Whirlpool Gold (top load, direct drive) Washer is broken.

[theeedude]

Went mountain biking on Sunday, came back really dirty. So I washed things once, they were still dirty, I decided to wash them again. Came back from work, tub is full.
Looks like it recirculates water internally fine, agitates fine, but doesn't drain water out when it spins/rinses.
During rinse, it just pumps water out of the tub and back over the top for rinsing.
I am guessing some sort of solenoid that switches between draining and re circuilating or a pump is broken.
Any ideas?

 

[guyver01]

have you checked your drain hose? if you got that muddy/dirty, maybe there's sediment clogging the drain hose.

 

[theeedude]

Checked drain hose, it's clean, disconnected, reconnected, checked. So that seems OK.

 

[BoomerD]

http://appliancejunk.com/forums/index.php?board=2.0

 

[theeedude]

Thanks, I'll check it out.

 

[theeedude]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...eature=player_embedded

So I used this and took out a solenoid in the back that controls whether the water is being drained or recirculated for rinse.
Since it is pumping, I think it's fairly safe to assume that pump is OK. Valve doesn't seem plugged. Is there a way to test the solenoid without plugging it into 115v AC?

http://www.repairclinic.com/db.../00000640/00193904.jpg

 

[theeedude]

Fixed this sucker 🙂 Looks like valve was the issue, it wasn't plugged, but the the mud hardened around the edges of the valve making it hard to open. Washed that sucker out with warm water and reinstalled this morning, draining like a champ 🙂
I would say that washing machine repair is right up there with doing your own brakes in terms of money saved per time of work.

 

[sohcrates]

awesome. good job

when we bought our house it came with a washer that only ran hot water.

using the glorious internet i was able to buy a new solenoid, find schematics for the 15 year old washer, and install the new part. now cold water flows as good as new.

same thing with my pressure washer. it was leaking and i found a $7 part online along with schematics and was able to take it apart and fix it.

granted, its usually cheaper / easier in this throw away economy to just buy a new one, but it's kinda cool to fix home stuff yourself if possible.

 

[theeedude]

Ugh, looks like solenoid only lasted one wash after this fix. I think I am going to hoop up a rope to the valve and open it myself until i can score one for cheap.