Ryan Wright
Screenwriter
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2000
- Messages
- 1,875
So, Sunday evening I'm working in my garage and my wife comes out to ask what I'm burning out there. I tell her I'm not burning anything, and she says the whole house smells like something is on fire. I go inside and sure enough, something is burning...
Turns out it was the washing machine. It was buzzing, like the motor was trying to run but couldn't. I unplugged it, made sure it wasn't actually on fire, and let the house clear of the horrible smell.
First thought: Bad motor. So I bought a new one. Put it in, started her up, SAME THING! Just a buzzing sound, motor doesn't turn at all. I shut it off right away to protect the new motor.
Next thought: Gear system is shot and is preventing the motor from turning. Not true; I removed the motor from the gear assembly and fired her up. Same thing. Shaft doesn't even turn with zero load on it.
Next thought: Perhaps the "solenoid" looking thing attached to the motor is bad. Sears Parts Department says it's a capacitor. I've got a new one on the way, it will be here Friday.
Note: This happens on the "spin" cycle. I couldn't get a normal wash cycle to run, perhaps because there was no water in the machine - didn't want to fill it with no way to drain it. When it stopped working Sunday I had to drain it with my shop vac.
I looked over the machine. This is the first time I've seen the inside of a washing machine and it's all very straightforward. I don't see anything else that could be causing this, so I'm fairly confident the new "capacitor" will fix the problem. But part of me isn't sure, so here I am.
If anyone has experience in this department, I'd love to hear your thoughts. This was an expensive washing machine and is only 5 years old, so I'd really like to get it working again.
Thank you!
Turns out it was the washing machine. It was buzzing, like the motor was trying to run but couldn't. I unplugged it, made sure it wasn't actually on fire, and let the house clear of the horrible smell.
First thought: Bad motor. So I bought a new one. Put it in, started her up, SAME THING! Just a buzzing sound, motor doesn't turn at all. I shut it off right away to protect the new motor.
Next thought: Gear system is shot and is preventing the motor from turning. Not true; I removed the motor from the gear assembly and fired her up. Same thing. Shaft doesn't even turn with zero load on it.
Next thought: Perhaps the "solenoid" looking thing attached to the motor is bad. Sears Parts Department says it's a capacitor. I've got a new one on the way, it will be here Friday.
Note: This happens on the "spin" cycle. I couldn't get a normal wash cycle to run, perhaps because there was no water in the machine - didn't want to fill it with no way to drain it. When it stopped working Sunday I had to drain it with my shop vac.
I looked over the machine. This is the first time I've seen the inside of a washing machine and it's all very straightforward. I don't see anything else that could be causing this, so I'm fairly confident the new "capacitor" will fix the problem. But part of me isn't sure, so here I am.
If anyone has experience in this department, I'd love to hear your thoughts. This was an expensive washing machine and is only 5 years old, so I'd really like to get it working again.
Thank you!