Speed Queen inverter board failure

[allwashedup]

Hi, I am new to the forum but noticed other people have had the same issues with speed queen boards.

https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?77855

Looks like there was a bad batch of boards. How do I tell if mine was part of the bad batch?

ATEE9AGP173TW
Serial is 1511010527

Error code is ed44. Alliance/SQ says that is the 803949P which was replaced with 807175P. This part is clearly made of unobtanium since the quotes for a new board are about 850 to 1200 dollars. My unit is a few months past the 5 year warranty mark.

Board repair seems like the only viable option, though getting anyone to work on a speed queen is hard.

Has anyone figured out how to tell if these are from the bad batch and push the repair back onto speed queen for selling a lemon?

Help! My Speed Queen is dead.

My front load Speed Queen (2 years old) is dead. Will not power up. Nothing on “resetting it” in the owners manual. Plugging and unplugging does nothing. Digital controls. Any suggestions? Everyone is closed till after Christmas.

www.automaticwasher.org

 

[henene4]

A broken board out of warranty is that.
Unless there has been a recall or an extended service notice, there's no pushing that onto SQ.

Everything they'd be doing would just be out of customer service friendliness.

Take it out, look at it.
If it's just a single component that looks burnt it more often than not is as simple as swapping a single component.

 

[good-shepherd]

unit is a few months past the 5 year warranty

What about the implied warranty?

The customer, (especially with a SQ) has a right to expect a longer service life than just a few months past the warranty expiration date.

I'd get on the phone with Speed Queen, $850+ for the board is almost the price of a new SQ.

 

[good-shepherd]

If you purchased from a local appliance dealer I'd also give them a call.

 

[henene4]

The law only requires a one year warranty period.
The manufacturer already offers you 5 times that.
So yeah, no, you probably won't have much luck with that.

Asking them for leanancy of course could work.
And it should in my opinion.

But they are totally within their right to refuse anything.

 

[allwashedup]

new board on the way

In a surprise twist after asking speed queen if the reason the board was discontinued was due to it being prone to failure, just out of curiosity, without asking they offered to mail a new board. Maybe they are trying to dodge a class action. Who knows, but a board is much appreciated surprise.

Dealer that sold it won't travel into the city to touch it. Most shops in the area won't touch a speed queen or won't go into the city unless they sold it. Only one will and they would look for 425.

Did get a video of the swap from speed queen and it doesn't look too hard so I am calling around to find someone random willing to follow a 5 min video and just needs a ratchet.

One of the repair shops said that the pump goes at the same time as the board on these units. Thankfully that was repaired 4 days before the end of the warranty.

 

[pinkpower4]

I was planning on purchasing the TC5003 as my next washer because I do a lot more smaller loads now. I don't understand why SQ went to boards over mechanical parts. Boards seem a lot more expensive to replace.

I had a Whirlpool washer that was at least 15 years old, and I never had to replace the timer to select the load. My guess is people try to spin this type of controller too quick in one direction or another.

SQ added a board that works in conjunction with the transmission. Why?

I also thought SQ took care of warranty repairs. The place I am looking to buy from someday says they will send someone out, but now this leaves me wondering. I would have no problem finding someone to work on my Maytag. So is this just for warranty repairs? I haven't had any issues with my Maytag mvwp575gw to see how well their warranty works--its 3.5 y/o now.

This is making me rethink my decision. I realize the Maytag's construction won't last as long, but I think I can for sure get 8 to 10 years before the bearings wear out--it's used for a family. From what I can tell, it is a lot less expensive to replace the board on this machine, something that would be easy for me to do. I also think I can replace the gear case. I realize the SQ covers its transmission for 15 years, but it is parts only. I am not so sure I could replace that myself.

I have hot water going to my Maytag even for the smaller loads. I do a manual 10-minute presoak. For lighter soiled loads, the spray rinse is fine. For heavier soiled loads, I will run the Normal cycle again without detergent for a half tub rinse.

Hmmm. Much of the SQ hype is based on older tried and true models (and I think there are more paid influencers too). However, I can see some things like materials used, balance system, etc. differences between the two models.

However, I was pleased to see SQ took care of this issue. I once had Dell replace a mother board on a 3 y/o laptop for no charge on a XPS model. The cost to a company is a lot less than the good will I still feel as a customer toward Dell today . Even if it's a defect, it's good to see they are doing the right thing on their own.

 

[henene4]

Transmission?!?

It works with the motor.

The motors are brushless variable speed motors.
For the front load and their non-classic top loaders, they need variable speed motors and you get that with an inverter board.
These machines then DO NOT have a transmission.

An inverter system just is quite complicated and expensive to build but still the best option for that.

I don't think their classical TLs (TC series) use a variable speed motor, just the typical 2 speed reversing motor.
So no inverter board there.

Glad to hear though that SQ did the right thing to just replace the part for free.

Changing them out isn't hard. Finding someone to do that for you will be. So just do it yourself.

As soon as you let somebody professional do it, they will charge quite a lot for it.
Liability and such are just to big of an issue and to expensive for anybody to do any repair of such a kind.
For example, as soon as they fit the board and it doesn't work, you can just turn around and say they broke it and suddenly they are up for the 800+$ part.

Just take a lot of pictures of the connectors in case they aren't keyed so you don't mix them up.
Then it's just a matter of a few screws and a few minutes.

 

[combo52]

Speed Queen Inverter board Failure

SQ has been sending replacements for these boards on a No Charge basis I was told by a SQ service rep that no one will have to pay for one of these boards.

 

Just try getting this type of help from WP, Electrolux, Bosch etc for something that is over 5 years old, LOL

 

The board is fairly easy to install, you only need a 5/16" nut driver and it takes 15 minutes, it is amazing no one in your area wants to do such an easy job.

 

John L.

 

[DADoES]

 
TC5 has an "old style" 2-speed motor (pic 1).  There is a motor control board (pic 2) in the base separate from the cycle control board in the console, but it's not an inverter and serves simply to switch power on/off to the motor windings (direction and speed).

The TR series has an electronic control, variable speed inverter motor (pic 3) and inverter board (pic 4).

 

[good-shepherd]

Dealer that sold it won't travel into the city to touch

Where are you living? A no go zone in Portland or Chicago??

 

[allwashedup]

no go zone is boston

All the official repair companies on the site turned down warranty work a few months ago in Boston except one. Half won't go into the city. The other half will only go in for stuff they sold. Several say that speed queen doesn't like to pay for warranty work so many of them stopped taking it.

For non warranty work, everyone wanted to charge for a new board at about 1200.

Speed queen sent a video of the repair


It doesn't look too hard. Will have to keep calling around for someone random willing to do this, since all the appliance people keep turning down the job when they hear boston and speed queen.

 

[askolover]

Why not do it yourself?  If there is a video showing exactly how to do it, just do it.  I can't tell you how many repairs I've done after watching it done on video.  Sure saves a ton of money.

 

[good-shepherd]

keep calling around for someone random

How about calling a handyman, one of those "No job too small guys"?

(Preferably one that can read and speak English).

Maybe try contacting some plumbers or electricians as well?

 

[lorainfurniture]

The thing nobody talks about.

Speed queen is certainly a quality, durable appliance. When I say durable, I mean very repairable. The problem is that most normal customers don’t want to spend their time or energy fixing their washing machine. With that said, a whole lot of queens get junked at the 7-8 year mark when it inevitably shreds the belt.

This set up is great for a commercial set up, but not ideal for homes.

I’m not saying the mvwp575 is the holy grail or anything, but at least you can get guaranteed 5 years for $800 and not get a hassle getting service when it breaks.

 

[eurekastar]

That repair requires almost no skill and simple tools!

 

 

[rp2813]

"No job too small"

That type of repair person has apparently vanished in my area.   They're all after the big money and the small stuff isn't worth their time.

 

[good-shepherd]

That repair requires almost no skill and simple tools

A lot of people I know even removing the access panel would be pushing the limit of their mechanical abilities.

 

[askolover]

True that!  DH is one of those.  Every time my Snapper rider has torn up it was HIM driving it!  Just last week he swore up and down that something was wrong with the Volvo because there was a rattle.....he didn't check the door panel for sun glasses (I could tell by the sound what it was)!