The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio

[christfr]

my L5

hey guys i have not only a question but first i want to say i love watching that video it lets me see what my laundromat is supposed to be doing. the L5 that i have here is giving me trouble and i cant figure out whats wrong. the day i got it i could tell the timer was shot but if i manually advanced it every thing would work. i filled it with water and a small load and off she went. she washed and drained and spun out like a good girl should. but then she sprung a big leak and the door boot needed to be replaced. so apart the machine came. got her all back together and found the speed changer was totally dry. i tried several types of oil till i found one heavy enough to keep the changer cool. so i thought all was fine. the machine will run a full cycle when dry but as soon as i put water in the drum and put the machine under a load the motor will kick off. i cant seem to get past this point. the belts have good tension and the timer is new nothing is binding. who out there is a laundromat wiz ??? i am out of ideas and would reall love some advice. thanks lots and lots chris

 

[Unimatic1140]

Hypoid Gear Oil

Hi Chris, make sure you using Hypoid Style Gear oil. I used it in my speed changer and it works great. The oil you are using is probably not made for Hypoid gears like the ones in the speed changer.

Next make sure neither one of the two belts are too tight and there could be a problem with the motor protector cutting out too soon.

 

[jetcone]

Also.....

Chris, like I have said before, also check to see you havent' overtightened the motor bolt that holds the pump body. If you have too tight bolts on any of the 4 bolts then Westinghouse motors will quickly overheat and shut down. This was the problem with my L8, the prior owner threw it out right after a pump change because it would shut off right after the tub filled with water.

 

[christfr]

thanks

thanks for the advice !!! i will give these things a check and try come next weekend. will give me something to do while the bird is in the oven. once again thanks again so much.

 

[christfr]

well i tried

well i changed the oil and played with the belt tension. i have adjusted the belts every way i can think of with no luck. i checked the screws that hold the pump and the mounts for the motor. the best i can get it to do is run just about 30 seconds longer that it was doing. any more ideas?

 

[60skelvinator]

Great video!

Looks Great! (Love that 1950s styling)!!!

 

[kenmore1978]

motor stopping

does the motor start up again after cooling down? I acquired a later FL Westy (theone with a regular console on top) and it turns out that for some reason the wiring that went into the thermal cutoff in the motor had been reduced to only about 3-4 of the strands of wire. These would get hot and trigger the thermal cutoff switch.

 

[christfr]

motor stoping

the machine will not restart by itself. you have to pull the timer know out again for it to start again. the odd thing is that the motor will kick off but it is not hot the touch. i am so out of ideas its not funny

 

[Unimatic1140]

Sounds like you need a new timer, the motor protector is built into the timer in these slant front washers and it appears to be defective.

 

[christfr]

timer

i had replaced the timer with one for midwest. i still have the orig timer. i had wondered if maybe that was the problem or maybe i had a wire crossed. but im sure i didnt cross any wires. the orig timer worked fine except the tiny motor that advances it was shot. is there a way to change that tiny motor from the rebuilt timer to the orig timer. has anyone done that before. if so ill give that a shot.

 

[Unimatic1140]

Yes I do that all the time, you can simply switch the timer motor. I'm pretty sure this will clear up your problem.

 

[kenmore1978]

timer integral motor protector

I've never heard of a motor protector being built into the timer, everyone I've seen is either totally separate i.e. Frigidaire, or built into the motor itself. You learn something new all the time.
Ah, the fascination of mechanical things....

 

[christfr]

still no luck

ok here we go again. i put the orig timer back in to the machine after replacing its little elec motor adj the belts and still the same problem. the machine will run fine dry but will not stay running under any load. would a bad changer cause this or maybe the motor is on its last leg? when the machine has water in it and is trying to turn it slows down to what i think is its proper speed and now the motor starts clicking and the timer kicks off. if it will stay running long enough the motor will get hot to the touch. i checked the wiring to what it says in the service manual and it all looks like its correct. could the motor just not be strong enough anymore?

 

[coldspot66]

I may have asked this before, but are you using a long extension cord?

 

[christfr]

no cord

no actually the orig cord had been repaired so i replaced it.
and plug it into the wall. im wondering if either the motor is going bad and cant take the load or the changer has something to do with it. but the drum turns freely nothing binding. im just at a loss

 

[coldspot66]

Sounds like a weak motor. You could put an ammeter around one of the wires to the motor to see how much current it draws b4 it kicks off. Compare that to the current draw on the model tag.
I had a maytag washer motor that would click on and off when starting in spin with a full tub of water on SLOW speed. Changed the motor and it was fine.

 

[christfr]

cant hurt

well i guess thats the next step. i guess it cant hurt. i have put enough time and money into this one to stop now. ha ha i want so much to get this one up and running. its my fav machine and the one that has given me the most trouble. well that is until i tear into the wo-65 later in the month. thanks for all the advice and help chris