Why might my Maytag washer stop at the end of each cycle?

[harpon]

And just sit there- When it fills, it sits there and doesn't want to spin- I can manipulate the dial until it does that- but it doesn't seem any exact science- when it finishes agitating it just sits there- until I manually move the dial forward, then it gets to the end of the wash cycle and again just sits there-

It used to take a breath and rather noisily kick into the next cycle-

It still DOES it all, agitates, drains refill empties, spins etc. It still DOES kick off at the end, it just doesn't move onto anything else in between.

Is it maybe the dial itself or is there a part and circuit to move it along otherwise. It just started doing it.

 

[washdaddy]

In order for you to get help they are going to need to know which machine it is that you have. You need to give your model# at least. the more info you provide the easier it is to determine your possible correction.

 

Good luck getting your machine back up and running.....someone will be along soon enough to help you out.

 

[askolover]

my mom's

did this and it was her timer

 

[gansky1]

Timer.

My grandmother's Highlander did this too - hers would get stuck after the rinse fill then just hum loudly until you pushed in and pulled out the dial. Once the rinse agitation started, it would complete the rest of the cycle normally. She used it this way for years, needlessly. Lol

 

[harpon]

Rats. I hate company! Ha.

 

[harpon]

So I've always been a little fascinated by the dials and how they might work-

Is the movement electrical or mechanical?
it seems as if they are spring loaded and mechanical rather than electrical-
do they advance to electrical contacts points otherwise?

Is there a way they are generally accessed? Do the knobs come off or are they usually accessed from the rear? Is there another part that distributes electrical current to the proper source> i.e. agitator, pump and fill functions?

The Maytag is outside in a an unattached garage shed, so I've scarcely looked at it yet. I'm just hoping to get a better lay understanding of the dial and electrical function.

But I'm thinking I might like to try and clean it if I can get to it-
are there electrical contacts and grounds that can be cleaned?-

any general info appreciated-
It's a white full sized upright I bought used 3 years ago, but when I took it home I noticed the underside looked really pristine and clean. Hate to see it acting up - and haven't got the model number yet

I don't use it much because I have a Haier portable permanently set up on a laundry faucet in my bathroom that I usually find more convenient except for big items.

 

[harpon]

I've done a little research now on this-

It looks like it may be the timer-

and there are a number listed on the net- I need the model number to order one-

some aren't too expemnsive

which I might order, even if I have to have someone do the repair otherwise

There are several videos on youtube about replacing timers- looks fairly complex, but my machine is getting a thorough cleaning in the next few days..

In the meantime I was only able to get one hose off the back of the machine, the other connnections have all been frozen, so I think the machine gets too much cold weather even here in Florida in the shed if I get it working again, I'm gonna get a cover for it for sure.

 

[tomturbomatic]

It's probably corrosion that is preventing the removal of the hose.

 

[harpon]

Got the hoses off with vice grips finally- new hoses with some grease on the thread will be forthcoming.

Took the whole back, but maybe didn't have to- could NOT find any screws to take the top of the instrument panel off, but it may have clips at the bottom

should have watched this first:

I think I can get the back on again though, but not that easy- it's all one piece from the bottom all the way to the top of the machine.

So the timer doesn't look like it is that secure, and with the videos- there are others- I think I can replace it.

Have a reconditioned timer on order- $32 not too bad- if it works. Had me looking at used and new machines though- need to spend as little as possible for now

 

[harpon]

Too old for this kind of thing though- very hot out in that shed here in Florida now and not the best of light.

Not a "Cheer"-ful situation!

 

[laundromat]

I had issues before with Whirlpool top loaders filling,agitating then no drain,no spin. The problem? A broken lid switch. Without it,the was her will not drain or spin on the dd models. You may either replace the lid switch or over ride it by splicing the two wires together.

 

[harpon]

Yes, yes- a very GOOD piece of information, but not the problem here- which I just finally seemed to have cleared up this afternoon.

Heres a summary of my repair journey- I first got a reconditioned replacement timer- and put that in- not really very hard, but I did it before viewing the videos and took the whole back of the machine off- made it much more complicated, and further by the fact that the whole front outer part got easily disvonnected, and I was stymied as to what was going on. A few more videos and I found that thewhole outer front cover comes off and on quite easily-

Anyway when I got the new timer in- I found that the machine was still behaving exactly the same way. Either I had gotten another bad timer, or something else was wrong.

A search on youtube then bought me to the lid switch question. I was sure that was probably it in fact. I found the part on the machine, but no wire harness. I wondered if a repair was possible. I also saw then a video about by-passing the lid switch by hot-wire jumping the harness, apparently to save on an expensive lid switch- while I ewas finding the part on e-bay for under ten dollars.

Then I wen't out to see if I could located the wiring harness, and I sorta did find the wires- Already cut off and Already hot wired together. At that point I realized that the machine has never really ever stopped when I opened the lid- I was still getting all the cycles and functions if I manually advanced the time anyway- so it wasn't the missing switch harness anyway.

This morning I found somewhere an obscure mention of the water level pressure switch being the real culprit of someone else who ordered a timer and was reselling it on ebay. I realized then that the switch was in the location of some grunge that had somehow gotten on the top of the machine- I'd had extensive tree work done over the shed this spring-

So anyway I took that part off- very easy too- and cleaned it out a little bit- I blew on the air hose connector before and after and noticed it moved more easily after I had rinsed it out with some soapy solution.

I then put the part back in and tried it too soon before letting it dry. Something was shorted out so the tub kept filling even on low- I git busy doing something else and came in to see how it was progressing just in time to see a full tub almost ready to overflow- the machine ran weird again- so I was discouraged, but really thought that it just might need to dry out now.

So later in the day I ran another load- PERFECT- the machine responded with the correct low water level, and then added more when I bumped it up to medium-

and then ran through all the cycles with the OLD TIMER advancing it normally.

So it looks like I might have the problem solved- learned a lot about the machine and only out $31.50 for a the reconditioned timer.

Not too bad.

I think I paid $150 or $120 for it used at a thrift store three years ago, and this was the first trouble I had with it so I'm happy.

In the meantime looking at the Craigslist ads, I realized that I could cheaply upgrade the old oven that was in my house when I arrived 3 years ago- and so that's what I did-

getting a more modern GE 30" range for only $100, and it looks great! In the process of changing the wall plug, so I hope it works as good as it looks. Carried it home in the back of my small '96 Ford Aspire with no back seat.

 

[harpon]

Here's what my Maytag looks like:

 

[redcarpetdrew]

Yup. That looks like a Whirlpool sourced Maytag Centennial. They really are easy to fix once you learn the little quirks of the design. You had quite the journey there but at least you happily reached your destination eventually versus those who ended up taking the machine and giving up after taking it apart and quitting when it resembled an exploded view diagram.

Worst words for a tech to hear first when arriving at the home: "Hi! I'm so glad to see you. My husband decided to try fixing it before you arrived..."

RCD