 

[lowefficiency]

>> well, before you wrote about the nail file I sanded it with some 300 grit sandpaper

Electrical contacts should always be filed, not sanded. Sanding runs the risk of embedding non-conductive abrasive grit particles into the metal, which actually hold the switch contacts apart, contributing to further arcing issues.

>> The commutator is quite heavy so it makes it a little harder to to turn but it should spin pretty easily. If not, the
>> bearings may have gone dry and it's seizing up. It may actually may be time for another motor. A seizing motor
>> can smoke the start switch if it gets bad enough.

I'll second this. Now would be a good opportunity to oil the motor - Even if it's not "the issue", it would still help. The motor in our A408 was showing the same symptoms (tripping the thermal switch during spin) - ultimately we found that the motor bearings were so gummed up that it could barely be turned by hand. I had to use a penetrating solvent, followed by a generous wait for the solvents to evaporate, and then a thorough re-oiling. That motor has been trouble free for years now after the maintenance!

 

[jacnorectangle]

Where are the motor bearings located?

 

[jacnorectangle]

Alright I have another Maytag that won't agitate, but it spins. Repair Guy said it was the belts which I replaced but still won't agitate. How do I remove the agitator? I feel something down in there but I can't get a socket driver to get hold of it.

https://imgur.com/gallery/pERitH7

 

[stuftrock1]

Reply 16

just loosen the hex head screw on the side and the agitator should pull right out. I don't remember the size of the screw off the top of my head, I think maybe 3/16"? If not then 1/4".

I don't understand how a bad belt will allow a spin but not an agitate. What exactly happens when it tries to agitate?

 

[jacnorectangle]

well now the motor on the other one is burning up too. Repair guy came over and couldn't do anything. They're always in a rush to leave. So I have 2 maytags with smoked motors. We went and bought a used whirlpool.