Not Spinning Properly

[washerdude]

Our Whirlpool Duet WFW72HEDW0 is now a year old. It still cleans amazing and there are no smells. Recently though, I've been noticing one thing on certain loads, It does not reach full speed at all, not even 600RPM. We did our comforter yesterday and it reached 1200 rpm no problem. We did a load of jeans today (3 pairs and 1 shirt) and it was having great difficulty. It would balance the load out fine, and go into spin, and after a few seconds, it would go back into re-distribute mode. It NEVER reached an appropriate speed and after a while it just gave up and finished the cycle. I tried again on drain and spin and it did the same thing. The end result, the jeans were very wet and when you would wring them water would come out.

This is not the only load where I've notice it do this, few days ago in a load of mixed items it did it again. And when we washed sheets, same thing. The only time it spun fine was when it was a fairly large load. Then again though, it never did this before. It would spin no matter how many items were inside and at least reach 900-1000RPM before redistributing if it was severely off balance. The washer is level as well. What could the problem be? Is this normal?

There is a video I found online which shows them having the exact same problem with their washer, except its a maxima. Any Ideas?

http://https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvnZoqchtcw

 

[appnut]

My jeans cycle limits final spin speed to medium and for my machine that's about 800 rpm and I find it very satisfactory.  It's been my experience that if it's set for fastest spin speed, it's more temperamental balancing for final spin.  I've discovered when it's a huge load of all sweats or all slacks, it will begin to ramp up to a higher spin speed and then back down to a slower spin speed and finish the cycle.  It seems to have the most difficulty with loads that have nothing but garments with legs and long sleeves.  They can get intertwined like on a unimatic.  The only thing I use highest spin speed on is towels, underwear, and sweats.  I opt. for slower spin speeds for cotton sheets (they aren't that heavy in comparison) and all forms of clothing.  Personally I disagree with Normal/Casual default at fastest spin speed.  Kinda dumb if it's intended for mixed loads of various types of fabrics.  Usually set it for medium.  The machine is sensing something in the lad balance and is "protecting" itself.  I only wash 3 or 4 pairs of jeans at a time, but like I said, medium spin speed and it does fine.  My jeans cycle is delicate but with interim spins. 

 

[washerdude]

Update:

So I ran a diagnostic with it empty, and it never reached full speed at all. It kept doing the same thing even on the diagnostic cycle.

 

[washerdude]

@appnut

The part which still puzzles me is that our machine has gone into spin sometimes where the load is very off balance and it does not react this quickly at all. Usually when it reaches about 900RPM is when it starts making adjustments.

 

[LaVidaBoem]

Only 2 problems to cause this...

Hey guys,

 

There are two items that will cause this.

 

If the machine is not draining completely, the drag will tell the computer to stop, and rebalance...if not achieved on the 3 try...it SHOULD set the suds lock sequence...with the display showing accordingly..."suds".

 

The motor control board.

If a good signal of the sine/cosine is given to the computer, there is nothing else to stop the MCB from running to the limit of your selected spin speed.

 

All front loads, with the type of drain pump, can air lock, and cavitate.

Do you hear the different noise when the water is finished draining?

Do you hear the drum begin to "fight" water during this odd spin you speak of??

 

Just some pointers to consider, but I would almost guess that a drain problem exists.

Drop the front lower panel, undo the drain pump service port, and clean the strainer.

If you have not removed the plastic large cover before, it will be a tightie...

A pair of large channel-lock pliers, held with one hand, while you insert a long, heavy screwdriver for leverage is the easiest way to get her moving.

 

Good Luck,

LaVidaBoem

 

[appnut]

There is no front lower panel on these direct drive machines.  The front is one top to bottom piece of metal and it all has to be removed to access the pump guard. 

 

[LaVidaBoem]

Oh, yeah man...Like the Late Model Digidaire/E-lux?

Well, that is the pits...I had to do one of those Digidaires the other afternoon,

One of the employee's daughter's Red one...

 

I had told him how to fix it,...he just couldn't find the lower panel!

 

Took me back w/him, I slid the washer and pedestal out about 2 feet.

Still a pain to take off the back access panel, and get to that pump and clamp.

 

What was in this one...??

No one will believe me...

I handed the drain hose/boot to my worker, and told him to go to the sink...

Well, I heard all kinds of ruckess, and laughing...

One of her black victoria secrets black unmentionables was in there!

I got out the rest of the lint, paper clips, and change...

 

Drained as designed.

 

Just like their top loaders...thinnest sheet metal/cabinet material out there...even less than LowGrades.

Matching red washer and dryer...1899 @ local E-lux store.

 

LaVidaBoem

 

[washerdude]

Update:

Did another load today, and it acted the same way, after 3 attempts of balancing during the final spin the cycle just ended. Looks like i'm going to be visiting the pump trap. Pictures to come.

 

[washerdude]

The Process....

With the back panel off, we meet our old friend, the pump filter.

 

[washerdude]

Drainage

Actually was not too hard to move it

 

[washerdude]

Oh Boy....

 

[washerdude]

Atleast the housing is mold free....

 

[washerdude]

And cleaning the trap out..... did not work. With it spinning empty with no clothes during the drain and spin cycle, it behaved the same way, but this time it reached at least 800rpm, and hovered there, but still not 1200rpm. I'm going to do a load tomorrow and see if it truly works or not.

 

[LaVidaBoem]

Ok, let's see...

I'll go ahead and post some pointers.

 

>>Anything that will cause a drag on the spin/drum/cycle can cause this problem;

not draining, a garment that has slipped over the edge and is caught between inner/outer drum...any piece or object of washer itself, and finally the bearings.

 

One clue you gave, that with the heavier load of the bulky load, it seemed to go higher;

that could be because its already used the weight of ramp up to gauge that the load is going to harder to spin...

so it allows for more torque before it decides to end the cycle.

 

With the door open, machine off, how freely and how long does a spin (by hand) take to coast down...?

Should be very easy to spin up, and take several seconds to come to a stop, any sooner, something is causing a drag.

 

If you are sure there is no-drag being caused by water, foreign object between drums, the only other factor is USUALLY the MCB (motor control board).

 

However, the real way a tech is going to diagnose this is to enter diagnostics, run each spin sequence (each spin speed) and note any codes that are stored.

 

The UL code is for this, not for out of balance as I have seen others mislabel.

 

Let us Know how it did with the load you are doing today.

 

LaVidaBoem

 

Edited>>

Post Script:

As I mentioned in another thread, no Whirlpool is going to spin at the limit of the selected spin speed until the very end of the cycle, given that is working corrects...IE, on the highest, it may spin @ 900 for 5 minutes, then hit 1000 to 1100 for only 30 to 45 seconds, and then coast down, dewrinkle tumble, and shut off.

 

[washerdude]

More updates

So today I did a test load of 5 towels, they balanced out perfectly after about 2 attempts and it went into spin. One thing i noted in this load was, it seemed to hover at the exact lower spin speed it would shut off at for a much much more longer time then usual. Then I heard a ramp up, and thought all was good. Which it was....until it ramped up to about 900RPM ish, and just stayed there instead of going to 1200rpm like it normally does. On our model, it just aims straight for 1200rpm and stays there for about 9 or 10 mins and then ramps down to dewrinkle and turn off.

A definite improvement, but then again its not what Its suppose to be at. I did turn the drum and there was no feel of something dragging at all and it turned freely. At this point, even I am doubting the board, really sad considering this washer is just over a year old.

 

[LaVidaBoem]

OK, MCB and Control Panel Programmer

I hope some others with newer Duets/Maytags will chime in, and see if indeed there machines are as you describe yours.

 

If I didn't know better, (and I don't), it would seem to me that yours was never running as I described, ramping up and then going full tilt (limit of selected speed) instead of graduated increases in speed...

 

What spin options are on your model?

Do you have the max extract?

 

Run about 3 or so towels on each setting, with/without max (if equipped)...any difference?

 

Now, the front face and buttons are the control panel/programmer...if its off, nothing can happen good...but its rare after 2006 that the main control panel gave trouble.

 

One still must remember that with the sheer number of units Whirlpool/Maytag sell, it can skew the numbers when there are several or a few hundred complaints.

As of last mid 2015 counts; these are the order of total complaints per capita.>>

 

1. LG

2. Digidaire/E-Lux

3. Bosch

4. Sammie

5. GE

6. whirlpool/maytag, and clones

7. All others

 

And with the Asian Dumping of LG and Sammie, Whirlpool/Maytag still sells far more units.

 

Good Luck,

LaVidaBoem

 

[washerdude]

Update

On our duet, the only spin options are Off, Slow Medium, and Fast (BOL model, no max extract). I tried doing a load of towels yesterday on Heavy Duty and selected fast (1200rpm). During the final spin it still didn't reach it, it ramped up and stayed on 900rpm. It rarely seems to reach full speed now, even when I did a drain and spin empty it seemed to think there was an unbalance, same thing happened in the diagnostic mode too. I feel like this is a definite CCU issue.

 

[LaVidaBoem]

Hall Effect/Motor Signal

Well, Hot 'Dern It...

 

It sounds like to me that the proper signal for a steady Sine/Cosine was is not reaching the MCB...Especially if not reaching a higher speed under Diagnostics.

 

The board won't send a full tilt "go", thinking its unbalanced.

 

Depending on the motor used/controller,...that may have a separate mounted HES (Hall sensor)...like a Sammie/Maytag Clone.

 

Not much you can do, some are built into the motors, and a little bearing play, and that's enough to screw the signal.

 

Now, with that said,...you may be worried for little reason...Are the Clothes pretty dry??

It's a shame you couldn't have weighed two identical loads on 2 speeds to see what the difference in water weight.

 

At least mention the above to a tech if you decide to have it looked at...may actually save some time.

 

Hope this Helps,

LaVidaBoem

 

[washerdude]

The Hall Sensor

Actually, when I was inspecting the pump filter, I looked for a hall sensor....no hall sensor anywhere surprisingly. Seems as if only Samsung and LG use them. I also checked for slop in the bearing/spider as well, To be honest, just by turning the stator by hand, it felt very solidly built and had no slop anywhere which made me very pleased. Looks like I'm going to have a tech come out here and have a look at it.