Safety lid switch on Whirlpool/Roper

[rwh5441]

I'm thinking of buying a either a top loading Roper or a Whirlpool washer. However, it bothers me that the machine will not agitate if the lid is still up. Is there a way of tricking the safety switch on the lid on a Whirlpool/Roper washer so that everything doesn't stop when I lift the lid? If I can't find a way of triggering the switch with the lid up, I'm not interested in buying the machine.

I have also looked into Speed Queen, and I believe that their safety lid switch is about the same. Would whatever method that works with Roper/Whirlpool also work with Speed Queen?

Thanks!

 

[nmaineman36]

What I do on my Whirlpool that has this switch is I unscrew the left hinge and then pull it a bit inward and then down to catch the switch. Its a pain but it works. The Speed Queen switch is connected to the right hinge. I did the same thing as the Whirlpool.

 

[laundramatt]

I took the front panel off our Speed Queen (2 screws near the bottom) and then raised the top (2 more screws) to examine the lid switch. I wedged a couple of magnets in to keep the safety switch closed so that the washer runs all the time with the lid open.

My wife exclaimed, "Oh look, the washer still runs with the lid open! No wonder you wanted a Speed Queen." HaHa, she never read the instructions on the lid.

 

[revvinkevin]

Add a jumper / splicer to the switch wires.....

Go to a REAL electronics supply store (or Radio Shack?) and buy a splicer that allows you to add a wire to another WITHOUT any cutting.

You can add this to the wires within the control console, effectively bypassing the lid switch. I did this on both the Kenmore and Whirlpool washers I just aquired and they work just fine with the lids open.

I can post photo examples of what I am talking about after I get home today.

 

[kenmoreguy64]

FYI -

There is actually a factory lid-switch bypass for all Whirlpool built Direct Drive machines, so service technicians can run the machine with the cabinet off. I imagine you could leave this in the machine permanently if you want to!

 

[revvinkevin]

Photos of the splicer.....

OK, this is the splicer I was talking about.

 

[revvinkevin]

You slide the existing wire in the open side and your "connector" wire in the open end. Once the wires are in place, press the metal "tab" down on to the wires with pliers. Then fold the open up and snap the cover down and just like that it's done!

 

[jeffg]

Defeating the lid switch on our AWS76NW Speed Queen was easy: all we needed was a 30" (I think ours is 31 or 32") bungee cord. Feel under the top rim of the washer, in back, toward the right side, and you'll find a metal bracket that connects to the lid switch. Hook one end of the bungee cord around this bracket, and hook the other end to the bottom of the washer. The idea is to get just a bit of downward pressure on the bracket (not too much, or you might bend it).

 

[toggleswitch2]

Photos of the splicer.....

It is revelations like these that make this site SUPREME!