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bajaespuma

bajaespuma

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Mar 16, 2006
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Well, after a week of wrangling and relocating, it was time, finally, for a test run. I have to say it's a hell of a lot easier to hook up this Lady than it is to early Filter Flo's with their g-damn inlet valves tucked up inside the machine with a f--cking cabinet strut in front of them. Amazing that CU missed this detail. So I set the Lady for the big-deal cycle with the Pre-Wash, hot water, <span style="text-decoration: underline;">etc. </span> She came to life god bless her, filled and started to agitate on slow speed. The fill was VERY dribble-y, anything to be done about that? She filled all the way to the bottom of the basket guard; gave me a little concern, but I love it when LARGE means large ( I think I will name her "Large Marge"):

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Agitation smooth and quiet! Did they do things on TOL's to make them quieter than their cheaper siblings? Seems to be a pattern.

 

One of the things I love about this particular model is that they went to the trouble of creating a gorgeous little pink jewel behind the clear cycle dial as a marker. When the panel light is lit, the jewel glows like an LED (somebody at the 1900 company was thinking about the future). Here's my first sign of trouble: after 6 minutes I noticed that we're still at the beginning of the Pre-Wash agitation period. Oh dear.

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Something woke up! The machine did its neutral drain, which went very slowly (I'll have to check the hoses for clogs), but the machine went into the spin on its own and I could hear clicking sounds from the dial and it turned on its own. This machine has a stealthy safety switch; it makes no kind of clicking sound letting me know whether it's engaged or not. Must be one of those level-bubble switches.

 

Well, the timer continued to the end of the spin cycle and then the machine paused with a loud click and then a loud period of odd buzzing for a little more than a minute. Then the cycle dial moved again, into the beginning of the WASH period. At this point all went silent. No fill, no buzzing and after a couple of minutes I realized that I had a problem. The machine just stopped working. I moved the dial ahead manually to see if I could budge it into filling, but it had a fit and started to make agitation noises, but the agitator didn't do anyting. Finally, I moved the dial into the first SPIN portion of the cycle, and it continued, without a hitch, into the RINSE FILL, then it rinsed while it flushed out the detergent dispenser, drained, still flushing, and went into SPIN and turned itself OFF. Scratching my head. I'm going to try some of the other cycles today to see if I can diagnose the problem. At first I thought I had a bad timer motor, but it seems more likely, unfortunately, that I have a bad cycle controller. I had a video of the machine working, but I can't find it now. Will do another one.

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Please keep us posted as to how the rest of the test cycle turns out. I'm trying to remember how long my grandmother had this machine and I'm blanking... At least 20 years, I'm pretty sure.

 

Jim
 
keep at it and let us know what else you discover that seems somewhat odd and out of place in functions......

the solenoid that allows the dispenser to flush can be loud at times.....

also the solenoids for the bleach/softener can vibrate....

slow drain can be a pump issue, or the by-pass valve mounted to the side of the tub may be worn, allowing water to re-enter the outter tub...

granted there was a time when GE filterflos were a pain to get at that fill valve....but their thought process was to allow the machine to be placed almost flush to a wall for installation.....granted we move machines a lot so its seems like a hassle, but for the regular person and install, once done, its forgotten until a hose needs replaced....

even some new machines have their valves recessed, which makes it difficult to get pliers around the connector....

also, some hoses have a 90 degree bend at the connector end with helps for some installs.....
 
I'm wondering

Whether some particular contact is either staying closed or open which should be the other way on one of the myriad solenoids, sensors or selector switches this beautiful machine has.

Lacking more specific knowledge of this machine, I'd start there checking the constant state and active state of each switch/sensor/solenoid. Oh, and cleaning all the contacts, too.

Hmm - is it possible the motor has a capacitor which is on it's last legs? Centrifigual switch assemblies did (and still do) much more on Whirlpool appliances than on GE. 

Beautiful girl, I must say.

Oh, and large should always mean large. Totally agree.

 
 
Until I figure out how to post the videos, or somebody comes to the rescue, check out the condition of the agitator, the post underneath it and the shine on the tub. Whoever the user of this machine was, she/he/it took very good care of it.

 

I'm happy to report that all 3 dispensers work. When I choose the normal cycle it did shift from Normal to Slow speed agitation. The timer/control dial is a bit of a mystery. As you'll see in the videos cycle/timer motor control seems to work sporadically; I have to give it a nudge once in a while, but maybe the machine has been sitting in a basement for a long while and left unused. Spiders, mice and other agents of nature sometimes gum up the works and it may be that the machine will need some use to get it back to working order. That's how I was able finally to remove the agitator. It's a nice fantasy, at least.

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Really cool washer Ken!

Congrats one a really nice find, this machine seems to be in excellent cosmetic condition, NICE!

I have a few things to mention that might help:

1) The water is not supposed to fill that high up. If it is touching the bottom of the tub ring, something like a sock could go over the rim of the wash basket and into the outer tub. This level of water can also push water up higher on the center post and encourage the agitator shaft splines to rust. Typical water level on these is 1.25 to 1.5 inches above the last row of holes of the basket.

2) On the start up on Pre-wash, sometimes the very beginning of a cycle doesn't activate everything the timer, in your case perhaps the timer motor? I noticed in one of my KM dryers that if I try to use every second of a timed cycle, the heater won't come on for several minutes, whereas it comes on almost immediately if started further into the cycle.

3) Martin is right about the drain period. A side check valve could be failing which would cause a slow drain. I had a similar size machine recently that took its full two minutes to drain, wasn't finished draining, and started to spin with a couple inches of water still in the tub.

I am going to re-read the rest of your post now, but wanted to make these three comments before I study the rest.

Gordon
 
Ken, if this helps,  you have to post the video to YouTube first, then paste the link to that video into the thread.

 

Beauty of a machine - PentaFlex agitators rule!!
 
Is the side-check valve responsible for the water that recirculates(or not)back into the washbasket through the detergent dispenser? It seems to keep the recirculation off for the Pre-Wash but I've noticed that the water continues to recirculate during all of the neutral drains which would and does slow down the emptying of the tub. Is this what's happening?
 
 

 

 

It sounds like the main dispenser solenoid valve may be stuck open.  This is the valve mounted on one of the transmission support arms. Because the dispenser and the valve uses USED water, instead of fresh water, any lint or gunk in the wash water goes through the dispenser system.  Over time that gunk can and does plug up these otherwise fun dispensers.  

 

If it were me, and it soon will be me who owns a triple dispenser TOL model, I will replumb the dispenser so it uses fresh water.

 

Otherwise, remove the back panel and with the machine unplugged, try operating the valve manually, to see if the flapper opens and closes as it should.
 
 

 

 

Yes, after reviewing your vid., it does seem sluggish.  Even the flow from the dispenser is not what one would expect.  It does sound like the valve is not the issue, but something larger.

 

1. check the tension of the belt.  If the belt is slipping, it may not be turning the pump as it should.

2. check the lint filter. It appears this machine was at a nunnery.  It could be plugged with more habit pins, ground up bits of crucifix, and lint from a bloody alter cloth.

3 It could be the pump needs replacement.

4. check the sump. If a wayward crucifix turned up in the tub, Heaven only knows whats stuck in the very bowels of this beast.  If the water level has always been this improperly high, something(s) may well have overflowed the tub rim and into the sump, restricting the flow.  You should be so fortunate to only need to empty that and your problem be solved.  If your lucky you'll find several gold nuggets and some condoms in there, in which case, ones suspicions of what goes on in a convent shall be confirmed, but at least you'll get paid for getting your hands dirty. 

5. Checking the hoses in general for clogs.

6. Adjust the water level so it doesn't fill so high in the future.  That can cause several problems.

7. Pray for forgiveness for even the slightest infractions.  I believe.... you've got a live one here. Make sure this puppy is plugged into a GFI outlet.  When the demons show their faces, you don't want to take a chance on getting the shock of your life.

 

 
 
That dispenser valve should be closed during drain periods. IIRC it does flush during a rinse cycle and the first 2 or 4 minutes of a wash cycle. It does not flush during prewash. I think the valve has a spring that helps to keep the valve closed. Might be broken.
 

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